The Chimney Sweeper”

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THE SUFFERING OF THE WORKING CLASS DURING THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION IN WILLIAM BLAKE’S “THE CHIMNEY SWEEPER”

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters

By AMBROSIUS HESTU BASWARA ATYASA MAHARDIKENGRAT Student Number: 174214171

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS UNIVERSITAS SANATA DHARMA YOGYAKARTA 2021 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

THE SUFFERING OF THE WORKING CLASS DURING THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION IN WILLIAM BLAKE’S “THE CHIMNEY SWEEPER”

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters

By AMBROSIUS HESTU BASWARA ATYASA MAHARDIKENGRAT Student Number: 174214171

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS UNIVERSITAS SANATA DHARMA YOGYAKARTA 2021 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

THINK AND GROW RICH (NAPOLEON HILL)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE ...... ii APPROVAL PAGE ...... iii ACCEPTANCE PAGE ...... iv STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ...... v LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH .. vi MOTTO PAGE ...... vii DEDICATION PAGE ...... viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... ix TABLE OF CONTENTS ...... x ABSTRACT ...... xii ABSTRAK ...... xiii

CHAPTER I ...... 1 INTRODUCTION ...... 1 A. Background of the Study ...... 1 B. Problem Formulation ...... 3 C. Objectives of the Study ...... 3 D. Definition of Terms ...... 4 REVIEW OF LITERATURE ...... 6 A. Review of Related Studies ...... 6 B. Review of Related Theories ...... 9 C. Theoretical Framework ...... 16 CHAPTER III ...... 18 METHODOLOGY ...... 18 A. Object of the Study...... 18 B. Approach of the Study ...... 19 C. Method of the Study ...... 20 CHAPTER IV ...... 22 ANALYSIS ...... 22 A. Explication of the Poem ...... 22 B. The Portrayal of the Working Class’s Suffering through the Figurative Languages ...... 25 C. The Ways to Keep The Working Class’ Suffering ...... 36 CHAPTER V ...... 40

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CONCLUSION ...... 40

REFERENCES ...... 43 APPENDIX ...... 46

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ABSTRACT

MAHARDIKENGRAT, AMBROSIUS HESTU BASWARA ATYASA. (2020). The Suffering of The Working Class in William Blake’s “The Chimney Sweeper”. Yogyakarta: English Letters Department, Faculty of English Department, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

The first industrial revolution in Britain evidently brought many negative effects. The poem entitles “The Chimney Sweeper” by William Blake portrays the negative effects of industrial revolution to the working class. This study aims to reveal the suffering of the working class during the first industrial revolution.

This study has two objectives. The first objective is to reveal the portrayal of the working-class’ and their suffering in the poem. After that, the second objective is to discover the ways the industrial revolution keeps down the working class.

This study utilizes Marxist criticism as the approach. To support the analysis of the poem, the writer employs the theory of figurative languages, specifically irony, symbol, metaphor, and hyperbole. For the additional theory, the writer employs Marxist theory of class to get the comprehensive analysis.

Through the analysis, the writer finds out that the suffering of the working class can be revealed through the four figurative languages. In the irony, the poem portrays the asymmetrical treatment for the working class. In the symbol, the poem reveals the religious institutions’ involvement to suppress the working class. In the metaphor, the poem portrays the dangerous work condition of the working class. In the hyperbole, the poem shows dreams of the greatest celebrations after being freed by the Angel. There are three ways for the industrial revolution to keep down the working class. The first way is great power of the bourgeoisie supported by government, the second is class division, and the last is propaganda.

Keywords: Working Class, Suffering, Industrial Revolution

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ABSTRAK

Revolusi Industri yang pertama di Inggris rupanya membawa banyak dampak negatif. Puisi yang berjudul “The Chimney Sweeper” karangan William Blake melukiskan dampak negatif revolusi industri bagi kelas pekerja. Studi ini bertujuan untuk mengungkap penderitaan kelas pekerja selama revolusi industri yang pertama.

Studi ini memiliki dua tujuan. Tujuan yang pertama adalah menguak penggambaran kelas pekerja dan penderitaan mereka di dalam puisi tersebut. Kemudian, tujuan kedua adalah menyibak alasan – alasan mendasar dari kelanggengan penderitaan kelas pekerja.

Studi ini menggunakan kritik Marxist sebagai pendekatan. Untuk mendukung analisis puisi, penulis menggunakan teori majas, secara khusus ironi, simbol, metafora, dan hiperbola. Untuk teori tambahan, penulis menggunakan teori kelas menurut Marx untuk mendapatkan analisis yang komprehensif.

Melalui analisis tersebut, penulis menemukan bahwa penderitaan kelas pekerja dapat dilihat melalui empat majas. Di dalam majas ironi, puisi tersebut menggambarkan perlakuan tidak selaras kepada kelas pekerja. Di dalam majas simbol, puisi tersebut menguak keterlibatan institusi religius untuk menindas kelas pekerja. Di dalam majas metafora, puisi tersebut menggambarkan keadaan pekerjaan yang membahayakan untuk kelas pekerja. Di dalam majas hiperbola, puisi tersebut menunjukkan mimpi perayaan yang sangat elok karena telah dibebaskan oleh malaikat. Terdapat tiga cara bagi revolusi industri untuk mempertahankan posisi kelas pekerja agar tetap tertindas. Yang pertama adalah kekuasaan kaum borjuis yang didukung oleh pemerintah, yang kedua adalah sistem pembagian kelas, yang terakhir adalah propaganda.

Kata kunci: Working Class, Suffering, Industrial Revolution

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

The first industrial revolution in Britain in the 18th century awakened people about the coming of the new era. This new era was pointed out by the new inventions that never existed before but surprisingly could grow the social and economic aspect rapidly. Encyclopedia Britannica mentions the new inventions as follows: (1) new machines, such as the spinning jenny and the power loom that increased production with a smaller expenditure of human energy, (2) a new organization of work known as the factory system, which entailed the increased division of labor and specialization of function, etc. (britannica.com, 2019). These new inventions attracted the people, mainly those who lived in rural areas or countryside, to move to the industrial area. They started to leave their home and settle in the industrial area in droves since they wanted to increase their living standards. This population shift from the rural areas to the industrial area is called urbanization.

Urbanization during the industrial revolution was massive. Williamson states that the share of the urban population rose from 25,9% in 1776 to 65,2% in 1871

(Williamson, 1988, p. 287). Khan shows that between 1680 and 1820, the population of England increased by 133%. Next, between 1820 and 1900, it rose another 166% (Khan, 2008). This situation led to overpopulation in the industrial area, causing various poor living conditions, such as industrial pollution,

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overcrowded settlement, terrible sanitation, and unemployment. The shift of workers from the countryside was very high. Some of them fulfilled the factories’ jobs, but some could not get employed (Park, 2008). The workers would always need money to support their household, considering that living in the central industry area required more money than in the countryside. As a result, people were willing to be paid cheaply, as long as they could earn several incomes.

