2005 The Chimney Sweepers Outline

Through tone, symbolism, and religious lenses, William Blake successfully distinguishes the similarities and differences between the children's abilities to hope for happiness in the poems called "The Chimney Sweeper".
         
            
         Both poems exhibit examples of color symbolism that distinguish innocence and purity of happy childhood from the darkness of being a young chimney sweep. This contrast is established through the use of white and black. In the first poem, the speaker mentions a child whose white hair was "curl'd like a lambs back" (6) was shaved, causing the boy to weep. The cutting of the white locks symbolizes the child's detachment from innocence, as he is then forced to become a chimney sweep. The dream Tom then has clearly separates their current state of darkness from heavenly purity. The "coffins of black" (12) that encase each of the children represent the soot that constantly dirties their freedoms, as well as the health risks that come with breathing in soot daily. When they are released from them by an Angel, they are released from the blanket of darkness. They become "naked and white" (17), and only then are they able to experience the joy of carefree childhood. This whiteness further contrasts how they "rose in the dark" (21), back in the reality of adult responsibility. A similar contrast of color is explored in the second poem. The first line established the very difference: "A little black thing among the snow" (1). The child sweeps chimneys and is therefore blackened, in contrast with the purity of the snow that surrounds him. Similar to the coffins, the child expresses how he is clothed in "the clothes of death" (7), referring to the dangers of working in the chimneys. The dark clothes also represent the death of childhood, like the in the first poem. This despair contrasts the happiness the child feels when he "smil'd among the winter's snow" (6), before being forced to clean the hearth and the chimney. When he among the whiteness, he experiences youthful joy, but it is dragged down and expired by the dark clothes.
             Though the use of color symbolism is parallel in the two poems, the religious perspectives vary immensely. In the first poem, God and Heaven are looked to as a source of hope and salvation from the hell of chimney sweeping. In the dream, the Angel unlocks their chimney responsibilities and frees them by bringing them to heaven. Tom's told by the Angel that "is he'd be a good boy, / He'd have God for his father & never want joy" (19-20). The promise of heavenly protection from harm and despair causes Tom to awake "happy & warm" (23) despite his unchanging responsibilities. The promise, though given through a dream, is one that gives Tom hope and perseverance to continue with his duties to be rewarded in the end. He gets a taste of paradise, which motivates him to make this decision. Contrastingly, in the second poem, God is condemned by the child for letting him live such a miserable life. The child has feigned happiness, which then makes his parents believe "they have done me no injury" (10). The parents then believe God to be praise-worthy, when really, the child sees any higher power, including God and the Priest and the King, to be responsible for creating "the heaven of our misery" (12). The child is left feeling hopeless from salvation of this state of despair, therefore casting a perspective of negativity on the passiveness of God.
             Through the lenses of color and religion, distinct tones are created in the poems. The first, given the promise of heavenly salvation and the chance to become clean from the dark soot gives the children and the reader a feeling of hope. When they awake, "Tho' the morning was cold, Tom was happy & warm; / So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm" (23-24). The warmth is characterized by this hope, that one day there will be light and joy. The hopeful tone however is only established by the second half of the poem. At the beginning, the tones of both poems seem to match. There is despair in hopelessness is exhibited when the speaker's pitying situation is described: "When my mother dies I was very young, / And my father sold me while yet my tongue / Could scarcely cry '' weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!'" (1-3). At so young, the child is forced to live a life of an adult. The second poem starts the same way, as the child cries the same chimney sweep call. However, the tone of hopelessness never shifts. The child is little and helpless, stuck in his "heaven of our misery" (12). His parents are unable to notice his agony and God seems to ignore his pleas for salvation. Never is he given a sign of hope or change, as he stays in his pitiful curled-up state in the snow, weighed down by his black cloak.
                Both poems identify the feelings of children forced to be chimney sweeps at shockingly young ages, and both muster pity and sorrow for their miserable states. The first appeals more to the innocence of hope without being able to realize the impending and unchanging despair. The second explores a child who has realized the depth and permanence of his blackened childhood, creating a more heart-wrenching mood in the reader.

Pride and Prejudice 10

               The scandal regarding Lydia and Mr. Wickham strongly highlights the priorities and expectations of the time. Upon first reading about their scandalous runaway, I immediately thought the characters were worried for young Lydia's safety from Wickam's scheming ways. However, I came to realize that their worry was nearly entirely stemmed from reputation. Her having not yet married Wickham before their adventurous escape is the prime reason for stress, for if word was to get out of her impropriety and foolishness, Lydia's reputation, and thus her ability to marry later in life, would be entirely terminated. Along with her own, the reputation of the Bennet family would be equally at stake, and they would be looked down upon by society forevermore. Thus, news of the marriage to take place between Lydia and Wickham comes as a great relief. Mrs. Bennet becomes the most exited of them all. Elizabeth notes the disconnect and so sudden transition between dissaproval towards Lydia to rejoicing of her marriage: "'How strange this is! And for this we are to be thankful. That they should marry, small as is their chance of happiness, and wretched as is his character, we are forced to rejoice!'" (258). The clear priority in the Bennet household and in society at the time is to prevent scandal from permanently ruining reputation, even if it means marriage to a man known to have scheming and manipulative tendencies.

Pride and Prejudice 8 & 9

                 As Elizabeth goes on reflecting on Mr. Darcy's revelations in his explanatory letter to her, she begins to perceive the world slightly differently. In a conversation with Mr. Wickham, she takes in the information of his scheming ways and hints of the information she has been given. When asked of Mr. Darcy, she makes note: "'When I said that he improved on acquaintance, I did not mean that either his mind or manners were in a state of improvement, but that from knowing him better, his disposition was better understood'" (200). Her statement illustrates how though he has acted favorably towards her in their latest acquaintances, she does not perceive his behavior as being improved. However she does begin to view him differently. With the explanation of the iniquity of Mr. Wickham, Elizabeth is able to correct one of her false notions of his selfishness. Following her statement, she still resists loving feelings toward Mr. Darcy, even when they manage to make a presence in her mind. For the moment, she likes him enough to trust his word against Wickham's, which is a start to a hopefully full acceptance later.