The image shows Jo the street sweeper with his broom seeming to wait for a few coins from a passerby. Dickens uses Jo's character in Bleak House to demonstrate how the lower class were treated and the experiences they endured in 19th London . Jo depends on people's charity as a source of income. He subjects himself to a job where he must clean dirt, mud, and animal manure from the streets. As a result of his circumstances, he is filthy and living hand-to-mouth. Because of his job and inability to properly care for himself, Jo is treated less than human. Dicken's character shines a broader light to the divide between the upper classes and the lower class in 19th century London. Jo's character provides the reader to see how class division affected the poor, and shows why social change was around the corner. However, Lady Dedlock (a member of the titled class) interacts with Jo despite their class differences. Here, Dickens conveys that no matter how distant characters seem, they are still connected to one another and demonstrates that the social distinctions we create are superficial.
Source: George, Landow P. “Jo, The Crossing Sweeper.” "Jo, The Crossing-Sweeper" by "Phiz", 2015, www.victorianweb.org/art/illustration/phiz/bleakhouse/11b.html.