The real situation in the field was not as simple as that. People truly willingly worked with low income, but it was also common during the industrial revolution that people also involved their children in supporting their financial household. Jane

Humphries, Oxford's Professor, found that the involvement of children during the industrial revolution was much more common and economically significant than previously realized. Her estimates suggest that in the early 19th century, England had more than a million child workers (including around 350,000 seven to 10-year- olds), accounting for 15 percent of the total labor force (Keys, 2010).

On a particular occasion, the low-income family even sold their children for apprenticeship (Iverson, 2016). Reed confirms the statement by stating that most children who involved in the industrial revolution were orphans; a few were victims of negligent parents or parents whose health or lack of skills kept them from earning sufficient income to care for a family (Reed, 2001). The parents were willing to sell their children to reduce the household cost and save them from starvation. The sad story of children who involved in the industrial revolution was very well reflected by an English poet, William Blake, through one of his poems entitled “The

Chimney Sweeper”.

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“The Chimney Sweeper” tells about the struggle of children who faced the work realm. The poem portrays the hard-luck of an orphan who loses his childhood and has to work in the chimney sweep business. This research would discuss the poem related to the involvement of children during the industrial revolution. The writer chooses the first industrial revolution as the topic because it had dark history for the children as the working class. The glorious of industrial revolution ironically was supported by the working class’ suffering and it caused many social problems.

By utilizing the Marxist approach, the research would focus on the suffering faced by the working-class, specifically during the first industrial revolution in

Britain in the 18th century. In Marx perspective, the children involvement in the industry automatically classifies them into the working class since Marx only divides the class society into two classes, the bourgeoisie and the working class

(Chappelow, 2019).

B. Problem Formulation

Based on the background of the study, the study focuses on the two problem formulation. Those problems formulation are:

1. How does “The Chimney Sweeper” portray the working-class and their

suffering during the industrial revolution?

2. How does the industrial revolution system consistently keep the working

class suffering?

C. Objectives of the Study

This research aims to answer the problem formulation as straightforward as possible. Starting from the first research question, this research attempts to reveal

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the portrayal of the working-class’ and their suffering in the poem. After that, this study attempts to discover the ways industrial revolution system consistently keep down the working class.

D. Definition of Terms

Before going to the next chapter, some definitions of terms in this research should be understood to make the same perspective and understanding. There are three definitions of terms as the keywords in this research. The first is suffering.

According to Bueno-Gómez, “suffering is proposed to be defined as an unpleasant or even anguishing experience” (Bueno-Gómez, 2017). He confirms that suffering is an embodied experience that can be felt in a person’s heart’s rhythm. Several social problems, such as: "poverty, social exclusion, forceful social inclusion (like peer pressure), forced displacement and uprooting; existential and personal problems like grief and stress; anxiety, or fear can be considered as the cause of suffering (Bueno-Gómez, 2017).

The second definition of term is working class. The working class is commonly defined through three methods; those are occupation, income, or education. Michael Zweig defines the term of the working class as "people who, when they go to work or when they act as citizens, have comparatively little power or authority. They are the people who do their jobs under more or less close supervision, who have little control over the pace or the content of their work, who aren’t the boss of anyone” (Draut, 2018). Practically, the working-class persons can be marked by low-wage jobs, non-skilled workers, or physical workers (Kenton,

2020).

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The third definition of term is industrial revolution. Encyclopedia Britannica defines the term industrial revolution as the rapid process of change from an agrarian and handicraft economy to industry and machine manufacturing in Britain in the 18th century, specifically from 1760 to 1840 (Britannica.com, 2019).

Merriam-Webster explains that the industrial revolution was marked by the general introduction of power-driven machinery or an essential change in the prevailing types and methods of using such machines (Merriam-Webster.com, 2020).

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CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

This chapter consists of three parts. The first part discusses the related studies, which consist of four related studies. They are the final project, journal article, graduate thesis, and undergraduate thesis. These related studies are essential to be referenced and to distinguish this research from the other researches. The second part discusses poetic device theories and Marxist theory of class. The last part discusses the significance of the theories to solve problem formulation.

A. Review of Related Studies

The first related study is a final project equal to partial fulfillment of S-1 degree's requirement in literature. The final project is Child Exploitation as

Reflected in William Blake’s “The Chimney Sweeper” by Nicodemus Johan

Kurnianto (2019). Kurnianto took “The chimney Sweeper” because the poem contains many histories of situation in the past and the author’s experience, specifically on child labor exploitation. He used the sociology of literature approach to examine his study. He formulated two research questions in the final project. The first is about diction, symbolism, and irony in the poem, and the second is about the description of child labor exploitation in the poem (Kurnianto, 2019, pp. 1 - 2).

Kurnianto used library research to solve the problem formulation. In the study, he found that “The poem “The Chimney Sweeper” is set against the dark background of child labor that was prominent in England in the later eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries” (Kurnianto, 2019, p. 19). He also found two solutions

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to be free for the chimney sweepers. The first solution is dismissing since the body has grown up. The second solution is through a spiritual or religious way. He declared, “Be a good boy and they will get a blissful afterlife just like what the

Angel said” (Kurnianto, 2019, p. 19).

The second related study is a journal article entitled “The Analysis of Wiliam

Blake’s Poem The Chimney Sweeper” by Ketut Ayu Ary Wardani (2014). The journal article uses biographical as the approach. Then, she formulated two problem formulation. The first is about the message that is intended by the poem to the readers. The second is about the awareness of the children that they might be facing death any day. For the methodology, Wardani used library research (Wardani,

2014, pp. 1 – 3).

In the paper, Wardani found that the poem portrays chimney sweeping as a nasty business. It was because the business did not care about adequate sanitation for child labor. The inadequate sanitation was very dangerous for children because the soot of chimneys could cause cancer. At the end of the paper, Wardani claims that, “The Chimney Sweeper is about how childhood innocence is destroyed, taken away, or ruined by mean old adults” (Wardani, 2014, p. 5).

The third related study is a graduate thesis entitled New Perspectives on Paul and Marx: William Blake’s “The Chimney Sweeper” in Songs of Innocence and

Experience by Lianna Jean Rose Manibog (2018). Manibog used library research to conduct the graduate thesis. Through the Marxist view, Manibog argued that the poem is notoriously critical of religion. The poem plays a terrifying reality of the dangers of religion in the form of a fable. It demonstrates how ideological

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manipulation functions when appropriated by governing authorities. Through a new perspective on Paul, Manibog argued that there is a hope of change and a possibility for goodness, even in Blake's bleak portrayal of the ugliest of all possible moments of religious ideology. Manibog stated that “Paul insisted that the crucial victory had already been won and that the victory in question was a victory won not by violence but over violence itself” (Manibog, 2018, p. 20). In conclusion, Manibog stated that instead of fighting against the flesh-and-blood men who stood over Blake's chimney sweeper boys, the true enemies to be fought are the powers of death. Powers of death are “essentially the powers of darkness and evil that were wielding these human beings as their puppets of oppression” (Manibog, 2018, p. 22).

