Chapter 12 & 13 Lyddie review

“I’m worn out, Amelia. We’re all worn out,” Betsy says (91). Who is Betsy referring to? Why are they all worn out?

• Betsy is referring to the kitchen workers at Cutler’s Tavern, who are tired from clarifying maple syrup.

• Betsy is referring to the enslaved workers, who are tired from their escape to freedom in the North.

• Betsy is referring to the factory workers, who are tired from working longer hours at a faster pace.

• Besty is referring to herself -- she is tired from staying up late reading to Lyddie.

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

• She is mentally and physically exhausted.

• She eats more to keep up her energy.

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

• She is worried about Betsy.

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

Why did Lyddie not complain about the speed-up?

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

• She wanted to please Mr. Mardsen.

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

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

“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” (86).

What does this quote show about how Lyddie was paid?

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

• She was paid by how much cloth she wove.

• She was paid well because the overseer liked her.

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