Lyddie

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-book review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. What is known about Lyddie’s father?

A) He and Lyddie’s mother never agreed on whether to keep or sell the farm.

B) He and Judah both believed that Mattie belonged in an asylum.

C) He resented the prosperity of the Stevenses and left to find his fortune.

D) He left the farm to seek employment and was never heard from again.

2 . Why does Lyddie’s mother decide to move her children to her sister and brother-in-law’s home?

A) She has been outspoken about how much she has always hated living on the farm.

B) The bear made the cabin uninhabitable when it ransacked it looking for food.

C) She develops a delusion that the arrival of the bear signals the end of the world.

D) Judah and Clarissa have always wanted Mattie and the children to come live with them.

3. Which aspect of working at Cutler’s Tavern is most frustrating for Lyddie?

A) She must pick up the slack for Willie, who does not fulfill his responsibilities.

B) She is not being paid anything because her mother has arranged to receive all her wages.

C) The mistress of the tavern is condescending and unkind.

D) She is forced to sleep in the hallway because there are no accommodations for her.

4. Which of the following is NOT a reason why Lyddie goes to work at Concord Corporation?

A) An elegantly dressed factory worker encourages her to seek out a position in a mill.

B) High wages mean the potential to earn enough money to save her family’s farm.

C) She already has experience producing textiles as a weaver on her family’s loom.

D) She will not have to continue working without pay for others’ benefit.

5. Which aspect of the Quaker religion features most prominently in the actions of the Stevens family throughout Lyddie?

A) Standing for justice, equality, and the condemnation of slavery

B) Wearing the traditional clothing that identifies them with their faith

C) Committing to minimizing material possessions in their lifestyle

D) Speaking out against war and violence

6. Which of the following is NOT considered a danger of working in a textile factory?

A) Poor air quality, lack of ventilation, and continuous inhalation of textile fibers

B) Getting hair, clothing, or appendages caught in a running loom

C) Catching infectious disease from a shuttle or by being in close quarters with others

D) Being knocked over by overseers running frantically around the floor

E) Fire hazards associated with the whale-oil lamps that light the factory in the winter

7. What inspires Lyddie to improve her reading skills and begin acquiring books of her own?

A) She wants to understand the list of rules for Concord Corporation employees.

B) She wants to delve into the literature the labor activists are publishing.

C) She is captivated by the story of Oliver Twist when Betsy reads it aloud to her.

D) She hopes to understand legal documents related to the ownership of her family’s farm.

8. The term “the kiss of death” refers to which potentially detrimental practice?

A) Not placing a shuttle securely at the end of the “race” track

B) Putting one’s mouth on a shuttle to suck the thread through

C) Allowing a broken thread to destroy several yards of fabric

D) Speaking out against unfair practices in the factory

9. What reputation does Lyddie acquire while working at the factory?

A) She is a skilled, dedicated worker who is preoccupied with making money.

B) She is pious, attending church regularly and often quoting the Bible.

C) She is friendly, outgoing, and eager to befriend her coworkers.

D) She is pretty, fashionable, and admired by several suitors.

10. What are Betsy’s plans before her illness forces her to move back to Maine?

A) She intends to get married to someone she knows from home.

B) She wants to run her own boardinghouse for factory workers.

C) She wants to continue working for the Concord Corporation for another five years.

D) She looks forward to attending Oberlin College in Ohio.

11. Why does Lyddie agree to allow Rachel to live with Charlie and the Phinneys?

A) Rachel has begun exhibiting the same cough that Betsy had.

B) Lyddie admits that the Phinneys will provide more for Rachel more than she can.

C) Lyddie believes it is what her mother would want.

D) Rachel is miserable at the boardinghouse and hates working at the mill.

12. Lyddie discovers that Brigid’s inability to progress in learning to operate the weaving machines is due to what personal concern?

A) Brigid is having difficulty adjusting to the social expectations of life in America.

B) Brigid can’t hear the instructions Lyddie gives her over the sound of the machines.

C) Brigid is overcome with worry for her mother, who might be deathly ill.

D) Brigid is concerned about losing her home and where her family will live.

13. The petition Diana encourages her coworkers to sign asks for what very specific change?

A) Allowing windows to be opened to improve air quality in the workrooms

B) Reducing the number of hours they work each day from 13 to 10

C) Halting the repeated reductions in wages

D) Assigning fewer workers to each room in the boardinghouses

14. After they are both dismissed, how does Lyddie ensure that Brigid will get to keep her position at the Concord Corporation?

A) Lyddie helps her disguise her appearance so she can reapply under another name.

B) Lyddie takes responsibility for attacking Mr. Marsden without provocation.

C) Lyddie tells Agent Graves that she will encourage everyone to go on strike.

D) Lyddie threatens to send a letter to Mr. Marsden’s wife about his behavior.

15. As she says goodbye to Luke, what future scenario does Lyddie hope might be possible after she attends Oberlin?

A) Luke will wait for her and they may end up getting married.

B) She will find employment and eventually purchase her farm back from Luke.

C) She will move to Boston to open a bookshop.

D) Rachel will leave the Phinneys and also attend Oberlin.

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. Name three hazards of working in a textile mill and explain why they are dangerous to workers.

2. Name three complaints about policies and expectations that mill workers express in the novel.

3. How does Lyddie change over the course of the novel, and what experiences cause these changes?