The fourth related study is an undergraduate thesis entitled Proletariat’s

Reaction Toward Class Oppression In Andrew Niccol’s In Time: A Marxist Study by Nelly (2018). This related study has the same approach as the writer’s thesis, but it has different data. Nelly focused on the analysis of the efforts of the working class who fights back for equality. She formulated three problem formulation. The first is about the portrayal of the main character and setting in the film. The second is about the oppression experienced by the proletariat. The third is about the reaction of the oppressions (Nelly, 2018, pp. 2 – 4). Nelly applied library research, specifically qualitative research to conduct the study (Nelly, 2018, p. 25).

In the study, Nelly found that the main character is a poor person. It can be seen through his simple house compared to the bigger house owned by upper-class people. Simultaneously, the main character is a good-looking person, and he has a good attitude. They are portrayed through the subjective and objective point of view

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of the character. Nelly discovered the proletariat’s oppressions are how the upper- class people keep raising the price of things, whereas the proletariat or the workers are paid low. The last, Nelly revealed that the main character reacts to the oppression through class struggle against the upper class (Nelly, 2018, pp. 46 – 50).

The three related studies above have a similarity in the object of the study.

The researchers employ the same poem entitled "The Chimney Sweeper" by

William Blake, but they analyze the poem with different focuses, which are different from this research. Kurnianto focused on the sociological analysis.

Wardani focused on the biographical analysis. Manibog focused on the comparative and elaboration study from the two different perspectives. While this research focuses on the extrinsic element, specifically on the working-class suffering from the Marxist approach. The fourth research has a different object of the study, but it has the same approach and discussion about the working class or proletariat.

However, the listed review of related studies is very significant in contributing to this research because they have the same object. In contrast, the other has the same approach but a different object.

B. Review of Related Theories

1. The Theory of Figurative Language

Wulandari declares that figurative language is simply the opposite of literal language (Wulandari, 2013, p. 15). Figurative language can be considered as a non- literal language because what is said may have other meanings than its literal meaning. The basic concept of figurative language is delivering indirect or veiled meanings (Wulandari, 2013, p. 15). In this research, the writer employs four

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figurative languages to support the research analysis. The four figurative languages are irony, metaphor, symbol, and hyperbole. a. Irony

Traditional theories, according to Jorgensen, Miller, and Sperber (1984), assume “that an ironist uses a figurative meaning opposite to the literal meaning of the utterance (p. 112). The irony is one of the literary devices which tells contradictory statements or situations. It reveals a reality that is different from what appears to be true. Typical cases of irony are those where the primary meaning of the utterance is blatantly untrue, as when a speaker calls a mean-spirited acquaintance a fine friend, or when one praises the weather (What a beautiful day!) even though it is hopelessly rainy outside (Dancygier & Sweetser, 2014, p. 186) b. Metaphor

Metaphor is a comparison between two otherwise unrelated things (Jensen,

2020). It makes an implicit, implied, or hidden comparison between two unrelated things, but they share common characteristics. The comparison is not expressed but us created when a figurative term is substituted for or identified with the literal term

(Johnson & Arp, 2018, p. 774). Metaphor only works through the resemblance of two contradictory or different objects based on a single or some common characteristics. By bringing two unrelated things into comparison, metaphors add creativity and clarity to writing or everyday speech that allow people to see things differently. A metaphor aims to communicate complex images and feelings to the readers and state the most emotive comparisons. The authors of literary works often use metaphors to go beyond short phrases (Jensen, 2020).

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c. Symbol

Symbol is something that means more than what it suggests on the surface. It

may be an object, a person, a situation, an action, or some other element that has a

literal meaning in the story but that suggests or represents other meanings as well

(Johnson & Arp, 2018, p. 286). There are four clues to identify symbolic meanings

(Johnson & Arp, 2018, pp. 291-293), those are:

i. The story itself must furnish a clue that a detail is to be taken symbolically.

Symbols nearly always signal their existence by emphasis, repetition, or

position.

ii. The meaning of a literary symbol must be established and supported by the

entire context of the story. The symbol has its meaning in the story, not

outside it. iii. To be called a symbol, an item must suggest a meaning different in kind from

its literal meaning. A symbol is something more than the representative of a

class or type.

iv. A symbol may have more than one meaning. It may suggest a cluster of

meanings. The possibility of complex meaning plus concreteness and

emotional power gives the symbol its peculiar compressive value.

d. Hyperbole

The term hyperbole has ancient origins. It combines one Greek term that

means ‘over’ and ‘cast’ or ‘throw’. Hyperbole describes the sense of overreaching

or grasping beyond what is necessary to describe a certain feeling, experience, or

response (Passarello, 2019). When using hyperbole, speakers do no say X, but they

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say something more than X. They attempt to exceed the limits that the hearers expect by using exaggeration (Aljadaan, 2017). Rational speech cannot describe exaggeration experience, but hyperbole can convey the sense that larger than life

(Passarello, 2019).

2. Marxist Theory of Class

Britannica Encyclopedia states Marxism is a body of doctrine developed by

Karl Marx and, to a lesser extent, by Friedrich Engels in the mid-19th century

(McLellan & Chambre, 2020). Marxism claims that things can be explained without assuming a world or forces, including something beyond the natural world and society. It looks for concrete, scientific, and logical explanation of the world of observable fact, compared to the idealist philosophy that believes in a spiritual

'world elsewhere', religious explanation of life and conduct (Barry, 2009, p. 150).

The core of Marxism is the belief in economic determinism. It argues that society is primarily constituted by a base (the material means of production, distribution, and exchange). After that, society is constituted by a superstructure

(cultural world of ideas, art, religion, law, etc.). They are all determined or shaped by the nature of the economic base, the most dominant part of society (Barry, 2009, pp. 150 – 151). The socio-economic system where people live does much more than determining who has the most power (Nelly, 2014, p. 15).

Marxism argues that in a capitalist system, society is made into two classes.

The first class is the bourgeoisie or business owners. This class controls the means of production. The second class is the proletariat or workers (Chappelow, 2019).

