Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster

“Every night she slept soundly, knowing that she and the Sweep would have each other forever.”

Nan’s innocent and childlike confidence that the Sweep will always and forever be a fixture in her life serves to imply the precise opposite in a deliberately unsettling example of foreshadowing. The very simplicity of this narrative statement simultaneously conveys the young girl’s unshakable faith in the stability of her tiny world just as it serves to emphasize the true fragility of her blissfully peaceful slumber. Thus, while Nan is utterly perplexed by the Sweep’s abrupt and confusing departure (which is later revealed to be caused by his death), Jonathon Auxier injects a more mature perspective by implying that absolutely nothing in this world is “forever.”

“Every so often one of the boys would say that he had dreamed about the Sweep. Nan couldn’t explain it.”

Imagination and Magic is introduced as a theme through the Sweep’s mysterious presence in Nan’s dreams, and in the dreams of those who sleep close to her. This alludes to the magical existence of Charlie, the enchanted piece of char who will soon turn into Nan’s golem. The Sweep encloses his magic and his love for Nan within Charlie, which causes dreams of him to linger with Nan as she keeps the piece of char close to her.

“The stone floor was cold. Her only pillow was a burlap sack, turned black from years of hauling loose soot.”

Poverty and Social Injustice is introduced as an important theme in the sleeping conditions afforded to Nan and the other children who work for Crudd; the space is uncomfortable and cold. In this scene, the author pointedly emphasizes the hardships faced by child chimney sweeps. Their miserable sleeping quarters, dirty clothing, and meager portions are intentionally juxtaposed with the cleanliness and relative luxury that Crudd himself enjoys, which serves to emphasize his cruelty as a master.

“He would come back any moment now, with ripe figs stolen from a low bough or quail’s eggs swiped from a nest or even (if they had money) day-old rolls from the baker.”

The poverty of the Sweep (and therefore of Nan) is characterized by the Sweep’s need to steal food to survive. Despite his constant efforts to find work, they often have no money. The exploitative nature of chimney sweeping at this time is illustrated by the fact that a day’s work will only occasionally provide the Sweep with the ability day-old (and therefore cheaper) bread rolls.

“The inside of the pot was caked with brown muck that had once been food.”

The unsanitary conditions of the children’s home with Crudd is further illustrated in the revolting gruel which they are presented with for breakfast. It is “brown muck” rather than food, but it is still eaten voraciously by the starving children. Thus, the author continues to develop creative variations upon the theme of Poverty and Social Injustice as the miserable lifestyle of the indentured sweeps unfolds in scene after scene of trauma and abuse.

“She could feel her heartbeat pounding in her ears. The burlap on her head suddenly felt suffocating. Her brush hand was tight against her cheek, and so she let go of the handle and pulled the cloth from her face.”

Auxier characterizes the experience of becoming stuck in a tight flue as uniquely terrifying and claustrophobic, thus stoking reader’s sympathy for the child’s deadly plight. In doing so, Auxier refers to the countless historical child sweeps who became similarly stuck and died gruesome deaths in chimneys during the 18th and 19th centuries. Nan is saved by the magical golem Charlie after a fire is lit beneath her (a practice which was thought to encourage children to free themselves, but most commonly burned and suffocated them). However, most real-life sweeps died in these circumstances.

“‘A dolls eye for wonder…,’ he would mutter. ‘A feather for kindness…a thimble for mending…a wooden chessman for courage…a swaddle for warmth.’”

The Sweep’s game of “story soup” emphasizes the role that imagination plays in shielding Nan from the discomfort and hardship of their life and poverty. A few particular ingredients are collected and obsessed over by the Sweep; he never tells the story with these pieces, but it is implied that he eventually uses them to create Charlie. This relationship between the objects and Charlie’s creation is implied by the fact that Charlie first appears in the Sweep’s hat, where the man was always known to mix these “ingredients” during the early years of Nan’s life. Thus, Charlie himself is imbued with the values of wonder, kindness, courage, and warmth—literal as well as metaphorical warmth.

“Somehow she had not gotten one single burn.”

The Sweep’s magic is conferred to Charlie, who saves Nan in the chimney fire which might have been expected to kill her. The notion of the golem’s true powers is first indicated by Nan’s miraculous escape from the chimney fire, from which she emerges entirely unscathed. Together with Charlie’s ability to heal other living things, his eventual determination to save Nan herself from death is abundantly foreshadowed in their early days together.

