Q6. In my opinion, Lucy Larcom's quote was typical for working in the mills. She argued that by working in the mills, it brought them a sense of freedom. At the time women had no rights, and it would be a long time before they were given any. Lucy and the other women would feel honored to be able to go to work everyday in the factories. Lucy's feeling about working in the mill are typical, girls had never tried the experiment before. Working in the mills would be a thrill for many women.
Lucy begins talking about the natural independence that country girls had possessed. Natural independence was a huge privilege to have during this time. Lucy tells us that these new jobs in the mills still allowed them the satisfaction of their own everyday free time. Although, it wasn't much free time, they will still contented with it. Many of these women had fled from their homes in order to find a better job in the city, the jobs in …show more content…
I failed to realize that centuries have passed and times have changed. I came to realize one major change between Lucy's generation and my generation; the answer, work ethic. In Lucy's opinion, being able to work in the factory was the greatest thing to ever happen. My generation has grown up being coddled, we have never experienced the true meaning of hard work and labor. When I first read Lucy's quote I honestly thought she was crazy, who would want to work 12 hours a day, 6 days a week? In addition, how could they begin to think of this job as a part of their independence? Once again, times have changed. Lucy's generation and my generations definitions of hard work and independence are completely different. I can not even begin to imagine what they went through everyday. When I put myself in Lucy's shoes, I can see where she is coming from. For those reasons, I believe that her feelings towards working in the mill are