CBSE Class 12 English HOTs The Third Level Set 04

Question. What does ‘The Third Level’ refer to?
Answer: ‘The Third Level’ symbolizes man’s innermost and deepest desire to escape from the world full of tensions, war, insecurity and fear. It stands for man’s pursuit for a life full of peace and tranquility in contrast to the materialistic and self centred world of today.

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: No, Charley couldn’t buy two tickets from the ticket-counter on the third level for his wife and himself. When the clerk is surprised to see different kinds of notes in Charley’s hand, he turns away and goes out fast to buy old currency notes, but he never finds the corridor that leads to the third level at the Grand Central.

Question. Do you think that the third level was a medium of escape for Charley? Why?
Answer: The modern world is full of fear, insecurity, war, worry and stress. Man feels bogged down and helpless. He does not understand what to do and how to come out of adverse circumstances. So, he looks for a ‘temporary refuge from reality’.
Charley, belonging to the twentieth century faced the same dilemma of a modern man. Busy in the rut of life, he indulged in his hobby of stamp collection for some mental peace and tranquility. Undoubtedly, it was always in his subconscious mind to find a means of escape from the ironies and materialistic bent of the world. Moreover, he had an earnest desire for things ‘pretty, nice and peaceful’, as they were in his grandfather’s time. Then when he meets his psychiatrist he admits that ‘everybody I know wants to escape’.
All these things combined together resulted in his flight of fancy to the third level. Sam, the psychiatrist also told him that his claim was ‘a waking dream wish fulfilment’. Hence we can say, that the third level was a medium of escape.

Question. What do you infer from Sam’s letter to Charley?
Answer: Sam’s letter was found in the oldest first day covers of Charley’s grandfather. It was dated July 18, 1894 and was written from Galesburg, Illinois. This means that Sam had found the third level and escaped.
Although he diagonsed Charley’s problem as an escape from life, he himself had been bothered by the humdrum existence and frustrations. In the letter, he asks Charley and Louisa to keep looking for the third level as ‘It’s worth it’. Sam always wanted a tranquil, easy going, pleasurable life in the countryside and wished to set up a hay and grain business.
The reader is not surprised by Sam’s letter to Charley but instinctively feels that how come the letter was found in an old first-day cover in grandfather’s collection? How come it was addressed to Charley and not to his grandfather although the address on the envelope was of the grandfather? Moreover, like the third level, it is possible that the letter could be a figment of Charley’s imagination. Thus, the letter gives an interesting angle to the story and makes the reader curious.

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 modern world, undoubtedly makes us frustrated, helpless and overworked. Our subconscious mind thus, finds ways and means to escape tensions. Depending on our upbringing, mindset and interests, people find novel ways to overcome such a sorry state of affairs. Most people find refuge in hobbies. The narrator, Charley, indulges in stamp collection to break the monotony of his life and use time productively.
Many turn to yoga, religion, spirituality, exercise, books, music and creative fields like painting and writing to overcome stress and find time for themselves.
These interests help reduce stress, anxiety and hopelessness associated with life. A positive energy exudes from the body making one calm, relieved and tranquil. Many health problems can be cured if we indulge in pleasurable activities.

Question. Do you see an intersection of time and space in the story “The Third Level”?
Answer: Yes, there is an intersection of time and space in the story. Time and space have been reduced to nothingness as all barriers related to them are broken. Charley bumps into the third level of 1894 and returns to the twentieth century. Similarly, Sam reaches Galesburg in 1894 and still can contact Charley in the twentieth century, which convincingly brings about an intersection.

Question. Apparent illogicality sometimes turns out to be a futuristic projection. Discuss.
Answer: Some things in life do not have a valid explanation or scientific reason. The sudden discovery of the third level by the narrator and his earnest desire to live a peaceful and contented life at Galesburg is not open to justification. The disappearance of his psychiatrist friend Sam is equally perplexing. Both these individuals wish to escape from the insecurities and intricacies of life. They want to lead an easy going life, wayback in 1894 when no one had heard about world wars. This indicates that, people’s unhappiness in their present life, can lead to frustration and eventually a virtual breakdown of emotions, relationships, organizations and systems in the future. The other way of explaining this statement is that all inventions, sometimes or the other have been termed illogical. The cell phones we use today were an improbability some years before, but today they have become a necessity. Who knows the idea of going back in time, travelling back and forth in time (as depicted in the story) would become possible one day!

Question. Philately helps keep the past alive. Discuss other ways in which this is done. What do you think of the human tendency to constantly move between the past, the present and the future?
Answer: The time dimension is divided into the past, the present and the future. Our past shapes our present. Similarly, in the present, lie seeds of the future. Philately helps keep the past alive. In the same way, hobbies like coin collection, books on varied topics, archaeological excavations, monuments, relics from the bygone era, movies, paintings and even music prevent our glorious past from being lost.
The human tendency to constantly move between the past, the present and the future shows man’s dissatisfaction with life and a need to rationalize. We hanker after something which we do not get. The present does not leave man satisfied. He longs for the past to come back and waits incessantly for something positive to turn up in the future. While waiting for the future we torture ourselves continously in the present. We are anxious and insecure in the present, thinking about our future.

