Jennifer Egan’s essay “Reading Lucy” from the collection Brooklyn Was Mine expresses Egan’s goal in finding the letters that were written about the Brooklyn Navy Yard during World War II and the involvement of women. Jennifer Egan learned a lot from the letters because she learned about Lucy Kolkin and the letters she wrote to her husband. Lucy Kolkin was one of the Lucy’s letters included much of the needed information and details to help Jennifer find out what she wanted to know. Jennifer Egan’s reading of the letters became more of a pastime. The more Jennifer read, the more she is interested on Lucy’s life and the less she is interested in her topic about the navy yard. Reading her letters made Egan understand Lucy better and how much she and Alfred loved each other. As reading through her letters Egan learns that Lucy dies and then Egan looks up information on Lucy’s eulogy. Jennifer then tries to find living relatives that will discuss Lucy’s life more thoroughly which would keep her in contact with Lucy in some way. In the end Jennifer realizes that she must let go of Lucy and end her quest which have made her feel as if she and Lucy were connected physically and mentally.

Jennifer Eagan found out about Lucy by first hand researching her at the Brooklyn Historical Society. Those materials found and the materials that relate to Lucille on the internet and the letters themselves are highly significant to history. These letters are a primary source which means that whatever we find out through these letters are accurate descriptions of the woman Lucy was and perceived herself to be. These are her words and her letters that were written to her husband while she worked at a shipping dock during World War II. This is very important because it proves what key role woman played during the war by doing the jobs that men weren’t there to fulfill. It went against the belief that everybody had on women and how they weren’t equal to men. Lucille excelled at her job and was proving society wrong.The letters help us relate because they are personal letters she wrote to someone she cared very deeply about. We’ve all been in the position in which we have written letters to either our parents or close friends in which we described our experiences with extreme detail so that they can understand what we’re going through.It helps us understand what she was going through, these materials are first hand sources that help us analyze pieces of history which are very important.

From the start of the essay we believe that Lucy is a co-worker or co-researcher in the time about the essay is written. However, as we progress further we see more and more to disprove this.
Now this was mostly due to the fact that I did not see when the essay was written, somehow i avoided the entire left side of the first page. So for the first few pages I was under the impression that they both lived at the same time. However, that was the point of the essay, to show an overlap of the past and present. There are many differences in the modern world than in 1944 but there are also similarity. Both had families and careers that they pursued. The resided in similar areas and the streets were the same. Both were very outgoing and outspoken. However, the greatest difference was time. The history that the writer learned is not the kind that you will find in a text book. But a select kind that can only be seen from the eyes of those that were there, in their personal memoirs and letters to people that they share a bond with. The writer seemed to be in a trance whenever reading Lucy`s letters, the writer would be transported back to those early years of 1944. But the magic of the letters faded away when the writer looked up Lucy and realized her life would come to an end. It dispelled the entirety of the letters that were filled with life, joy and laughter. The lesson is clear, do not skip to the end of any good story.

However, 1944 was a time of change in many ways. Technology literally skyrocketed in the form of German V1 and V2 rockets that formed the base of all modern rocket-propelled vessels such as space fairing. Production had reached new heights as entire nations focused all efforts to out gun and outnumber the clear enemy. The USA benefited most from war production due to its non- combat years prior to December 7th, 1944 as seen when the Great Depression ended with the USA officially entering the war. With all the male population going off to fight the war, the home effort was left to the female population. Every working field that was once only for men was now worked by women, and what they did was either as good or better. They were making ships so that their men would not sink and drowned in the oceans. They made planes that would carry them over Berlin and Tokyo. They made tanks that would go through the deserts in Africa. They made rifles that would shoot straight and true. They made parachutes that would carry men down safely as thought they were on white clouds. They made everything that won the war, in number that even to this day we do not match. Not because we can not, but because we have no reason to. In a way it is sad that to reach our full potential we must be in conflict with others. And even then it has to be an enemy that every men, women and child must hate and or fear to have the entire nation behind the war effort. Lucy and her letters are a window into this time of great change and great unrest. It shows us an individual’s account of events of the same history we learn but on a personal level. There are no references to battles or warriors, but see what life was for one person. That is something people overlook in history, the people. When you see how many were at this place or how many were lost, it is only a number. We forget that each one is a unique individual, with their own story, life, values, and vision of the world. That is why is it important to document history with not only written reports, but photographs, letters, newspapers, and anything else to always remember the people who were there. To see their lives unfold and learn from them so we do not follow the mistakes they made and follow what they did right. Another thing that is overlooked, when looking at history we tend to look at the mistakes that people make and forget all the right decision that were made prior and after. We tend to condemn certain individuals for their actions as we are looking at them from our views and rules. At that time when it was done it could have been a whole other story.

To see where you are now and where you are heading forward you need to see where you were before.

These letters other than their moral significance are very important to the history of Brooklyn and the country. Lucy was one of the first women to work in a job that was only given to men before they had no choice because of the draft. Since women began filling positions in every sector of the ship building industry, it showed that women can be just as productive as men and aren’t as fragile as previously believed. This was all before sexual equality but undoubtedly helped prove why the movement should move. Some of the links were for sites that had information about WWII and some were links for the Jewish community in Brooklyn because both Lucy and Alfred were Jewish. They tell us about its historical relevance and other people from that time and place that were relevant as well. This tells me that preservation is important because even if at the time it doesn’t seem that ground-breaking at the time. In the future people could learn from those experiences like Egan did from Lucy. The letters can help us relate because there is more personal material that can make it easier to understand who they are and that makes them seem more like regular people that we could be friends with in the present day. When you are interested in a person, you are definitely going to be more interested in what they have to say or have gone through.

Egan’s goal in finding these letters was to learn more about the Brooklyn Navy Yard during WWII and women’s involvement was much more than before the draft. She learned a lot from the letters because Lucy was writing about it from a first-hand account. She had a lot of detail and description to help Egan to find out what she needed to know. Her reading of the letters became more of a hobby and she was learning while also finding a friend in the past. Her relationship with Lucy is one-sided because she knows of Lucy but it is not likewise. It develops through Lucy’s letters that Egan discovered for a research project. She learns about her professional and personal life and cant help but become absorbed in every aspect of it. Egan conveyed Lucy’s story through her own essay using lots of quotes and citations from the letters themselves. This made me feel like i was somewhat reading the letters first-hand.