[5] htps://www.peacepropagation.com/aspx-quran-and-science-of-geology/Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on 'Why i shouldn't violent video games be banned? Get the original essay William Blake's dark piece, "The Chimney Sweeper", reveals the underlying injustices of the 18th century. In the dark streets of London, the exploitation of children is at the heart of his piece two perspectives reveal how innocence and experience played a role in each point of view. There are two versions of this piece: one is present in "Songs of Innocence", the other in "Songs of Experience". different views, one through the eyes of innocence, the other through experience. By reading both versions carefully, the reader can fully understand Blake's overall message. Together, the two perspectives convey his message about the manipulation of children and about how they were forced to serve a system that oppressed them Blake opens his poem in the “Songs of Innocence” by setting a painful scene. In the first line, Blake states that the speaker's mother had died. Before he can even mourn his death, he is sold to be a chimney sweep. They were deplorable conditions. The speaker states, “while still my tongue / Could scarce cry” cry! 'cry! 'cry! 'cry!'” (lines 2-3). Chimney sweeps typically shouted, “sweep, sweep, sweep,” in the streets of London, however, this phrase reveals that in his misery, the speaker can only cry. He represents thousands of children who are unhappy due to their unfortunate circumstances. With the fourth line, Blake illustrates the pitiful image of children wiping out the misery shooting. Then there's Tom Dacre's introduction. He is an example of an innocent child enduring the traumatic reality of child labor. Despite his fatigue, he is full of innocence. In the sixth line, the speaker states that Dacre's hair "curled like a lamb's back" and was shaved off. This is a symbol of Dacre's innocent life which is a sacrifice to a corrupt society. The lamb “symbolizes the Christian theme of the purity of Christ” (Afrin 28). Dacre's purity is like that of Christ, who is referred to as the sacrificial lamb. The speaker tries to comfort his young friend Dacre by seeing the light in a dark situation. The speaker reminds Tom that if he had a shaved head, no one would be able to see the soot in his white hair. Blake includes his shaved white hair because it's as if his playful innocence has been removed. His white purity is forcibly taken away from him and he and other children are forced to become chimney sweeps. Children are forced to wear soot which robs them of innocence and degrades them. In the ninth line, Dacre dreams of his friends and thousands of chimney sweeps trapped in "coffins of black." The black coffins are metaphors for the soot that traps them in slavery. He sees all his friends and thousands of children like him, trapped in this dark fate. Mentions "Dick, Joe, Ned and Jack" in the 11th line. The personalization of children makes their miserable fate even sadder. The addition of the characters makes the reader feel sympathy for the children. Unfortunately for Dacre and his friends, the dream is an accurate representation of their reality. The image of a coffin represented the danger hidden by the work done. He also hinted that death could result from their work. By the thirteenth line, Dacre's dark dream turns to hope. He imagines a scene that could set him and all his friends free: a heavenly dream. And there came an angel who had a bright key, and opened the coffins and delivered them all; Then down a green plain, leaping, laughing they run, And wash themselves in a river and shine in thesun. (lines 13-16) He dreams that the angel releases them from their coffins. In the dream the children are innocent again and can finally enjoy being children. They run across the green plains and are washed and clean. In the seventeenth line it states "that naked and white, all their bags left behind." The phrase “naked and white” can be related to Adam and Eve. The book of Genesis states, “Adam and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed” (New International Version, Genesis 2:25). This emphasizes the theme of innocence because in heaven there is no shame or immorality. In the same line, the children leave behind “all their bags,” their pain and the Earth's struggles (line 17). Tom's faith immediately brings him joy in the dream and he forgets his melancholy situation. The angel then tells Tom that if he is a good boy he can finally have a loving father, who is God. As a child neglected by love, this promise means everything to Tom and all abandoned chimney sweep children. This dream was not realistic on Earth; however, in death, he had the chance to experience joy and love, which gave him hope. In the final stanza, Tom awakens from his encouraging dream. He begins his work, warm and comforted, knowing that peace awaits him for all eternity in heaven. The last line echoes his strong faith by stating, “So if all do their duty, they need fear no harm” (line 24). He believed that if everyone did what they were supposed to do, they wouldn't have to worry, because heaven awaits them. This last verse resonates with the beliefs of Christianity, that whatever one endures on Earth, there is eternal peace and joy in heaven. According to Blake, it is Tom Dacre's innocence that keeps him oppressed and enslaved to a corrupt society. He innocently believed that the injustice he suffered was okay as long as he had peace in