Marx describes the working class as the proletariat too (Kenton, 2020). The children

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involvement in the industry during the industrial revolution automatically classify them into the working class since their indicators are fit in the class. The working class practically can be marked by low-wage jobs, non-skilled workers, or physical workers (Kenton, 2020). They work to transform raw commodities into valuable economic goods. The bourgeoisie's control of the means of production gives them power over the workers, limiting the workers’ ability to produce and obtain what they need to survive (Chappelow, 2019).

The capitalist system’s practice exploits the working-class by utilizing them to achieve the bourgeoisie’s class interest. In setting up production conditions, the capitalist purchases the workers’ labor power — their ability to work — for the day.

The cost of this commodity is determined in the same way as the cost of every other, i.e., in terms of the amount of socially necessary workers’ power required to produce it. In this case, the value of a day’s workers’ power is the value of commodities needed to keep the workers alive for a day (Wolff, 2017). However, in fact, workers’ wages fall far short of the price of the products they make. As a result, this system makes the workers dependent on the employer to keep them alive, and they have to adjust to the capitalist system until they are alienated.

Alienation is the state of feeling estranged or separated from one’s milieu, work, products of work, or self (Britannica.com, 2018). The alienation of workers is that the more the workers produce, the less they have to consume, and the more values they create, the more they devalue themselves because their product and their work are estranged from them. Instead of being dominated by them, these products dominate them. The life of the workers depends on things that they have

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created, but that is not them. Instead of finding their rightful existence through work, they lose it in the world of external things: no work, no pay. Under these conditions, work denies the fullness of concrete humanity (McLellan & Chambre,

2020). The workers become ‘de-skilled’ because they are made to perform fragmented. They do repetitive tasks in a sequence in which they have no overall grasp. Alienation finally leads the workers to sink to the level of commodities and become the most wretched of commodities (Barry, 2002, p. 151).

To maintain the capitalist system, power, and privilege, the bourgeoisie employs social institutions as tools and weapons against the proletariat. The government enforces the bourgeoisie’s will by physical coercion to enforce the laws and private property rights to the means of production. The media and academics produce propaganda to suppress awareness of class relations among the proletariat and then rationalize the capitalist system. Religion institutions also provide a similar function to convince the proletariat to accept and submit to their exploitation based on fictional divine sanction. Marx criticizes this evil system through his idea,

“the opium of the people” (Chappelow, 2019).

“Religion is the opium of the people” is one of the famous quotes from Marx.

In the complete sentence, Marx says, “Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people”. This quote states that religion is the manifestation of suffering and also a critique of the suffering. Marx appreciates the existence of religion, but at the same time, he argues that the power of religion can create the illusion of happiness in the mind and soul. Religion can then be the same as opium since it can reduce

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pain and suffering (Pertiwi, 2017). For him, faith is something that “the people” conjured for themselves, a source of phony happiness to which they turn to help numb the pain of reality. This illusion of happiness will lead to weaker resistance from the lower class to the upper class. Then, the dehumanization ironically will be perpetuated with the help of organized religion with its churches, doctrines, and priests being a useful tool by which the ruling classes kept the masses supine (Blau,

2013).

The solution to all these inequalities, according to Marx, is through a class struggle. Marxism argues that the struggle between social classes, specifically between the bourgeoisie, or capitalists, and the proletariat, or workers, defines economic relations in a capitalist economy and will inevitably lead to revolutionary communism (Chappelow, 2019). Through revolutionary communism, Marxism aims to make a classless society based on the common ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange (Barry, 2009, p. 150) in which wealth, opportunity, and education were accessible for all people (Bressler in Suwardi,

2020).

According to the Marxist tradition in D’Amato (1999), capitalism is a society based on exploitation. It requires various means to oppress and keep down the working class since it is founded on massive inequality. The bourgeoisie uses the value of divide and rule, both as a means to weaken any opposition against them and as a means to squeeze much profit from the working class (D’Amato, 1999).

The working class is not only an exploited class, but it is also an oppressed class. The people in this class receive worse education, worse job opportunities,

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low wages, and worse housing than the daughters and sons of the bourgeoisie. The working-class people are constantly reminded that they do not possess the intelligence or capabilities of those who are above them in the social class. The working class is always disadvantaged at every step, stressed under financial and family constraints, forced to work in a dangerous job, forced to work for 12 (or more) hours, and, therefore, more likely to suffer from various physical and mental ailments. In turn, working-class people are forced to accept the lowest quality of health care and working conditions (D’Amato, 1999). These indicators, based on

Marx’s view, have implications for the suffering of the working class.

As Bueno-Gómez (2017) states, suffering is an unpleasant or even anguishing experience. Suffering is an embodiment of experience which a person cannot but feel in the heart's rhythm. Social problems like poverty, social exclusion, forceful social inclusion, forced displacement, uprooting, etc. can cause suffering. It means that suffering is not only has a physical and psychological aspect, but also it has sociocultural dimensions. The definition of suffering highlights the relevance of suffering in daily life and its effect on people shaped by cultural and social influences (Bueno-Gómez, 2017).

C. Theoretical Framework

This research is entitled The Suffering of The Working Class During The

Industrial Revolution in William Blake's The Chimney Sweeper. It needs several theories to support the analysis and solve the problem formulation. The focus of this research is portraying the working-class' suffering during the industrial revolution in the poem. The theory of figurative languages, such as metaphor,

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hyperbole, and irony are used to understand the working-class' portrayal in the poem. After that, this research attempts to reveal the portrayal of the working-class' suffering during the industrial revolution. Thus, the writer uses the theory of figurative languages and the Marxist theory of class to comprehend the text and context of the working class' suffering during the industrial revolution in the poem.

The Marxism theory of class explains the working-class' position based on the relation between the bourgeoisie and the working-class. In the end, this research wants to understand the reason for the perpetual suffering of the working-class. The elaboration between figurative languages theory and Marxism theory of class reveals the cause of suffering faced by the working-class.

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CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

A. Object of the Study

The object of this study is a poem entitled “The Chimney Sweeper” by

William Blake. BBC site considers Blake as insane and largely disregarded by his peers. However, now, William Blake, the visionary poet and engraver, is recognized among the greatest contributors to English literature and art (bbc.co.uk,

2014). “The Chimney Sweeper” is one of Blake's several poems in a book called

Songs of Innocence, published in 1789. In the book, Blake wrote his vision that embraces radical subjects such as poverty, children involvement in labor, abuse, the repressive nature of state and church, and the right of children to be treated as individuals with their desires (bl.uk, 2020). “The Chimney Sweeper” specifically stands for innocent children who are disadvantaged by becoming the working class under the repressive nature of state and church.

The poem tells the story of a child who works in a chimney sweep business.

The speaker’s mother died when he was very young, and then his father sold him to a master of chimney sweep business. He officially started being an orphan. After that, the speaker tells about the other chimney sweeper named Tom Dacre. Tom cried because the master shaved his hair to be bald. The speaker gave consolation to Tom by telling the advantage of being bald. The soot of the chimney cannot spoil

Tom’s white hair since Tom’s head is bare.

