“Then would ye creep under the empty sacks just here in the front of the waggon”.
Again Milly listens to Tony and does what he says. So far compared to the women in “Tickets Please” they are very soft and would do anything to get married to Tony. The women in “Tickets Please” are very self-sufficient and don’t really listen to men. There is no one left to help them and do work for them and so women have to do all the hard work that the men do. Hannah is the only girl who would come close to the women in ‘Tickets Please” because she is more in control of the situation when with Tony. For instance as soon as she comes on and they are riding,
“Hannah looked round sideways into his eyes. “This is nice, isn’t it Tony?” she says. “I like riding with you.” “Tony looked back into her eyes.
“And I with you,” he said after a while. This quote shows that Hannah is in control of Tony. Eventually he is persuaded by Hannah says,
”the more he looked at her the more he liked her, till he couldn’t for the life think why he had ever said a word about marriage to Milly or Unity.” This is very similar to Annie; she is the woman who’s in control in “Tickets Please”. A quote which shows this is when they are walking and it says,” Annie walked out with John Thomas, thou she kept her own body dangling in the distance.” This quote tells us that she went with him, but she was in control and never went any further than that. This also showed that Annie wanted to see if Tony had wanted a full relationship, not just for one night, which is what Tony really wanted. These were the only two women who were in control of the men out of the two stories. As Hannah and Tony went on there was more flirting,
“My sweet Hannah!” he burst out, taking her hand, and not being really to help it, and forgetting Milly and Hannah. Tony had given in
“, I’ll own at last I do like ‘ee.” This shows that Hannah is very pervasive and she had won over Tony by flirting with him, this is one of Tony’s weak points. All the girls got some control at one point and they did it by flirting. This is what Tony couldn’t handle. Hannah was the better woman at this and so she had won him. Hannah was very happy to know that Tony would give up Milly to marry her, “ Throw over Milly? – all to marry me! How delightful!” broke out Hannah, quite loud, clapping her hands.” At this point Milly was under the sacks and was getting very angry she had heard everything said by Hannah. In comparison to “Tickets Please”, this was not that severe, Whereas Annie had got revenge by physically hurting and abusing him John Thomas. This Yet again this shows how “wild” Near the end Tony had gone to see his dad in the fields and the cart started to go off itself. The cart started to move faster and Milly broke out and screamed. This shows that the women in those days were more feminine than the ones in “Tickets Please” because in “Tickets Please” they wouldn’t have screamed over a cart rolling, because of their mental manly character. There was a big argument and all the girls started to shout and cry. This is a little alike to ‘Tickets Please’ but at the start they never had cried. The cart got faster and tumbled with all the girls in a big heap. Hannah had a scratch on her face and they were all on top of each other. This was a big thing for girls in those days because they were so feminine and a scratch would be a big thing for them. At this point all the women were angry, but again not so angry compared to the women in “Tickets Please”. The author had described them as “fearless young hussies”. Tony decided to confess, he had told them he asked Hannah. This must have been a big shock to the girls, but they never had reacted that furiously, if it was Annie she would have reacted much more violently. This again shows how time had affected the way the girls would react. Being more feminine before the war women would simply not argue against their husbands. After the war women had become more concerned about these issues, they had more rights and they started to fight back against their husbands. This is why they had behaved towards Tony’s decision. By chance her dad came they’re as well and saw them, after all this trouble and hiding Tony still had asked Hannah. Her dad told her,
“I ask ye to have spirit to refuse him, if yer virtue is left to ‘ee and you run no risk. This shows that parents influenced their children and their decisions in them days. In that traditional lifestyle people had listened more towards their parents decisions. Hannah would have said yes to Tony’s proposal, but because her dad was there she had said no. This must have made her heart broken inside, we know this because she looked back to see if Tony would come, but he didn’t. Tony had thought that she would want him and there was no point in trying or pleading with her dad so he had gone for second best. He asked Unity she replied, “Take her leavings? Not I!” This showed that she never wanted to be second best, but even she wanted him and she looked back too, to see if would ask again. This showed even though Tony had made them go through all that wait and being untruthful they still wanted to be with him. I think this would be expected of the girls because they were living in the village and it would have been very hard to find such a good-looking and loving man. The only thing left for Tony to do was to go with Milly; Milly was the women who won in the end. This shows that even though Hannah and Unity were ready and willing, they had other things stopping them like I have just explained. Thomas Hardy had shown Milly to be the innocent women out of the three and he wanted us to feel sorry for her. She asked him “you didn’t really mean what you said to them?” and Tony replied, “Not a word of it!” Milly believed Tony because she thought that he wouldn’t lie and so she went with him. In addition she never wanted to loose him. The audience would feel even more sorry at this point because they knew he was lying. As you have seen the girls were really angry, but they weren’t as angry as the girls in “Ticket Please”. For example when Annie found out that he was cheating on her, she wanted revenge and she had got it by physically abusing John Thomas. This again shows that time had changed the way people thought, the way society had changed. Overall the girls in “Tony Kytes” were softer and less heated than the ones in “Tickets Please”.
