Katherine Paterson's Lyddie
In the novel “Lyddie” by Katherine Paterson, thirteen year old Lyddie Worthen was a farm girl from Vermont in the 1840s. Since her father left, she has been working hard to support her family. Her family consists of siblings Agnes, Charlie, and Rachel. She has to take care of them, and her mother, due to the fact that her mother had “...gone somewhat queer in the head after their [Lyddie’s father] had left.” [5] Lyddie’s mother had decided to go to her sister Clarissa and Clarissa’s husband Judah. The family was unable to afford tickets for all four children and a mother, as they were already in debt. Lyddie’s mother decided to send Lyddie and Charlie to work to pay off debts on the farm. Since then, Lyddie had been working hard for three years,
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The air is poor, the looms are dangerous, and a fever had been going around. When Lyddie first arrived to the Concord Corporation, she almost immediately found a safety issue. The safety issue was the “...shadowy wooden staircase, which clung for dear life to the side of the building.” [61] This evidence supports the fact that the building is somewhat falling apart and unsafe. Many girls have to climb these unsecured stairs each day, risking falling. While no deaths have been reported at the Concord Corporation, plenty of injuries have occurred. Lyddie had an injury as well while working for the Corporation, when “She pulled her handkerchief from her pocket and held it tight against Lyddie’s temple. It filled immediately with blood… ‘she was hit by the shuttle’” [103] Lyddie was injured fairly badly while working with her looms. A flying shuttle hit her, causing her to bleed and become unable to work for the rest of that day. A doctor had to be called, and Lyddie had to have a chunk of her hair cut off in the area the shuttle had hit her. However, Lyddie’s injury wasn’t the most serious that the Concord Corporation had ever seen. Betsy had more long term damage done from the time spent working in the weaving room. “The air was cleaner in the drawing room… the move came too late to help. The coughing persisted… blood showed up in her phlegm.” [112] The air quality in the
The air is poor, the looms are dangerous, and a fever had been going around. When Lyddie first arrived to the Concord Corporation, she almost immediately found a safety issue. The safety issue was the “...shadowy wooden staircase, which clung for dear life to the side of the building.” [61] This evidence supports the fact that the building is somewhat falling apart and unsafe. Many girls have to climb these unsecured stairs each day, risking falling. While no deaths have been reported at the Concord Corporation, plenty of injuries have occurred. Lyddie had an injury as well while working for the Corporation, when “She pulled her handkerchief from her pocket and held it tight against Lyddie’s temple. It filled immediately with blood… ‘she was hit by the shuttle’” [103] Lyddie was injured fairly badly while working with her looms. A flying shuttle hit her, causing her to bleed and become unable to work for the rest of that day. A doctor had to be called, and Lyddie had to have a chunk of her hair cut off in the area the shuttle had hit her. However, Lyddie’s injury wasn’t the most serious that the Concord Corporation had ever seen. Betsy had more long term damage done from the time spent working in the weaving room. “The air was cleaner in the drawing room… the move came too late to help. The coughing persisted… blood showed up in her phlegm.” [112] The air quality in the