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In a night, Tom was sleeping and got such a sight in his dream. He and the other chimney sweepers were locked up in a black coffin. Suddenly, an Angel came with a bright key. He came to the chimney sweepers to set them free from the coffin.

The children were very happy. They went down to a green plain, leaping, running, and laughing. The children left their workbags and started to play on the clouds.

When they were playing, the Angel advised Tom that he would have God for his father if he would be a good boy. He would never want joy because joy already belongs to him by having God for his father.

Tom awoke from his beautiful dream. He picked his workbag and went to work. Even though the morning was cold, Tom was happy because of the consolation he got in the dream. He worked happily by remembering Angel's message. If the chimney sweepers do their duty, they do not need fear because they would get rewarded by becoming diligent chimney sweepers.

B. Approach of the Study

This study uses Marxist criticism as the approach of the study. In the context of literary criticism, Marxism maintains that a writer’s social class and its prevailing ideology have a major bearing on what is written. Instead of seeing authors as individuals who are genius and creative, the Marxism sees them as constantly formed by social contexts (Barry, 2009, p. 152). Marxist literary criticism works to explain the nature of a whole literary genre in terms of the social period that

'produced' the literary work (Barry, 2009, p. 161). Since this research's focus is the working-class during the industrial period, the Marxist literary approach is applicable and appropriate to support the research.

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C. Method of the Study

The method of this study uses library research. Library research is an investigation involving accepted facts, unknowns, speculation, logical procedures rigorously applied, verification, evaluation, repetition, and ultimately an interpretation of findings that extends understanding (George, 2008). This research uses two source categories; those are a primary source and secondary source. For the primary research, this research employs a poem entitled “The Chimney

Sweeper” by William Blake. This research employs books, e-books, websites, and articles that relate to figurative languages and Marxist theory for the secondary source. The books Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound & Sense, Figurative

Language, and experts’ explanation from Oregon State University YouTube channel are essential to compose the concept of figurative languages. After that, the book The Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory, articles entitled Karl Marx, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Marxism, and Industrial Revolution are essential to explain the concept of Marxism and also explain how it works very well during the industrial revolution era.

There were several steps to do in conducting library research. In the first step, the writer read the poem or the primary source. In the second step, the writer determined the problem formulation. In the third step, the writer read the secondary sources, which consisted of books, e-books, websites, and articles about literature, to determine the research's appropriate approach and theory. In the fourth step, the writer read several related literatures to help to answer the problem formulation.

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This step collaborated the analysis of the poem and the application of the theories.

In the last step, the writer drew conclusions of the research.

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CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS

This chapter provides the analysis of the research. The analysis consists of three parts. The first part is the explication of the poem. Explication is the basic part of comprehending the primary data. The second part is the answer to the first research question. This part employs figurative language analysis to answer the research question. The third part is the answer to the the second research question.

This part collaborates intrinsic and extrinsic analysis to get the comprehensive answer of the second research question.

A. Explication of the Poem

“The Chimney Sweeper” tells a story of children who work in the chimney sweep business. This poem begins with the narrator’s sad story of childhood. The narrator declared that his mother died when he was very young. Unfortunately, his father sold him instead of giving consolation, care, and nursing the motherless narrator. At this moment, the narrator officially became an orphan and the working class to make his living by joining a chimney sweep business. The narrator emphasized that he was very young to enter the realm of working. It is proven through his confession that he could not say “sweep” clearly, instead of weep weep weep. The very young narrator had to forget his beautiful childhood moment and start to work in a dirty workplace.

When my mother died I was very young, And my father sold me while yet my tongue Could scarcely cry " 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!" So your chimneys I sweep & in soot I sleep.

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(Blake, stanza 1, lines 1-4)

One day, the narrator told about his friend's story in the chimney sweep business.

His friend, Tom Dacre, cried because his hair was shaved. Watching Tom cried, the narrator tried to give consolation. The narrator says that it is not a big problem to lose the hair because when Tom's head is bare, the soil cannot spoil Tom's hair.

Simultaneously, the narrator implicitly also told that it is not a problem to lose a precious thing, such as hair, to support the work. For when the children are bare, they can work well and consequently produce better output. At this moment, the chimney sweep business prunes the children’s rights who are supposed to be playing and studying. The business shapes the children to be a perfect factor of production in order to get maximal output.

There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved, so I said, "Hush, Tom! never mind it, for when your head's bare, You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair." (Blake, stanza 2, lines 5-8)

The narrator told again about Tom's dream. On a quiet night, Tom had sight in his dream. There were thousands of sweepers who locked up in coffins of black.

The narrator called Tom's dream sight because it was a consciousness point where the children realized being exploited. Coffins of black represent the workplace of the chimney sweeper. It is represented as coffins of black because of the dark, tight, and dirty chimney that made children inside felt like in coffins of black. They had to face the dangerous workplace and possibly cause deformity and death so that the workplace is represented as coffins of black.

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And so he was quiet, & that very night, As Tom was a-sleeping he had such a sight! That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, & Jack, Were all of them locked up in coffins of black; (Blake, stanza 3, lines 9-12)

Suddenly, an Angel came with a bright key to save the children. The Angel opened the coffins of black and let them all free. The children celebrated their freedom by going down on a green plain. There, they were leaping, laughing, and running. Those were a great celebration of freedom. The children were exploited and pruned to work, but now, at least in sight of the dream, they get abundance reward from the suffering of working. They also wash their dirty body in a river until their body was clean and shining in the sun. Those were overstatements of joy to celebrate their true freedom from being exploited. The Angel gave an abundance of joy as compensation for all of the sufferings they had faced when they became the working class in the world.

And by came an Angel who had a bright key, And he opened the coffins & set them all free; Then down a green plain, leaping, laughing they run, And wash in a river and shine in the Sun. (Blake, stanza 4, lines 13-16)

After the children washed their dirty bodies in a river, they were naked and clean like a white color. They left their bags behind and rose on the clouds. They went on the clouds for sport in the wind. Those were still overstatements of joy and abundance reward from all their suffering. Then, the Angel advised Tom to be a good boy so that he would have God for his father, and he would never want joy anymore because he had God, the source, and true happiness. Through the message, the narrator would like to tell that God is not sleeping. God knows all the working-

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class suffering in the world, and He has prepared the great and best reward in heaven with one condition, be a good boy.

