In William Blake’s, “The Chimney Sweeper”, an innocent, laboring orphan boy tells of his depressing life circumstances. Although his situation is tough, he begins to see the light shining from his companion’s eyes. One night his younger chimney sweep “coworker”, Tom Dacre, has a vivid dream which inspires him to continue to push through his tragic present situation. Little Tom Dacre’s dream assures him of a beyond bright future which causes him to share his positivity and fear not of what is to come. The reader immediately develops a sympathetic feeling towards the speaker due to his childish diction, helpless tone, and descriptive imagery.

From the very beginning of the poem, the speaker describes his pitiful lifestyle and grabs the attention of the reader from the start. He tells that “my mother died when I was very young” (Line 1), which suddenly grabs the audience’s attention and causes a depressing mood. The boy goes on to reveal that “my father sold me while yet my tongue/ could scarcely cry “weep! weep! weep!”” (2-3). It is painful to imagine the tragedy which the child has experienced in his life thus far with losing his parents, especially after he tells of his “career”. Because he was orphaned as a young boy, the speaker explains that “so your chimneys I sweep and in soot I sleep” (4). Since he was left for society to take care of, he has no other option but to be a labored child in order to earn his keep. This strong sight imagery enforces the sympathetic feelings by painting a picture in our minds of exactly what the boy deals with. The speaker realizes that the cause of his unfortunate life is because of his abandonment by his parents, although he seems as though he has accepted this fact since he does not use diction that creates a sense of anger. He actually has a bit of a hopeful attitude which is noticed when he comforts Tom after his haircut. “Tom Dacre, who cried when his head/ that curled like a lamb’s back, was shaved: so I said, / “Hush, Tom!” never mind it” (5-7). The boy quiets Tom and teaches him that “for when your head’s bare / you know what the soot cannot spoil your white hair” (7-8) which comforts the young boy and decreases his feeling of insecurity. The positive attitude of the speaker is surprising, yet hopeful, because he is expected to be depressed and lacking hope for his future.

The boy goes on to describe a vivid dream of Tom Dacre’s from one night. Tom sees “thousands of chimney sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, and Jack, /were all of them locked up in coffins of black” (11-12). The black coffins are a symbol of the dirty, gloomy life that these young chimneysweep boys are living. Each boy is locked up in a coffin to symbolize his “prison cell” which he wakes up in everyday. The dream continues and takes a hopeful turn. Tom imagines “an Angel who had a bright key, / and he opened the coffins and set them all free” (13-14). The Angel represents God when He saves the boys once their time served as a chimneysweep on earth is through. He will unlock their chains and set them free of their burdens. The boy imagines the scenery once they are free, “then down a green plain, leaping, laughing they run, / and wash in a river and shine in the sun” (15-16). This picture of all things happy is a symbol of Heaven. Once God saves the boys, he will send them there to rejoice and worry no more of their time on earth. They can play and run and be normal boys which they were restricted of in their lifetime. The imagery of washing in a river represents the cleaning of the boys’ bodies and souls once they leave earth. They will no longer be physically dirty because of their unsanitary job, but their soul will also prosper from their release. Their levels of joy will be uncontainable and they will shine of happiness. This dream is the crucial point in little Tom’s sense of positivity towards the future. 

The concluding part of little Tom’s dream, “Then naked and white, all their bags left behind, / they rise upon clouds and sport in the wind” (17-18) symbolizes the whiteness, or purity, of the boys once they leave earth. This signifies the boys rising into Heaven once God saves them and cleanses them. The most significant moment of the dreams, “the Angel told Tom, if he’d be a good boy, / He’d have God as his Father and never want joy” (19-20) reveals a promise from the Angel motivates Tom to strive to obey and work his hardest on the job, so that he will experience happiness in the future. The dream immediately kicks in and takes its toll on the boy’s life. “And so Tom awoke; and we rose in the dark, / and got with our bags and brushes to work. / Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm” (21-23). Tom wakes up ready to make the best of his circumstance, knowing that everything will pay off in the end. He has chosen to take the sign from his dream and apply it to his everyday life. That morning was cold, but the warmth and dedication in his heart supplied him enough encouragement to last a lifetime. 

Despite his feelings of lack of belonging, abandonment, and helplessness, the young chimneysweep does not let these things deter him. He sees the hope in his friend, Tom Dacre’s, eyes and realizes that there is more to live for. He sees that there is hope for him. It may not be a ray of hope during his impoverished life, but he believes the promise in which the Angel told Tom. The promise that the end will be rewarding if he continues to behave and do his time during his life on earth. Although the boys have every reason to be depressed and feel lonely, they are comforted knowing that the ending trumps all bad things from the beginning. 