“Tickets Please” was set after the war around 1918. Women had changed after the war; they were doing men’s jobs and playing manly roles. Other things like had changed from wearing traditional dresses to knee height skirts. This made it easier for them to get the men and they never had to flirt much or in anyway try to get the men, men would be after them. They were also mentally changed, ready to answer back and stand up for themselves. The author describes them as “fearless young hussies”. This tells the audience that they fear no one and it gives them a very strong image of how powerful they must be. In the story it is shown as a girl named Annie working on the trams and a man who she likes comes on named John Thomas. Annie is an independent woman who is in control of what she does. When they meet they start to flirt, this is very similar to “Tony Kytes” because in that story they flirt as well, this was the one main thing that happened in both stories. This had stayed the same in both stories and was the main way of men getting women and vice verse. The main difference between the women is that Annie is a much more stronger and in control women, when she did flirt she was in control. We know this because earlier on in the story she flirts with a man named Ted. Ted says,
“Oh, mind my corn, Miss Stone. It’s my belief you’ve got a heart of stone, for you’ve trod on it again.”
“You should keep it in your pocket,” replied Miss Stone,
and she goes sturdily upstairs in her high boots.
This section shows that she does flirt, but she is in control and knows when to stop it also shows she is a “sharp tongued” women ready to hit first. this also shows that she would be cheeky and ready to answer back. This is another major difference because in “Tony Kytes” no one fears the women, but in this they do. Women before the war were more sensible and influenced by their parents She is very strong and is very feared by people. ; this is why we wouldn’t see cheeky comments of Unity, Hannah or Milly. A quote which shows this is,” She is peremptory, suspicious, and ready to hit first.” This shows us that she will either hit by abusing or physically. Lawrence has shown her to be a very self-ruling, strong character. After flirting John Thomas meets her at the fair and they both enjoy that evening together. In both stories the women and men like being with each other. I know this because at one point it says, “
“I like riding with you.’ Tony looked back into her eyes. “And I with you,’ this shows that they had enjoyed the company with each other, this also shows that they do really like each other, and at this point they forget all the other things, like Unity and Milly on the cart. Tony is willing for a full relationship unlike John Thomas who doesn’t want a full relationship, but just for one night. When the night ends John Thomas and Annie go for a walk and they kiss but Annie stays in control. We know she stays in control because it says, “So Annie walked out with John Thomas, though she kept her own body dangling in the distance.” She never let her self go and give in to John Thomas, even though she likes him. This shows that she has a lot of control over herself Later on she found out he never wanted a full relationship from the way he was acting. Even he knew she wanted intelligent interest, but he never so he left her. She saw him later on with another girl after their going out, this made her furious and very angry, and she wanted her own back. This is where most of the similarities between “Tony Kytes” and “Tickets Please” end. This is because the women in “Tony Kytes” were soft and they never led to violence in any case, but Annie wanted revenge. This again shows that major change in women’s lives over the years, they were more aggressive and ready to fight back. She wanted revenge because she says to Nora, “I could knock him off the foot-board when he comes round at me. Nora replied,
“I should like to see him take down a peg or two, shouldn’t you?” This shows that Annie was not the only person who wanted revenge. The plan was to sort it out once and for all in the waiting room where all the girls were waiting after they had come off work. This story is more serious than “Tony Kytes”. The girls play a game; they said you know us so well see which one touches you. He was getting a little nervous and then Annie went for it and slapped him across the head. In this story they have resulted to violence, but in “Tickets Please” they showed the anger verbally, sometimes not even that. The two authors are very different; one is more serious than the other. After the slap all the girls went ahead and slapped and kicked him. Annie’s emotions had taken over and she took all he anger out on him. As you can see the story gets really serious and you can see how powerful with rage the girls are. This is because during/after the war there was no one to depend on and so they became stronger by helping themselves and doing things for themselves. Also this shows that the girls are very vengeful. As they fought they were described as wild animals, this gives us the animal imagery and emphasises the point showing how powerful they are. Lawrence has used the word wild a lot and repeats it keeping the image in our heads. After hitting him, they make him decide whom he likes out of all the girls. John Thomas has been very clever here and he says, “All right then, I choose Annie.” This was a big shock to Annie; he had chosen the leader of the group. After this they eventually let him go. Each girl was hoping that he would look at them and take them,” All except Annie, and something was broken in her.” Annie was shocked and hurt, she never expected to be chosen, this is where is all turns around and John Thomas is in control. Overall the women in “Tickets Please” are much more aggressive and are able to stand up for themselves, they are more in control than the women in “Tony Kytes”. The time this story was set times had changed a lot and that’s why the women act the way they did in the story.
John Thomas is shown to be a very charming, good-looking character, in the story he is shown to have no feelings about the girls. As you have seen that he had left Annie and he had got physically beaten up. In the story he is known to have a scandal in half a dozen villages with other women. This is very similar to Tony in “Tony Kytes”, Tony has had three relationships and while he was on the cart he had all three women with him. He was lying to them, but they still believed him. John Thomas was known to flirt with girls again very similar to Tony in “Tony Kytes”. Although John Thomas had gone out with more girls this is mainly because while he was doing this most men were at war and it was hard for women to find a descent man while most men were gone. This is why he has gone out with more and this explains why he was more abused. Tony lived in a rural area where women were short and there were not many good-looking women, also he couldn’t go out with so many because he lived in a village. This is because news gets around much more quickly in a village and so he would have got a bad reputation. Both men in both stories are very similar and are both womanisers. John Thomas is more coldly hearted with his women, he doesn’t show for there feeling, all he wants is to spend the night with them. At least Tony had feeling for the women in “Tony Kytes”, although he did leave out Milly and went for Hannah and Unity first. In the story John Thomas has control over the women, but he finds it hard with Annie. Throughout the story sometimes he was in control and sometimes Annie was. He had trouble when he was trying to get her because she was in control and she never let him. A quote which shows this is when it says,” kept John Thomas at arm’s length.” She was clever here and she was playing hard to get, this would make John Thomas work harder to get her. Annie liked him a lot and she says he’s, “A fine cock-of-the-walk he has.” This just means he is very full of himself and self-important. This tells us he wants to look good and he thinks he’s very good-looking. He was in control of her at the fairground when they had met. He comforted her and made her feel wanted. He was said to have a “warm, cosy way of holding a girl with his arm.” This tells us he’s really good on the outside, but how is it on the inside. Annie walked with him and everything was going fine, but all he wanted was a one night relationship not a long term one. Annie found out that he wasn’t committed and it showed that John Thomas is not the loving caring person. John Thomas then went for another girl and left Annie. This shows that he is very cold hearted and doesn’t really show any feeling for any of the girls he goes with. As I have said before the main reason why girls are so willing is because most men are gone to war and he is one of not many good-looking men left. So it is easy for him to get who he wants and he will never go short of girls. Also he lives in the city where there are many girls rather than in a village where girls are very limited. When Annie finds out she wants revenge and all the other girls including Annie at the depot does harm John Thomas. At this point Annie is in control and gets her own back, but when they told him to decide which girl he liked out of the depot he was in control. This is because he had chosen Annie, the leader of the attack. This had shocked Annie and the whole group backed off and let him go. Even all the girls had found out how he treated women and got their own back on him, they still looked to see if he would look back at anyone of them. This showed that girls were still willing to go out with him; this could have been for many reasons. For example they could have felt sorry for him and wanted to help him or they still wanted him because they still loved him. But he never looked at anyone and left. He knew he had won the battle because Annie was heart broken. The writer has made the audience show sympathy for John Thomas even though he has cheated and lied to these girls. The violence and beating of John Thomas makes us feel sorry for him and we want Annie to get hurt instead. Tony like John Thomas had the charm of getting girls, but he never used them like John Thomas did. Tony only had gone out with three girls, Unity, Hannah and Milly. He was supposed to get married to Milly, but his ex-girlfriends had interfered with it. Not on purpose, but they just met him while riding home and each girl tried to make him marry her. He was stuck in a situation where he had all three girls on the cart. Unity had saw him and asked him for a ride, and them Milly. Unity had to hid underneath a tarpaulin, and then he saw Hannah and Milly had to go under the sacks. He had a charm, which made all three girls want him, but he only had his sight on one, Hannah. He was supposed to get married to Milly, but as soon as Hannah had talk to him again he liked her. This was because she flirted a lot, one of Tony’s weak points. She said things like, “I like riding with you.” This made Tony feel good and he replied,” And I with you,” This showed that he never showed any resistance even though Unity and Milly were there. Compared to John Thomas Tony is a very caring character and shows feelings for the girls. Even though he knew it wasn’t good to be seen with Unity or Hannah he had still gave them a lift. This shows that he is very caring and this is what the girls like in him. We could tell that he was enjoying Hannah’s company because it said things like, “His eyes rested on her face and hers on his.” He likes her so much he even lies about not settling it with Milly. At this point the audience feel sorry for Milly. So far Tony was ok, but when Hannah started to hear Milly Tony was feeling a little uncomfortable. He tried not to speak of love and tried to keep Hannah from saying anything further so she wouldn’t upset Milly or Unity. He thinks and acts fast, by chance his father is standing in the fields and he goes there to get away from them. He goes to his father for advice, his father tells him to go with Milly. Also not to go round with Hannah Jolliver and end up causing a scandal. This again shows how people in those days thought about going round with another women, they had traditional ways and traditional lifestyles. If they did see a man with another women who he was not supposed to be with, he would have got a bad reputation. In “Tickets Please” people flirt with whomever they want and go out with whomever they want. So this again shows how time changes their attitudes towards each other. After getting advice off his dad, who said go with Milly he goes against it and at the end still asks Hannah. This is the interesting part because he had got refused after the accident with the horses where all three had fell on top of each other. He asked Hannah and had got refused, this again was mainly because her father was there as well and this brings in the issue of parents influences. Because Hannah’s dads there she doesn’t say yes, but she looks back waiting to see if he asks again. This shows that she still likes him. Compared to John Thomas there was a similar situation near the end where John Thomas had got up to go and all the women looked at him hoping he would look back, but they didn’t. Both men in the stories still have women after them at the end, even though they have been embarrassed or beaten. This shows that neither women had saw that they had done wrong, they were perfectly ok with going out with them. After Hannah had denied him, he went for Unity who had said no as well. She wasn’t happy to be second best and so said no. At this point Tony had thought to just go with Milly, because she was the only one left. Also it seemed that it was written in Milly’s fate that she was going to get married to Tony. She had said yes to him and then asked, “You didn’t really mean what you said to them?” He replied, “Not a word of it”. This showed he did lie and this is very similar to Tony, because even he had done it. Tony had used his charm to get girls and they had believed it to be a full relationship, but it was only for one night. Tony never did such a big lie, except until this last moment and a few others to keep the girls quite. Overall John Thomas had won in the end. He had won the battle between him and the leader of the attack on him, Annie.
The overall winner out of all the stories was Milly. The author had made her sound and innocent and sweet. I think the audience had got attached to her and felt sorry for her when Tony had picked the other two and put her last. By making her win I think the author has made the audience feel better about the story. She was the only winner, because Tony never got what he wanted and neither did Annie or John Thomas. He had never got Annie who he wanted and she was heart broken and spiritually broken. In both stories the authors have tried to keep a good mood sometimes and a serious mood at others. But “Tickets Please” was a much more serious point of view and had shown how modern world had changed socially as well as physically. “Tony Kytes” was written and shown to be set in a traditional way, with a traditional living where people all knew each other and there was not much anger between people. As you have seen from both stories we have different responses “Tickets Please” more shocking than “Tony Kytes”. This shows that times had changed and women had got more aggressive. This is why Annie had behaved towards John Thomas. She was physically and mentally acting a man’s role because of her time and what she had to do. She had physically hurt him, but he had mentally hurt her. In Tony’s time women were treated very nicely, unlike John Thomas’s time where women were literally used. In John Thomas’s case they were played around with from woman to woman, showing no feelings or affections what so ever.
