Lyddie

Chapters 1-5

Reading Check

1. Mattie goes with her daughters to live with her sister Clarissa and brother-in-law Judah. (Chapter 1)

2. Lyddie is sent to work at Cutler’s Tavern as a servant; Charlie is sent to work at Baker’s Mill. (Chapter 1)

3. She is unable to visit him because he is at school. (Chapter 5)

Short Answer

1. Lyddie orders her family members to slowly ascend the ladder to the second floor, and she maintains eye contact with the bear until she can climb up herself. The bear gets his head stuck in the boiling cauldron of porridge and runs out of the house with it on his head. (Chapter 1)

2. Lyddie argues that she and Charlie are responsible for the birth of the calf. Lyddie is tired of surrendering everything to her mother and working hard while her mother does nothing to help their family, especially because her mother will now be forcing them to work without pay while she takes the proceeds of their labors. (Chapter 2)

3. Lyddie sees a young woman fashionably dressed in clothing of a level of luxury she has never seen; she later learns that this woman is a factory worker. (Chapter 3)

Chapters 6-10

Reading Check

1. She gives Ezekial the $25 she earned from selling their calf. (Chapter 2; Chapter 6)

2. One year (Chapter 8)

3. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens (Chapter 10)

Short Answer

1. When Lyddie realizes that Ezekial has escaped enslavement, she considers that she could claim the $100 reward for turning him in; once she speaks with him and experiences his kindness, she is embarrassed that this notion even occurred to her and hopes that he will find peace and success in Canada. (Chapter 6)

2. Amelia, Betsy, and Prudence worry that Diana will be a bad influence on Lyddie. Diana is well known for her radical views as an active member of the labor movement. They are concerned that Diana will persuade Lyddie to become involved in activism, which could put her employment status at risk. (Chapter 9)

3. Until she buys new clothes, Lyddie is self-conscious about her ill-fitting homespun dress and her tanned skin and rough hands, which are a giveaway that she was a farm laborer. She feels inelegant compared to her peers, and they sometimes tease her about her colloquial, provincial way of speaking. (Chapters 8 & 9)

Differentiation Suggestion: For younger students or those who might find their experience of the novel enriched by a deeper exploration of how a textile mill is run and what the environment would look, feel, and sound like, consider devoting more time to the logistics associated with factory work, the expectations placed upon the young employees who kept these industries running, and how it might feel to be immersed in this environment for 13 hours a day.

Chapters 11-14

Reading Check

1. Many of the girls and young women who work for the Concord Corporation have family within traveling distance. It is common for many of the workers to take a summer holiday and visit relatives living nearby or in the rural areas where they grew up. (Chapter 11)

2. Lyddie learns that her sister Agnes has died. (Chapter 12)

3. “Oh! I cannot be a slave, I will not be a slave.” (Chapter 13)

Short Answer

1. Lyddie starts to look forward to hearing Betsy read aloud to her from Oliver Twist. She thinks about the characters and events while she is at work, and she anticipates hearing what will happen next. (Chapter 11)

2. With fewer workers to operate the looms in the weaving room during the summer holiday, Lyddie is given responsibility for up to four looms at once, and with them the opportunity to increase her income with her increased yardage production. She can increase her savings exponentially while distinguishing herself as an expert weaver. (Chapter 12)

3. When she turns the loom on, the shuttle flies out of the race and hits Lyddie in the temple, causing her to bleed profusely. She is escorted out of the weaving room by Diana and brought back to the Number Five boardinghouse so that she can be seen by a doctor. Lyddie cannot be sure because it happens so fast, but she assumes that she did not place the shuttle all the way at the end of the race, causing it to launch out of the race track when the machine was turned on. (Chapter 13)

Chapters 15-19

Reading Check

1. He has sent Mattie to the asylum in Brattleboro. (Chapter 15)

2. She stomps on his foot with her boot heel. (Chapter 16)

3.  Luke’s father, Jeremiah, has purchased the Worthen farm, and Luke hopes to earn it from him through hard work. (Chapter 18)

Short Answer

1. Uncle Judah tells Lyddie that he and her aunt Clarissa will be selling the Worthens’ farm. Lyddie thought that that farm could not be sold without her father’s consent, but her uncle is proceeding with the sale anyway, claiming that her father gave permission before he left for decisions to be made in his absence. (Chapter 15)

2. No one is permitted to live at the Concord Corporation boardinghouses unless they are employed by the corporation. Lyddie wants to bide her time to see if Charlie can intervene with their uncle and persuade him not to sell the farm, but Mrs. Bedlow will only be patient for so long before Rachel needs to have a job if she wants to stay. (Chapter 16)

3. Diana is expecting a child out of wedlock and fears she will be dismissed for moral turpitude if her condition is discovered. Diana also fears that her pregnancy will be used as ammunition to attack her character and defame her fellow labor activists. (Chapter 19)

Chapters 20-23

Reading Check

1. She takes a bucket full of water and dumps it over his head, trapping his head inside. (Chapter 20)

2. “Moral turpitude” (Chapter 21)

3. She gives Brigid a copy of Oliver Twist. (Chapter 22)

Short Answer

1. Lyddie purchases a copy of the dictionary and looks up the definition of turpitude. She is shocked to realize that he blatantly lied about her. (Chapter 22)

2. She provides Brigid with a letter addressed to Mr. Marsden’s wife detailing his inappropriate behavior with the young female workers he supervises. (Chapter 22)

3. She realizes she respects and admires him and that she enjoys his company. She hopes that he will not marry someone else while she is gone so that they might one day reunite and pursue a romantic relationship. (Chapter 23)