“‘I made it wake up in you.’ Nan shook her head. ‘Made what wake up?’ He looked up at her. ‘Your heart.’”

Charlie’s magical powers are illustrated in his ability to bring Nan back to life in more ways than one. Just as Charlie will later save Nan’s life, he first rescues her heart from the unexpressed grief of losing the Sweep: the only father she has ever known. By extension, Charlie’s very existence can be interpreted as one final affirmation of the Sweep’s love for his adopted daughter, for by gifting her Charie, he is ensuring that she will receive all of the love and care that he would give her himself, if he could only live long enough to see her grow to maturity.

“The girl and her Sweep spent the rest of the afternoon looking through the doll’s eye—beholding wonders all around them.”

When Nan’s beloved doll, Charlotte, is smashed by other children, the Sweep turns the event from a tragedy into an exciting game by suggesting that the doll’s eye is a magical item which allows them to see hidden wonders. The theme of Imagination and Magic is referred to here, as is Poverty and Social Injustice; the Sweep uses imagination to shield Nan from the disappointment and drudgery of their life of poverty.

“‘Things sometimes do end well for the people—they are delivered from danger or blessed with riches. But not so for the golem. For the golem’—Miss Bloom took a breath—‘there is no happy ending.’”

In this quote, Miss Bloom tells Nan about the nature of golems, and the girl learns that Charlie will die once he has fulfilled his purpose. She likewise realizes that there will be no happy ending to his own life, even if he brings about a happy ending for others. Charlie’s inherent selflessness is implied in this description just as the passage foreshadows his eventual choice to sacrifice himself to fulfill his purpose of keeping Nan safe.

“‘The Board of Works does not need your testimony to remit my ten pounds. They only need to see that you escaped that particular chimney.’ He took another step toward her. ‘They only need to find your body…somewhere else.’”

With this quote, the true extent of Crudd’s nefarious activities and utter lack of regard for human life becomes abundantly clear. Crudd plans to kill Nan and plant her body in a chimney in order to obtain a ten-pound refund for the fine he paid upon her supposed death. In addition to emphasizing Crudd’s status as the story’s cruel antagonist, this plan highlights the fact that child workers were commodified in the 18th and 19th centuries and were therefore treated with brutal indifference. If anything, their deaths were often viewed as a nuisance, a bureaucratic inconvenience, rather than the tragedies they truly were.

“She looked at the Sweep’s coat, draped over his crossed legs. It was covered with holes, and one of his tails seemed shorter than the other. ‘Why don’t you mend yours?’ she asked him. He smiled at her and covered his coat with his hand. ‘I prefer to feel a breeze when I work.’”

The Sweep is further characterized as a kind, loving, and selfless father figure for Nan. To prevent Nan from realizing that he uses the thread from his own coat to repair hers, he pretends to enjoy wearing a ragged coat. As well as ensuring Nan’s warmth before his own, he also disguises his selfless deed and makes light of the situation to save her any discomfort she might feel upon realizing his plight.

“Later that evening, when Nan happened to brush against the thumb of that hand, she noticed that it felt different. It wasn’t crumbly and warm. It was cold and hard…like a dead stone.”

Charlie’s method of bringing life is revealed: he must sacrifice parts of himself. This foreboding discovery which Nan makes foreshadows Charlie’s later decision to sacrifice himself to save her; he turns completely to stone to give Nan life.

“‘I remember them fighting about food—about not having any.’ He swallowed. ‘And that’s when Crudd showed up.’ Nan looked at Roger’s face and understood at once what he was telling her. ‘They sold you.’”

Although Roger plays the role of a minor antagonist, the author nonetheless positions his story in such a way as to evoke sympathy for the boy’s tragic plight. Given that he has been sold as an indentured servant, Roger’s a deep anger and bitterness toward his family (and toward people in general) becomes much more understandable. Using this ambiguous character, Auxier continues to inform readers of the tragic fates for children born in destitution during this time period; exploitative business owners subjected children and families to horrendous situations, which people were cornered into as a result of their absolute poverty.

“‘Makes me wonder what else I’ve been missing that’s right in front of me.’ ‘Indeed.’”

