“Lyddie” is a novel written by Katherine Paterson in 1991. The novel is a fictional story with situations that are based on the real life events that happened in American factory jobs in the 1800s. In the story, ten year old Lyddie and her younger brother Charlie are children who lived on a farm with their mother and father, however, Lyddie and Charlie are sent out to be hired as servants to pay for the family farm’s debts. Lyddie, being the strong willed and determined girl she is, desires to work in the Lowell Mills factory to earn plenty of profit, so she can pay for the debts more quickly and bring her family together again. Although, Lowell Mills isn’t the best occupation to work for, considering it has cons — health problems shown in
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In chapter 10, Lyddie is starting her first full day as a factory girl, but a horrendous struggle happens. “If that weren’t trial enough, a few hours of standing in her proud new boots and her feet had swollen so that the laces cut into her flesh. She bent down quickly to loosen them, and when she found the right lace was knotted, she nearly burst into tears. Or perhaps the tears were caused by the swirling dust and lint. Now that she thought of it, she could hardly breathe, the air was so laden with moisture and debris.” (75) In the excerpt, Lyddie having to stand for continuous hours in intense pain is absurd, because this is abnormal for a job. The air being filled with dust and lint, including heavy debris and moisture, puts her respiratory system to multiple risks — the worst disease she could catch is mesothelioma. Mesothelioma has no cure whatsoever and in the 1800s, not a single person knew of the rare cancer existing. Lyddie would immediately get ill due to how deadly that lung cancer is. To avoid the potential risk of Lyddie and other employees getting more and more sick from disgusting air, they all should work in an environment with clean air, so they won’t end up coping with life-long health problems. Lyddie especially should, considering she is only ten years old and her body is more vulnerable to being damaged from exposure of unsafe substances, since she’s still growing and developing. In chapter 14, Betsy, a friend of Lyddie’s, has a noticeable, worsening cough that’s gone on for far too long — it was caused by the unhealthy air. “The coughing persisted. She began to spend days in her bedroom, then the house infirmary, until, finally, when blood showed up in her phlegm, Mrs. Bedlow demanded that she be removed to the hospital.” (112) The fact her cough had escalated to such an extent is quite concerning — this instance will give Lowell
In chapter 10, Lyddie is starting her first full day as a factory girl, but a horrendous struggle happens. “If that weren’t trial enough, a few hours of standing in her proud new boots and her feet had swollen so that the laces cut into her flesh. She bent down quickly to loosen them, and when she found the right lace was knotted, she nearly burst into tears. Or perhaps the tears were caused by the swirling dust and lint. Now that she thought of it, she could hardly breathe, the air was so laden with moisture and debris.” (75) In the excerpt, Lyddie having to stand for continuous hours in intense pain is absurd, because this is abnormal for a job. The air being filled with dust and lint, including heavy debris and moisture, puts her respiratory system to multiple risks — the worst disease she could catch is mesothelioma. Mesothelioma has no cure whatsoever and in the 1800s, not a single person knew of the rare cancer existing. Lyddie would immediately get ill due to how deadly that lung cancer is. To avoid the potential risk of Lyddie and other employees getting more and more sick from disgusting air, they all should work in an environment with clean air, so they won’t end up coping with life-long health problems. Lyddie especially should, considering she is only ten years old and her body is more vulnerable to being damaged from exposure of unsafe substances, since she’s still growing and developing. In chapter 14, Betsy, a friend of Lyddie’s, has a noticeable, worsening cough that’s gone on for far too long — it was caused by the unhealthy air. “The coughing persisted. She began to spend days in her bedroom, then the house infirmary, until, finally, when blood showed up in her phlegm, Mrs. Bedlow demanded that she be removed to the hospital.” (112) The fact her cough had escalated to such an extent is quite concerning — this instance will give Lowell