heaven. Blake believed that this mentality made many children vulnerable to the continued abuse of child labor. They were taught that they would have joy in heaven, so they should obey the rules and sweep cheerfully. Only through death could they be free. In “Songs of Experience”, the perspective is completely different. There is no specific character in this version that makes it impersonal. The first line begins with “A little black thing in the snow.” We are not talking about a child, but about a “thing” covered in black in the midst of now. This “thing” is a chimney sweep covered in soot, abandoned in the cold snow. Starting from the fact that the child is a "thing", you dehumanize him. Black symbolizes that the child is impure, which means that he has lost his innocent nature. The snow symbolizes “the desolation and death that surrounds the child” and illustrates “the cold and indifferent world in which he lives” (Afrin 28). In the second line the child shouts “cry! cried! in notes of woe! This line is similar to the first poem with the repetition of “cry”; however, in this version, the baby cries with notes of sadness, as if the crying were a familiar song. He has become accustomed to his miserable situation. A passerby asks where the child's parents are, wondering why a child would be alone and abandoned. The child replies: “they both went to church to pray”. Ironically, the parents went to pray while their child was abandoned. Parents would rather find love in the church than love their child. Blake uses this ironic scene to describe how the children were forgotten, while their sinful parents and authority figures prayed. In the fifth line, the speaker tells the curious viewer how he was happy and smiling in the snow. However, he says “they dressed me in clothes of death / and taught me tosing notes of pain” (lines 7-8). The child claims to be full of joy, but then they clothed him in clothes of death. The fact that the parent forced the child to become a chimney sweeper was like dressing him in clothes of death. Death clothes could also be the flimsy, non-protective clothing that parents gave to their children when it was cold. He says they taught him to sing notes of sorrow, which means they took away his happiness and gave him unhappiness. He was once happy; however, his own parents brought him pain. Blake uses this verse, not only does he blame his parents, but he goes on to blame “the rich and powerful who exploit the poor and weak” (Afrin 28). In the last stanza, the child states that the parents think they have not harmed him because he is still laughing and can find joy; but he knows they hurt him. And it's not just his parents who are responsible, but the government itself. And because I am happy and dance and sing, they think they have done me no harm, and have gone to praise God and his Priest and King, who make a paradise of our misery." (lines 9-12) This stanza explains how exploitation of children spiritually and psychologically can harm them Although the child appears happy at times, it does not excuse them for the trauma and abuse the parents have subjected their child to. Blake uses the last two lines as an attack on the government and the church The child mentions that his parents went to praise "God and his priest and king", even though the child feels responsible for his slavery (line 11, for him, they brought only despair. The child feels robbed of his purity to serve people of supremacy who make [his] misery a “paradise” (line 12, Blake included this to show that the child is being abused by his parents, and is also being abused by a system created against him). . God, the priest and the king have allowed these injustices to afflict thousands of children across London. In this piece, Blake reveals that children are being robbed of innocence and childhood. According to the speaker, the parents come out to praise God, honor the priest, and serve the king; however, they make the misery of children their paradise. Understanding both perspectives is critical to understanding Blake's overall message: the exploitation of the powerless. Children are unhappy but have no authority, which makes them vulnerable. The two perspectives reveal how a helpless child can react to these unjust conditions. In “Songs of Innocence,” the speaker's attitude reveals how a child's innocence can create an optimistic outlook. However, in “Songs of experience,” Blake shows how corruption in society can destroy this childlike optimism. Pairing the two perspectives is important because it "helps readers see Blake's message more clearly" and both poems offer "multiple perspectives on the same issue." (McClard 7). Blake wanted to expose a system that exploited children for selfish gain. Children are innocent and trusting by nature. This admirable quality has been manipulated against them. The endings are also different and Blake used this contrast to distinguish innocence from experience. In “Songs of Innocence,” the verse ends with, “Therefore, if all do their duty, they need fear no harm” (verse 24). This ending reveals that children are subservient to society. The child believes that if he does not cause trouble, he will have peace in heaven. This is a dangerous thought, but the child is submissive by nature. Children lack the “capacity for abstract thought” and “see their duty as whatever someone tells them it is.” (McClard 14). This is true, Tom Dacre believes that if he had done what his authorities told him, he would have.