Then naked & white, all their bags left behind, They rise upon clouds, and sport in the wind. And the Angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy, He'd have God for his father & never want joy. (Blake, stanza 5, lines 17-20)

The sight in the dream was over. Tom awoke with the other chimney sweepers. They rose in the dark in which they had to face the reality of being exploited. They took their bags and brushes and went to work. Even though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm because of the sight in his dream. He knew that all of the sufferings in this world was not useless. God will give abundance of compensation for what he had done. Tom kept the Angel message 'be a good boy' in the working. Be a good boy is then translated into doing all the duty so that they need not fear harm. They were doing all the duties are the indicators of being a good boy. They now had to give up their freedom to follow and obey the employer's interest so that they would not get punishment from the employer.

And so Tom awoke; and we rose in the dark And got with our bags & our brushes to work Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy & warm; So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm. (Blake, stanza 6, lines 21-24)

B. The Portrayal of the Working Class’s Suffering through the Figurative

Languages

This part particularly provides the answer of the first research question. The answer would rely on the intrinsic element analysis through figurative languages.

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This part is divided into four parts. Each part stands for particular figurative languages analysis.

1. Irony

The irony is one of the literary devices which tells contradictory statements or situations. The portrayal of the working class in the poem can be found through the ironic statements which are blatantly untrue. The writer finds three ironies in the poem. The first irony is in the first stanza, specifically in the last line.

When my mother died I was very young, And my father sold me while yet my tongue Could scarcely cry " 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!" So your chimneys I sweep & in soot I sleep. (Blake, stanza 1, lines 1-4)

The speaker declares that he works as a chimney sweeper and then says that he sleeps in soot. Soot is a dirty thing that causes discomfort and can cause illness.

Sleeping in the soot is a contradictory situation. It is categorized as irony because the working class is supposed to have a better living standard because they work and get wages from the work, but the poem portrays contradictory situations.

Instead of getting a better living standard, the working class is exploited by sleeping in soot, the dirty place. The condition of the working class during the industrial revolution is unpleasant since they get unequal treatment. The working class follows the employer instruction and does the job, but they do not get equal compensation for what they have done.

As Marxist theory says, the capitalist purchases the workers’ labor power for a day, but workers’ wages fall far short of the price from the products they make.

The capitalist system persuades output, not the process (Wolff, 2017). The capitalist

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system mainly focuses about how to make much profit with lowest capital. When the working class works hard, it does not become sympathy or concern for the employer because it is natural in the capitalist system that the working class is considered as a property business. The capitalist system does not care about the risk or dehumanization as long as the working class fulfils the bourgeoisie’s interest.

The second irony is in the third and the last line of the second stanza.

In the third and the last line, the speaker gives ironic consolation to Tom. It is an ironic consolation because the consolation is blatantly untrue, instead of making the children into a perfect property in the capitalist system. When the head is bare, the children can work easily and produce better output. It is not a true consolation but such propaganda.

As Marxist theory says, the media and academics produce propaganda to suppress awareness of class relations among the proletariat and then rationalize the capitalist system (Chappelow, 2019). Tom’s cries in the first line wants to deliver a message that becoming a member of the working class is an unpleasant experience because he has to lose his hair, a precious part of the body, to merely support the work. It can be considered as the exploitation of the working class since the propaganda disguises cruel acts against the working class. The propaganda of ironic consolation plays a great role to suppress awareness of being exploited by the industrial revolution and then rationalize the capitalist system. The children’s world

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that is supposed to be full of playing and laughing is manipulated with a work ethic so that the capitalist system works well and produces maximal output.

The third irony is in the last line of the sixth stanza.

And so Tom awoke; and we rose in the dark And got with our bags & our brushes to work. Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy & warm; So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm. (Blake, stanza 6, lines 20-24)

The last line is an ironic statement because it tells a blatantly untrue statement.

The line explains the cause and effect of working differently. The poem says that the working class works with the aim not to fear harm. The aim of working is to avoid negative effects, such as being punished by employers, reduction of wages, etc. It is a blatantly untrue statement because the aim of working supposes to get positive effects, such as prosperity, wealth, etc. When the working class works with the aim to avoid negative effects, they would only focus on the fear of the employer.

This situation can be interpreted that the working class works under a cloud of fear.

It means that the working class loses the essence of working.

As the concept of working-class’ suffering says, the working class is always disadvantaged at every step, stressed under financial and family constraints, forced to work in a dangerous job, forced to work for 12 (or more) hours, and, therefore, more likely to suffer from various physical and mental ailments (D’Amato, 1999).

These indicators fit the working class situation in which they are set up to obey the employer and work under the cloud of fear to avoid punishment. The working class no longer has free will since they are considered as a property of a business that belongs to the employer.

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2. Metaphor

Metaphor is a comparison between two otherwise unrelated things (Jensen,

2020). In the poem, the metaphor is in the last line of the third stanza.

The phrase coffin of black is a metaphor for death and hopelessness. Coffin of black is a metaphor because it can be identified with the literal term of a chimney.

The phrase coffin of black and chimney share common characteristics of dark and tight, which simultaneously have the implication of death and hopelessness. The metaphor coffin of black tells the danger of working conditions for the working class because they have to face the long, tight, and dark chimney. The work environment of the working class is very dangerous, but they cannot avoid it since they do not have other options. They fully depend on the employer to support their life. As a result, the working class is hopeless, and they can only surrender to the bad situation.

As the concept of the working class’ suffering says, working-class people are forced to accept the lowest quality of healthcare and working conditions (D’Amato,

1999). It happens because the working class is considered as property in the big capitalist system. They are components of production which are similar to industrial

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machines. As a result, the employer does not pay any attention to the condition of the working class as long as the employer gets the profit.

This metaphor analysis is fit to Wardani’s research. In the research, Wardani found that the poem portrays chimney sweeping as a nasty business. It was because the business did not care about adequate sanitation for the working class. The inadequate sanitation was very dangerous for children because the soot of chimneys could cause cancer (Wardani, 2014, p. 5). Unfortunately, the nasty business and poor sanitation do not become the bourgeoisie’ concern. The bourgeoisie does not care about the work environment because they only pursue the output, not the process. As a result, the chimney sweepers suffer from work pressure and poor sanitation.

3. Symbol

Symbol is something that means more than what it suggests on the surface. It may be an object, a person, a situation, an action, or some other element that has a literal meaning in the story but that suggests or represents other meanings as well

(Johnson & Arp, 2018, p. 286). In the poem, the use of symbols can be found in the fourth and fifth stanzas.

Then naked & white, all their bags left behind, They rise upon clouds, and sport in the wind. And the Angel told Tom, if he’d be a good boy, He'd have God for his father & never want joy. (Blake, stanza 5, lines 17-20)

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The word Angel is the symbol. It is categorized as a symbol because as the clues to identify symbolic meanings by Johnson & Arp, the existence of Angel is emphasized by using a capital letter in the beginning. Then, the existence of Angel is repeated in the fifth stanza. Secondly, the meaning of Angel establishes and supports the entire context of the fourth and fifth stanza. Angel in the fourth and fifth stanza becomes the main character who builds the stanzas. Thirdly, the word

Angel has a different meaning from its literal meaning. The use of an Angel as the symbol in the poem means the religious institution involvement because the term

Angel only exists in the realm of religious institutions, specifically in Christians.

