The speaker of William Blake's poem "The Chimney Sweeper" got his job as a chimney sweep because his father sold him into it when he was very young, shortly after his mother died. This reflects the historical reality where poor or orphaned children were sold or apprenticed to chimney sweep masters to work in this dangerous and harsh trade. These children were often indentured servants who worked in exchange for food and shelter, climbing narrow chimneys to clean soot and coal deposits