Nan wonders to Toby about what else she is missing which is right in front of her. Given Toby’s steady regard for Nan over the course of the novel, this comment is designed to invoke a sense of dramatic irony, for clearly Nan is missing the potential romantic connection that Toby has with her. Their developing relationship, which is alluded to in the final chapter of the novel, is therefore foreshadowed in this passage.

“Nan could not believe what she was hearing. ‘Newt did a factory alone?’ Factory stacks were too wide to scale the regular way. Climbers had to be lowered down on ropes—it was a two-climber job, at the very least. ‘How did he manage the rigging?’ ‘There was no rigging,’ Toby said. ‘He slipped and took a nasty tumble.’”

The unsafe conditions for chimney sweeps and the lack of oversight and regulation of their masters is foregrounded in Newt’s tragic death. Crudd’s neglect and cruelty as a sweep master is emphasized by his decision to force Newt into the chimney alone with no rigging. The May Day protest is inspired by Newt’s tragic death. Auxier points out that reform was brought about by many tragic deaths, which were needed to draw the public’s attention to the inherent risks of chimney sweeping.

“‘Will the brave knight fight the charity men in my dreams?’ ‘It’s not magic. It’s a reminder.’ The Sweep mussed her hair. ‘The brave knight is YOU. And YOU can fight them for yourself.’”

The Sweep presents young Nan with the chess piece of the knight to remind her of her own innate strength and bravery, which she can call on whenever she chooses. Nan draws on this bravery in the May Day protest, during which she confronts both the people of London and the looming specter of Crudd himself in an attempt to force people to see the cruel system they enable, which results in the deaths of countless children.

“The boy tipped his cap. ‘I’ll give Cinderella your regards.’”

Auxier builds tension through the final chapters of the novel until, with this particular quotation, he provides confirmation that the boy leading Charlie astray is indeed Roger: the only one who calls Nan “Cinderella.” The story is designed to throw suspicion on Roger already by this point, as Roger works for Crudd and displays similar levels of cruelty. From this moment forward, events occur in rapid succession and tension builds toward the climactic scene between Crudd and Nan atop the matchstick.

“George Hicks, 6 years old, Chimney Fire, Eliza ‘Twigs’ Brown, 10 years old, Fall from Roof, Philip ‘Preacher’ Wendell, 4 years old, Consumption.”

The children hold signs commemorating their dead friends. They send a powerful message condemning the unsafe and unethical working conditions for children working as chimney sweeps. Auxier alludes to the long-overdue laws which were passed during the 19th century to improve working conditions for chimney sweeps. Historically, these laws were brought about by raising communal awareness of the experiences of these children through literature, protests, and community activism.

“The crowd gasped as the man brought the brush down on the boy with a thwap.”

The sweep masters angrily interfere in the May Day protest, but in doing so, they prove the child chimney sweeps’ point about the cruel and unethical treatment that all such sweeps must endure. The gasp of the crowd indicates their shock at the beating of a child. Ironically, the masters’ violent intervention greatly aids the protest.

“‘These are the very same fine people who watch dozens of boys and girls die inside their very own homes without shedding so much as a tear!’ He was shouting now, his voice echoing out across the city.”

Crudd reminds Nan about how little the people of London value her life. His shouting voice echoes across the city, reaching all of the people below. This powerful moment forces the watching crowd to confront their relative indifference about the chimney sweeps, as they watch a cruel master trying to kill a sweep indentured to him by throwing her off the matchstick. Once again, Crudd actually contributes to the very cause he is trying to deride, for he vividly exemplifies the cruelty that child sweeps must suffer. It is implied that this event contributes to the legal reforms which are passed later that year. While the events involving Crudd and Nan are fictional, Auxier refers to a real bill passed in 1875: the Chimney Sweeps Act, which prevented business owners from hiring children under 13 years of age.

“She listened as Charlie told the story. Of how the man took the child and stepped back from the water. How he carried her in his arms and fed her milk from a bottle. How every day the man knew he had to stay alive because that little girl needed him.”

Nan learns that the Sweep was considering to die by suicide until he saw her small form; he decided that he needed to live because Nan needed him in order to stay alive. This revelation connects to Toby’s earlier wise observation that “we save ourselves by saving others”; the Sweep saves Nan just as she also saves him, by giving him someone to love, adore, and care for (333).