The religious institution involvement aims to give hope to the working class’ suffering.

The poem says that the Angel saves the children from the suffering of working. It is because neither side concerns the bad condition of the working class but the religious institution. The bourgeoisie is busy exploiting the working class; the government is busy perpetuating their power; the only institution that concerns to the weak and outcast persons is religious institutions. The religious institution plays a role by introducing faith that functions like opium, reducing the pain of suffering, and giving consolation from the suffering but only in the spiritual realm.

As Marx’s opinion declares that faith is something that “the people” conjured for themselves, a source of phony happiness to which they turn to help numb the pain of reality (Blau, 2013). Faith frees the working class’ suffering spiritually, but not in reality. Thus, the working class potentially can be religious persons since

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they cannot afford happiness in the world. As a result, they try to catch up with spiritual happiness which is not a real solution.

This analysis serves a different perspective compared to Kurnianto’s research. In the research, he defined that the solution to be free from chimney sweep business is through a spiritual or religious way. He declared, “Be a good boy and they will get a blissful afterlife just like what the Angel said” (Kurnianto, 2019, p.

19). Religious way becomes the solution for the chimney sweepers since it is affordable, easy to do, and has a great effect of pursuing happiness. Because of that, according to Kurnianto, the religious way is the final solution for the working class to help numb the pain of reality. In the writer’s opinion, the religious way is not a solution, but merely an escape.

In the Marxist perspective, which the writer agrees, the religious way is not a solution to be free from the working class’ suffering. Religious way is a propaganda to weaken the resistance spirit from the lower class to the upper class (Blau, 2013).

Thus, religious propaganda can be a good chance for the bourgeoisie to more and more exploit the working class. The religious institution has provided “drug” to the working class’ suffering through faith that there will come a savior. The bourgeoisie can interpret that exploitation is not a problem, but a challenge to test the working class’ faith. Through the propaganda, the bourgeoisie can be considered helpful because they have provided an arena to test the working class’ faith through exploitation. This kind of propaganda will lead to weaker resistance from the working class to the bourgeoisie. Therefore, the real solution to be free from the working class’ suffering is through revolutionary communism. In this action,

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Marxism aims to make a classless society based on the common ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange (Barry, 2009, p. 150) in which wealth, opportunity, and education were accessible for all people (Bressler in

Suwardi, 2020).

The repeated second symbol in the poem is in the fifth stanza.

The symbol of Angel in this stanza has the same meaning as the previous, the involvement of religious institutions, but it has a different function. Angel in the fourth stanza functions as a savior of the working class’s suffering. While in the fifth stanza, the Angel functions as an advisor. In the fifth stanza, the Angel advises the children to be a good boy so that they can get true happiness by having God for his father. If they successfully have God for their father, they do not need another consolation anymore because the true source of happiness has become theirs.

For the working class, the term of being a good boy is easily translated by obeying the employer. The relation between the employer and the working class is a vertical relationship; the employer is superior, while the working class is subordinate. This kind of vertical relationship is just the same as the relationship between God and humans. The working class considers the employer as God who gives jobs and wages so that they can live in the world. The obedience to the employer is directly proportional to the reward they get. In this case, the religious institution plays a role in making obedience propaganda.

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As the Marxist theory says, the media, academics, and religious institutions produce propaganda to suppress awareness of class relations among the proletariat and then rationalize the capitalist system (Chappelow, 2019). The propaganda works through heavenly advice that the working class would get equal compensation after they have done all their job. This kind of propaganda aims to convince the proletariat to accept and submit to their exploitation based on fictional divine sanction (Chappelow, 2019).

4. Hyperbole

Hyperbole describes the sense of overreaching or grasping beyond what is necessary to describe a certain feeling, experience, or response. When using hyperbole, speakers do no say X, but they say something more than X (Passarello,

2019). Hyperbole in the poem is in the fourth stanza, specifically in the third and fourth lines.

The Angel set all the chimney sweepers free from the coffins of black and they immediately do the greatest celebrations. The celebrations are leaping, laughing, running, and shining in the sun. These are overstating celebration which is grasping beyond what is necessary to describe a certain feeling (Passarello,

2019). Through the hyperbole, it can be interpreted that the poem indicates serious and massive exploitation toward the working class. The poem does not portray how much the children suffer directly, but the overstating celebrations indicate that the

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children seriously suffer because of the capitalist system so that they do the greatest celebration just like a free bird from the cage. The use of hyperbole indirectly tells that the working class extremely suffers so that they deserve to get the great reward for what they have done, for all the suffering they have faced. Indeed, the chimney sweepers are not only children who lose their best childhood moment, but also children who are exploited to support the bourgeoisie’s interest. The children must face serious suffering when they work inside the dark chimney, in the coffins of black. It is natural that after being extremely exploited, the children long for the great happiness that can be portrayed through hyperbole.

The serious suffering of the working class is fit to Marx opinion in D’Amato

(1999). The working class receives worse education, worse job opportunities, low wages, and worse housing. They are always disadvantaged at every step, stressed under financial and family constraints, forced to work in a dangerous job, forced to work for 12 (or more) hours, and, therefore, more likely to suffer from various physical and mental ailments (D’Amato, 1999). The use of hyperbole implicitly portrays extreme suffering of the working class so that they deserve to get equal reward, even though it is only in their hope and faith.

The second hyperbole is in the fifth stanza.

They rise upon clouds and sport in the wind are overstatement. The poem uses hyperbole to tells how happy the children are to be free from the working class

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suffering. The poem portrays the children as free birds so that they can rise upon clouds and sport in the wind. At the same time, the poem uses hyperbole indirectly to tell how suffer the children are to be part of the working class. It is proven in the previous stanza, specifically in the metaphor coffin of black. The children must face dangerous situation that they should not get at their age, and the worst, they lose their freedom. The working class loses their freedom under the capitalist system, but they cannot avoid it. As a substitute, heavenly promises become their only consolation. The working class cannot afford happiness in the world so that they pursue heavenly happiness.

C. The Ways to Keep The Working Class Suffering

There are three ways for the industrial revolution to support systems that keep the working class suffering. The first way is the great power of the bourgeoisie supported by government. As the Marxist theory says, the bourgeoisie, with government involvement, makes the laws and private property rights to the means of production (Chappelow, 2019). It makes the bourgeoisie has greater power over the working class whose positions are below the bourgeoisie. This great power allows the bourgeoisie to make human trafficking mechanism just as the same as property of business. The poem states that condition in the second line of the first stanza.

