CBSE Class 12 English The Third Level Assignment Set B

Brief Introduction

The Third Level by Jack Finney is about the harsh realities of war. War has irreversible consequences thus leaving people in a state of insecurity. It is also about modern day problems and how common man tends to escape reality by various means. In this story Charley reaches the third level of the Grand Central Station which only has two levels.

Summary

The story revolves around a 31-year-old man named Charley, who experienced something weird. One day after work, coming from the Subway, he reached the third level of the Grand Central station (which actually didn’t exist). He reminisces the entire experience with his psychiatrist friend Sam. Charley had reached somewhere in the eighteen-nineties, a time before the world saw two of its deadliest wars. As soon as he realised what time he is in, he immediately decided to buy two tickets to Galesburg, Illinois; one for himself and the other for his wife. Unfortunately, the currency used in that century was different. Thus, the next day he withdrew all his savings and got them converted even if it meant bearing losses. He went looking for the third level but failed to find it. It worried his wife and the psychiatrist Sam who told him that he is hallucinating in order to take refuge from reality and miseries of the modern world which is full of worry. Charley thus resorts to his stamp collection in order to distract himself when suddenly one day he finds a letter from his friend Sam in the first day covers who had gone missing recently. Sam wrote that he always wanted to believe in the idea of third level and now that he is there himself, he encourages Charley and Louisa to never stop looking for it.

Description of the Third level
• Small room, few ticket windows and train gates, wooden and old looking information booth.
• Men had beards, sideburns, fancy moustaches
• Women wore skirts, high buttoned shoes and leg of muttons sleeves.
• A man looking at a pocket watch
• Old style locomotive with the funnel-shaped stack
• Open gaslights being used
• Brass spittoons on the floor
• Wants to visit his home town, Galesburg
• Past is quiet and peaceful
• Tries to buy two tickets to Galesburg (one ticket for his Wife Louisa)
• Clerk grows suspicious as Charlie doesn’t have old-style currency.
• Back to the present-day world

People’s reaction to Charlie’s experience
• Presidents of NY railroads swear on the existence of two levels.
• Psychiatrist friend Sam refuses to believe
• Interprets it as an escape from insecurity, fear, war and worry of the modern world.
• Louisa too disbelieves Charlie

Charlie’s determination to find the Third Level
• Withdraws money buys old currency worth 300 dollars.
• Fails to find the Third Level
• Louisa and Psychiatrist worried
• Unexpected Ending
• Sam disappears
• Charlie finds a first-day cover, never seen before

Note from Sam dated 18th July 1894 from Galesburg
• Sam asks Charlie and Louisa to come to Galesburg and enjoy a quiet and peaceful life
• Charlie discovers Sam had bought old currency worth 800 dollars
• Enough to help him start hay and grain business in 1894 at Galesburg

First Day Cover
• Stamp collectors buy stamps on the day of release
• Mail the envelopes with blank paper in it with the postmark of the date to themselves
• Covers remain unopened
• Charley inherited stamp collection from his grandfather

Vocabulary
Suburban- residential
Ducked- lower the head or body quickly
Arched- curved
Bumping- knock or run into something
Snapped- break suddenly and completely
Locomotive- a powered railway vehicle used for pulling trains

Short Answer Type Questions

Question. Why was Charley not able to find the third level again?
Answer: It was a waking dream
A wish fulfillment
A flight of fancy

Question. What is a first day cover?
Answer: When a new stamp is issued, on the first day, people mail a blank paper to themselves and then retain that unopened letter with the date on the postmark. Such an envelope is known as a ‘first day cover’.

Question. Do you think that the third level was a medium of escape for Charley? Why? /How did Charley’s psychiatrist friend interpret his unique experience?
Answer: Yes, the third level was a medium of escape for Charley from the unhappy modern world that is full of insecurity, fear, war, worry and the like. He could never find it again at the Grand Central Station. Charley did not agree with his psychiatrist friend when the latter called his experience of visiting the third level ‘a waking-dream wish fulfillment.’ His friend tried in vain to make him realise that his hallucinations are a result of his strong desire to escape to the peaceful times of the 1890s.

Long Answer Type Questions

Question. What do you infer from Sam’s letter to Charley?
Answer: The letter was addressed to Charley but mailed to his grandfather in Galesburg, Illinois. It was mailed in 1894 and now appears in his grandfather’s collection. The letter was suddenly found among the first-day covers where it had never been seen earlier. Moreover, the contents of the letter are exactly what Charley thought about Galesburg of 1890s. Sam's letter to Charley is a mystery that blends together the worlds of reality and fantasy, and thus, needs further exploring.
There are two perspectives from which one can look at the letter. At one level, it proves that Sam has reached Galesburg of 1984. However, if we look at a deeper level, we can infer that the letter is just another instance of his hallucination or dreams of escapism. It is possible that while Charley was looking at the old first-cover letter, he was carried away to a different world where the letter was sent to Charley by Sam. The letter reflects Sam’s undeterred urge that forces him to keep looking for the third level.

