Lyddie Mid Unit Assessment Review

Near the beginning of chapter 12, Lyddie receives a letter from her mother. What does the letter say?

• Her mother went back to the farm.

• Agnes has died.

• Her mother has paid of the debt for the farm.

• Charlie got fired from his job.

After she reads the letter, Lyddie thinks: “She must work harder. She must earn all the money to pay what they owed, so she could gather her family together back on the farm while she still had family left to gather” (p. 88). What does this passage tell you about what Lyddie fears? How does this fear affect her response to the petition Betsy and Amelia are discussing?

• Lyddie fears that she will never get a 10-hour work day.

• Lyddie fears that her whole family is dead.

• Lyddie fears that bad things will happen to her family if she doesn't pay off the debts.

• Lyddie fears that she will be fired from the mill.

“It was almost as if they had exchanged natures, as if she had become the machine, perfectly tuned to the roaring, clattering beasts in her care” (p. 97). What does tuned to mean? What does it tell you about what kind of worker Lyddie is and how she feels when she is working?

• It means that Lyddie is good at her job and it is almost effortless.

• It means that Lyddie is a good singer.

• It means that Lyddie is bad at her job.

• It means that Lyddie has to sing while she works.

“The pay reflected her proficiency . . . While the other girls grumbled that their piece rates had dropped so that it had hardly been worth slaving through the summer heat, she kept her silence.” (p. 86)

What does this quote show about how Lyddie was paid?

• She was paid well because the overseer liked her.

• She was paid a higher wage because she had worked there longer.

• She was paid by how much cloth she wove.

• She was paid less than she had been paid in the tavern.

“So it was that when the Concord Corporation once again speeded up the machinery, she, almost alone, did not complain.” (p. 89)

Why did Lyddie not complain about the speed-up?

• More than anything, she wanted to earn enough money to reunite her family and get the farm back.

• She didn't care what the other girls thought of her.

• She wanted to please Mr. Marsden.

• She wanted to earn more money, and the corporation raised wages when it sped up the machinery.

“I’m worn out, Amelia. We’re all worn out,” Betsy says. (p. 91)

Why are they “all worn out”?

• They stay up all night reading and don't get any sleep.

• They have been up all night protesting against the working conditions.

• They rarely get time off and the corporation makes them work harder and longer.

• They have not been feeding the workers.

How does the speed-up in chapter 13 affect Lyddie? (Refer to pages 97–99.)

• She is mentally and physically exhausted.

• She is worried about Betsy.

• She eats more to keep up her energy.

• She works harder so Mr. Marsden can win a prize.

What textual evidence supports your answer?

• "She ate the food set before her." (p. 98)

• "She did not want Betsy to go." (p. 99)

• "Lyddie did not attempt to go to church." (p. 98)

• "She was too tired at night now to copy out a page of Oliver to paste to her loom." (p. 98)

Given what you have learned of Lyddie’s working conditions, to what extent do you think she is free? Explain one reason she is free and one reason she is not...