In Lyddie, where is there a diary entry about the mill in Lowell?

Lyddie, the main character in the novel, does not keep a diary for a couple of reasons: first, she does not know how to read and write very well, and second, she does not have money for such a purchase. However, one could pretend to write a diary from Lyddie's perspective to help make the Concord Corporation mill at Lowell seem more real. To construct a few diary entries for Lyddie's first days at the...

Lyddie, the main character in the novel, does not keep a diary for a couple of reasons: first, she does not know how to read and write very well, and second, she does not have money for such a purchase. However, one could pretend to write a diary from Lyddie's perspective to help make the Concord Corporation mill at Lowell seem more real. To construct a few diary entries for Lyddie's first days at the mill, write in first person (saying "I" and "me") and describe the details about the factory from chapters 8, 9, and 10 using words that Lyddie might use.

For example, based on chapter 8, you could have Lyddie recount her experience going into the factory with Mrs. Bedlow to go through the company's hiring process. Lyddie goes into the factory following Mrs. Bedlow through the door of one of the low buildings. They walk through a room of accountants working at tables and out into a huge courtyard. Lyddie sees the "gigantic six-story brick building" where the cotton mill is housed. She goes through a door marked "Agent" and receives the company regulations and gets her smallpox shot.

Her first day of work, Mrs. Bedlow takes her after lunch, so she only works for four hours. She can feel the pulsing of the machines as she climbs up the outside wooden staircase to get to the fourth floor. The machines are deafening. Lyddie can't hear what the overseer tells her, but a kind worker named Diana helps her. She shows Lyddie how to perform the "kiss of death procedure." Everything moves too fast for Lyddie, but Diana can handle it all easily. 

The next day Lyddie works for a full day, and it is much harder on her. She still hates the noise of the machines, and she can barely breathe because the "air was so laden with moisture and debris." She goes to the window to try to get fresh air, but the window doesn't open. Then her machine jams, and Diana comes and shows her how to get it going again. At 7:00 Lyddie leaves with the other girls to go get breakfast, then comes back to work. Finally Lyddie hears the bell ring to signal quitting time. She is utterly exhausted.

Here is a sample of how a diary entry might start:

"Dear Diary: Today I got hired by Concord Corporation in Lowell to work in the cotton mill. Mrs. Bedlow took me to the factory. We first walked through a room of bored people working at desks, then into a huge courtyard where I could see the six-story factory building. It's gigantic!"