Sunday, September 20, 2015

What does Cutler's Tavern look like in Lyddie by Katherine Paterson?

In a word: BIG.  


Lyddie arrives at Cutler's Tavern at the end of chapter two.  She has been sold into indentured servitude by her mother in order to pay off the family debts.  Lyddie's place of work is Cutler's Tavern.  The first description of the tavern occurs at the beginning of chapter three.  The text says that the tavern was bigger than the Stevenses' farmhouse, and that it appeared to have additions built on top of additions.  There is a "huge chimney" in the center of the main building.  The text says that birds "soar" around the chimney which tells the reader that the chimney is quite tall.  The tavern is complete with its own shed and multiple barns as well.  We are told that the final barn is "at least four stories high."  The entire complex is the biggest thing that Lyddie has ever seen in her life.  The final detail about the tavern's exterior is that it was painted red.  

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