Analysing the first section of Tickets Please By DH Lawrence

In the opening of tickets please the writer uses a series of prepositions in the opening sentence which echoes the rambling nature of the tram journey. The almost onomatopoeic nature of this opening sentence creates empathy in the reader, making him feel as is he was also on this long journey. The use of prepositions in the opening sentence also creates the feeling of monotony someone would experience on this kind of journey.

The use of adjectives gives the attitude of the narrator to the industrialisation, such as “ugly villages of workmen’s houses”, the “grimy cold little market-places” and the “little ugly place of industry,” which all portray his aversion to industrialisation and its destruction of the natural beauty of the surroundings. The repetition of the word “ugly” reinforces the narrator’s idea that it is not nice to look at. Yet, his personification of the church “perched high and nobly over the smoke and shadows,” establishes the moral high-ground from which he is looking at industrialisation.

The writer’s tone changes suddenly which is signified by the use of the connective “But”; a symbol of contrast. The use of repetition through the colon, and the word “again”, create an appearance of speed and recklessness, through short and random phrases. This speed is reinforced through the light-hearted adjectives and adverbs which create a playful and informal style. Personification if again used in this section yet the descriptive details such as the “fat gas-works” create humour rather than disgust.

The narrator uses the first-person plural “we” which engages the reader; drawing them into the experience, instead of leaving them as detached observers. This persuasive device creates empathy and also a light hearted tone.

The narrator also uses absurd comparisons such as “green as a jaunty sprig of parsley out of a black colliery garden” to create humour through incongruity, which is the idea of things not quite fitting. This can also be seen as an allusion to the industrial development not quite fitting in with the rest of the natural environment. The narrator shows the tram in two opposing ways. On the one hand, the tram is a “haven of refuge” from the “howling cold, black and windswept” nights. Yet, on the other had, it is called “the most dangerous tram-service in England”. This paradoxical description could be symbolic of the benefits of industrialisation as well as its disadvantages.

The use of commentary personifies the tram as a hero, overcoming obstacles. This mock-heroic tone generates humour and is also reinforced through the description of the young girl conductors, who are seen as “fearless young hussies.” This depiction of women as in charge of industry is a modern idea, and reflects the new ideology behind industrialisation. Also, the describing them as having the “sang-froid of an old non-commissioned officer” meant that they were experienced and had “seen it all”.