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  • Essay / Katherine Paterson's Novel: Should Lyddie Sign the Petition

    In the historical fiction novel "Lyddie" by Katherine Paterson, the main character must decide whether or not to sign a petition. Lyddie Worthen is a poor girl from Vermont who works VERY hard to pay off her mother's debt. But because the working conditions are horrible, a woman named Diana Goss started a petition that all the girls in the factory must sign. This will go against the factory explaining why they are mad and disgusted by the factory. Lyddie should NOT sign the petition as it will negatively affect her. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Lyddie should not sign the petition because she needs to pay off her farm's debt. At this point, Lyddie is working very hard to earn money. She persisted in her work to be able to pay her debts. On page 88 of “Lyddie” it says: “So it was when the Concord Corporation once again sped up its machines. She didn't complain about needing money. This means that she faces every challenge thrown at her to achieve her goal. This quote supports the idea that Lyddie is not signing the petition because she needs the money. Not signing will earn him a good salary. Lyddie should not sign the petition because if she does she will be blacklisted. At this point in the novel, the girls are ready to sign the petition, but they are afraid of being fired and blacklisted. Pages 91 and 92 of “Lyddie” state: “‘I have half a mind to sign the flourishing petition,’ said Betsy. " I think of you. What will you do without work? You would be blacklisted. No other company would hire you, Lyddie said.” This quote means that the consequence of signing the petition is that you will be fired and blacklisted, meaning you will not be able to find another job anywhere. This supports the idea that Lyddie is not signing the petition because Lyddie would be risking her entire future just by signing. If Lyddie doesn't sign the petition and avoid it, she'll save herself a lot of headaches. Lyddie should not sign the petition because it would negatively affect the amount of money she will receive. Some think Lyddie should sign the petition because she needs to free herself from the factory's horrible pay conditions. However, she has no choice as page 100 of the novel states: "Lyddie herself was far too busy to help anyone." She couldn't fall behind in her production, otherwise her salary would go down.” This quote shows that Lyddie cannot allow herself to be distracted by signing a petition that would ruin her. This supports my assertion that Lydde will NOT sign the petition because then she will have no way of making money. Therefore, Lyddie can do the right thing by not signing the petition. Some may say that Lyddie should sign the petition because the factory is in poor condition and has terrible working conditions. In chapter 10 of Lyddie it says: “Now that she thought about it, she could barely breathe, the air was so thick with moisture and debris… She coughed, trying to free her throat and lungs to breathe . » This describes how terrible the working conditions are, especially the air quality; containing moisture and debris, as Lyddie is not able to breathe, affecting her health. In chapter 14 of Lyddie it says: “The living room was a welcome change for Betsy, but the move came too late to help. The cough persisted. She began spending entire days in their room, then.