Question. What does the third level refer to?
Answer: The Grand Central Station of New York has subways on two levels from where the commuters take trains to different destinations. No third level was ever built. However, the protagonist of the story, Charley, believes in the existence of a third level, operating in a time-frame of 1890s. The third level signifies an escape from the modern world that is “full of insecurity, fear, war, worry and all the rest of it....” The period of 1890s represents a peaceful life not possible in the present era. From this level, the protagonist wants to travel to Galesburg, Illinois, with his wife Louisa. For him, it is a part of reality while his psychiatrist friend calls it a “waking-dream wish fulfilment.”

Question. Would Charley ever go back to the ticket-counter on the third level to buy tickets to Galesburg for himself and his wife?
Answer: After reading the story we get to know that Charley was interested in travelling to Galesburg with his wife Louisa. However, he couldn’t locate the third level again. The first time round, he found the third level by accident. When he reached the ticket-counter, he realised that the currency he had with him was not useful as it belonged to a different period. He went back to convert his three hundred dollars into the “old-style currency” that could enable him to buy two tickets to Galesburg. However, when he returned to the Grand Central, he could not find the corridor leading to the third level. He couldn’t go back looking for the third level as his wife was too worried about him. Moreover, he himself had stopped looking for it after sometime.

Question. Do you find an intersection of time and space in the story ? if yes , give details ?
Answer: Charley is transported from the present time to the year 1894
1. Reaches the ancient time – the third level.
2. sees people dressed in four buttoned coats with small lapels , open flame gas lights, brass spittoons gold pocket- watch , fancy moustaches, sideburns , etc.
3. Again comes back to reality/ present world
4. Sam disappears, charley suspecs tthat he also has found the third level.
5. Finds the first day cover from same addressed to his grandfather dated 18 th July 1894.

Attempt the questions given below in 30-40 words each.

Question. What does the third level refer to?
Answer: The third level refers to a railway station in the Grand Central Terminal at New York, USA. In reality there is no third level as there are only two levels but, in the story, the third level serves as a portal leading to the past. There’s no logic behind that except the fact that it helps in some sort of time travel which is theoretically possible.

Question. Would Charley ever go back to the ticket-counter on the third level to buy tickets to Galesburg for himself and his wife?
Answer: It entirely depends on chance. If he could locate the third level then he will surely go for he is fascinated by the idea of settling in the past as money taken from the present to the past can have a reverse impact on devaluation of currency and make him rich in the past. Till the end of the story he is not able to achieve that.

Question. What is a first day cover?
Answer: A first day cover is a new stamp with the post mark pasted on an envelope containing a blank paper. When a new stamp is issued, on the first day, people mail a blank paper to themselves and then retain that unopened letter with the date on the postmark. Such an envelope is known as a ‘first day cover’.

Attempt the following questions in 120-150 words

Question. “The modern world is full of insecurity, fear, war, worry and stress.’ What are the ways in which we attempt to overcome them?
Answer: The different ways by which we attempt to overcome them are by hallucinating, taking psychedelic drugs (LSD), making virtual friends online, taking part in death defying adventure sports, watching movies, taking part in various cultural activities, taking up a hobby and perusing it, taking a break in the form of a holiday or a journey to a destination, pampering us in spas and health resorts, going on a spending spree, dabbling in technological gizmos, flaunting our sexuality and breaking gender stereotypes etc. We try to indulge in some activity which is neither routine nor necessitated by our livelihood. We prefer to take controlled risks to get an adrenaline rush. We try to do things which results in an adventure and which adds thrill and excitement to our life.

Question. Do you see an intersection of time and space in the story?
Answer: Yes, the dimensions of time and space overlap each other and creates a bridge between individual fantasy and public reality. Public time encroaches into personal space. A doorway through time that expands the boundaries of space is created in the story by means of Charley’s narrative and Sam’s letter from the past. Space and time come together to mould a new reality – the third level. Third level is a defined space but that belongs to the past. However, in the story that space from the past is accessible in the present time. So, the past becomes present in the story by means of a common and shared space. Third level is the common space which is from the past but also accessible in the present. The boundaries between past time and present time is merged in a common space called the third level.

Question. How does Jack Finney describe Galesburg, Illinois as it was in 1984?
Answer: The author using words paints a beautiful picture of Galesburg, Illinois as it was in 1894. The author presents that through the mouth of the central character named Charley. Charley describes the place as quiet and peaceful. It is far removed from the rush hour of a modern city. The lifestyle is relaxed, and the residents have enough time for socialising and leisure. The strong presence of nature adds beauty to the landscape. The community living there lived a peaceful life among trees, fireflies and picturesque landscape. He refers to the huge trees and lawns. He also talks about the rural nature of the community contrasted to the fast-moving life of an urban settlement. Then he also talks about the World Wars emphasizes how that community was unaware of the death and destruction, fear and trauma, enmity and hatred of the wars and still lived happily believing in human friendship and sharing.