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The power of the bourgeoisie enables them to do transactions of human beings to support the bourgeoisie’s interest. The bourgeoisie does not see humans as human beings but merely as property of the capitalist system. As the result, the working class’ personality falls down into merely property of production. The power of bourgeoisie with its capitalist system has absolutely dehumanized the working class and led them into the suffering.

The second way is class division. Marxism argues that in a capitalist system, society is made into two classes where the working class is the lowest class. As the

Marxist theory of class says, capitalism is a society based on exploitation. It requires various means to oppress and keep down the working class (D’Amato, 1999). The poem states the portrayal of class division effect in the last line of the third stanza.

The chimney sweepers who locked up in coffin of black is the portrayal of class division effect. The poem portrays the disadvantage of the working class, specifically in term of job opportunity. As the lowest class, the working class should experience the dangerous job that makes them feel like locked up in coffin of black.

It is because the industrial revolution attempts to weaken any opposition against them and as a means to squeeze much profit from the working class (D’Amato,

1999).

Besides that, at that moment during the industrial revolution, the working class neither have any sides which stand for their prosperity nor rights. The working

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class is powerless and does not have any bargaining position over the bourgeoisie, but they are fully dependent to them, specifically to earn money to support their life. The hierarchy relation between the bourgeoisie and the working class became a good chance for the bourgeoisie to exploit the working class. As a result, the working class falls down and traps in suffering.

The third way is propaganda. There was church involvement during the industrial revolution to make propaganda over the working class. As the Marxist theory says, the propaganda convinced the working class to accept and submit their exploitation based on fictional divine sanction (Chappelow, 2019). It is written in the poem, specifically in the third and fourth of the fifth stanza.

The two lines invite the working class to be a good boy. In the realm of the working class, the propaganda is easily translated by becoming a worker who is obedient to the employer. Heavenly promise becomes compensation for the working class’ suffering – even though you are suffering now, you will have God then, the kingdom of heaven. The working class cannot afford the happiness in the world; thus, they wish for heavenly happiness, namely heavenly promise. This illusion of happiness will lead to the weaker resistance of the working class. As a result, the chimney sweep business makes the working class traps in the perpetual suffering.

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It is in line to the conclusion of Wardani’s research. In the research, she stated that “The Chimney Sweeper is about how childhood innocence is destroyed, taken away, or ruined by mean old adults” (Wardani, 2014, p. 5). The way of old adults to destroy the childhood of the working class is through propaganda of religion.

The old adults cunningly manipulate the childhood world with work ethic that clearly ruins the children who involved in the industrial revolution.

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CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

The first industrial revolution in Britain in the 18th century awakened people about the coming of the new era. The new era evidently brought negative effects, specifically for the children in the chimney sweep business. The industrial revolution had taken away the beautiful childhood of the children who involved in the industry. They were forced to work until they suffer as depicted in the poem

“The Chimney Sweeper”. For the first research question, the suffering of the working class in the poem can be revealed through the four figurative languages.

The first figurative language that portrays the suffering of the working class is irony. There are three ironies found in the poem. The first irony is asymmetry treatment. The children work as chimney sweepers, but they sleep in soot. Sleeping in soot is an ironic situation to portray that the working-class condition during the industrial revolution is unpleasant. They do not get equal compensation for what they have done. The second irony is ironic consolation. The speaker gives consolation to Tom not to cry for the head’s bare, but it is not a true consolation. It ironically makes the children into perfect property in the capitalist system. When the head is bare, the children can work easily and produce better output. It is such a propaganda. The third irony is asymmetry perspective. The poem says that the working class works with the aim to not fear harm. The aim of working is to avoid negative effects. When the working class works with the aim to avoid negative

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effects, they would only focus on the fear of the employer. It means, the working class works under a cloud of fear which makes them lose the essence of working.

The second figurative language that portrays the suffering of the working class is metaphor. The phrase “coffin of black” is a metaphor for death and hopelessness. The metaphor represents the danger of working conditions in the long, tight, and dark chimney which can cause illness and death. The work environment of the working class is very dangerous, but at the same time, they fully depend on the work as chimney sweeper to support their life. As a result, the working class is hopeless and they can only surrender to the bad situation.

The third figurative language that portrays the suffering of the working class is symbol. There are two symbols found in the poem. The first symbol is “Angel”.

The word “Angel” is the symbol of religious institutions’ involvement. The use of an Angel as the symbol in the poem aims to give hope to the suffering of the working class. The second symbol is “Angel” also as the religious institutions’ involvement, but it has different function. The first symbol stands for Angel as the savior, while the second stands for Angel as the advisor. The Angel advises the chimney sweeper to be a good boy so that they can get true happiness by having

God for his father. If they successfully have God for their father, they do not need another consolation anymore because the true source of happiness has become theirs.

The fourth figurative language that portrays the suffering of the working class is hyperbole. There are two hyperboles found in the poem. The first hyperbole is great celebrations. The chimney sweepers immediately do the greatest celebrations

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after the Angel sets them free. The celebrations are leaping, laughing, running, and shining in the sun. These hyperboles indicate that there are serious and massive exploitations toward the working class. The second hyperbole is also about great celebration. The chimney sweepers rise upon clouds and sport in the wind. It wants to tell how happy the children are to be free from the working class suffering.

For the second research question, there are three ways for the industrial revolution to keep the working class suffering. The first way is great power of the bourgeoisie supported by government. The power of the bourgeoisie enables them to do transactions of human beings. As the result, the working class’ personality falls down into merely property of production. The second way is class division effect. The existence of capitalist system has divided the society into two classes in which the working class as the lowest class is always being exploited. The bourgeoisie always attempts to weaken any opposition against them and as a means to squeeze much profit from the working class. The third way is propaganda. The propaganda makes illusion of happiness that led to the weaker resistance of the working class. As a result, the working class traps in the perpetual suffering.

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REFERENCES

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APPENDIX

The Chimney Sweeper

When my mother died I was very young, 1 And my father sold me while yet my tongue Could scarcely cry " 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!" So your chimneys I sweep & in soot I sleep.

There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head 5 That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved, so I said, "Hush, Tom! never mind it, for when your head's bare, You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair."

And so he was quiet, & that very night, 11 As Tom was a-sleeping he had such a sight! That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, & Jack, Were all of them locked up in coffins of black;

And by came an Angel who had a bright key, 15 And he opened the coffins & set them all free; Then down a green plain, leaping, laughing they run, And wash in a river and shine in the Sun.

Then naked & white, all their bags left behind, 21 They rise upon clouds, and sport in the wind. And the Angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy, He'd have God for his father & never want joy.

And so Tom awoke; and we rose in the dark 25 And got with our bags & our brushes to work. Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy & warm; So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm.