The escalator crowd

Source A: an original contemporary non-fiction-style account.

At the shopping centre entrance, the escalator gathered us into a slow procession. Nobody had agreed to travel together, yet we stood at equal intervals, each holding a bag or a phone. The handrail slid under my palm with a faint, warm vibration. Above us, advertisements promised movement, freedom and escape while we advanced at the speed selected by a hidden motor.

Halfway up, a man ahead stopped looking at his screen and searched for the end. His shoulders tightened. Behind him, a child counted the metal steps as they flattened and vanished into the floor. The disappearance was neat and faintly alarming, like a mouth that never closed. At the top, everyone performed the same small adjustment: a lifted foot, a quicker step, a brief recovery of individual pace. Then we separated without a word, released into different shops.

I took the stairs on the way down, partly because they were nearer. Their stillness required more effort but less surrender. I could stop at the landing without becoming an obstacle carried towards somebody else. It was an absurdly small preference to notice, but after an afternoon of signs telling me where to go, I enjoyed choosing the rhythm of my own feet.

Refer to the whole of Source A. Analyse how the writer uses language to present the experience of travelling on the escalator. Explain the effects of specific words, phrases and language choices, using evidence from the passage.