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS 

Question. What does the third level refer to ?
Answer: The third level refers to another level at the Grand Central Station. In reality, there were only two. The narrator accidently found himself at the third level.

Question. How did Charley reach the third level of the Grand Central Station?
Answer: One evening Charley reached the Grand Central and walked down the second level to catch an early train to his home. He strangely happened to notice a doorway down and followed the steps that led him to the third level of the Grand Central Station.

Question. Why did the narrator talk to a psychiatrist friend of his and what did he say about the third level?
Answer: The narrator talked to his psychiatrist friend because no one believed him and thought he might consult a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist interpreted it as mental disorder and explained that to escape from insecurity fear, war, worry everyone fantasizes things that never happened.

Question. Does Charley agree that stamp collecting habit is a way of escapism? Why?
Answer: No, Charley doesn’t agree with his claim of his pyschiatrist friend. Charley’s grandfather was a stamp collector yet he was a happy man and he never ran away from reality. Another stamp collector was President Roosevelt. From these two people Charley believed that stamp collecting habit does not mean escapism.

Question. How did Charley ascertain that he had reached the 1894 world?
Answer: By the dim gas lamps, brass spittoons, old styled clothing of men and women, moustaches and string watches, Charley ascertained that he had reached the 1894 world.

Question. Why did Charley run away from the third level?
Answer: Charley wanted to buy two rail tickets to Galesburg but the clerk at the station found that his notes were fake and thought Charlie was attempting to fool him. He warned him that he would call the police. Seeing that there was nothing good about police and jail in 1894, he ran away.

Question. Why was Charley not able to get to Galesburg again?
Answer: After buying old currency in exchange of the new currency, he went down to the second and searched for the third level at the Grand Central Station. The door was dissipated and he could not find it again.

Question. How did Sam reach Galesburg?
Answer: From Charley’s experience, Sam learnt that one can get into the third level only once, so he purchased old currency and went to the Grand Central. He found the way to the third level, purchased ticket and reached the 1894 Galesburg, Charley’s village.

Question. What work did Sam set for in Galesburg? Why?
Answer: Sam set him self up in a hay, feed and grain business because he could not continue his old profession in Galesburg as at that time everyone was happy and contented so no one needed a psychiatrist.

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Question. What does Charley think of Grand Central? What did he discovered there?
Answer: Charley thought that Grand Central was growing like a tree, pushing out new corridors and stair cases, like roots. According to him, the Grand Central was so big that one could lose way very easily. Each time he discovered some new part of its meandering ways. He thought that there was probably a long tunnel that nobody knew about, feeling its way under the city, on its way to times square and another to Central Park.
One day while walking down to the second level to catch an early train to his home, he noticed a doorway down and followed the steps that led him to the third level which was never heard or seen by anyone.

Question. Describe briefly the scene at the station as seen by Charley?
Answer: Charley noticed that there were fewer ticket windows and train gates and the information booth in the centre of the station was made up of wood and was old-looking. Everyone dressed like eighteen or ninety. The lights were dim and flickering. He saw so many beards, side buns and fancy moustaches. A woman he saw was wearing a dress with leg of mutton sleeves and a skirt to the top of her high buttoned shoes. He also saw a small currier and Ives locomotive with funnel shaped stack. The open gaslight and brass spittoons at the third level gave it a feeling of 1894.

Question. Briefly describe Charley's strange experience in the third level?
Answer: Charley was an ordinary man, employed in New York. One day while travelling from Vanderbilt Avenue at Grand Central Station, he reached at the third level. It was totally unbelievable experience for him. He saw old fashioned dressing, costumes and accessories used by people like eighteen-ninety something. People used string-watches, long black sleeve protectors and big sized currencies. The trains ran on steam and coaches were smaller. He noticed that newspapers bore the date of 1894 and the lead story about the hundred year old America's President Cleveland. He wanted to buy two tickets for his wife and himself but couldn't buy it because he didn't have the old currency. Charley wanted to visit there but he could never find the third level again.

Question. How did Sam's mail reach Charley?
Answer: Sam reached the third level and started living in Galesburg. He became a part of a hundred year old world, the year 1894, a world devoid of the modern means of communication. Everyone depended on postal system at that time. In order to inform Charley about the existence of the third level, Sam sent a letter to Charley's Grandfather who still existed in the third level and his Grandfather kept the mail in his stamp collection and consequently recieved by Charley. Sam had no easy way to send charley a message that the third level was no waking dream wish fulfilment but a reality. Sam was aware of the fact that Charley's grandfather would be alive in 1894 Galesburg, having a stamp collection and that this same collection was with Charley. So Sam send the envelope to Charley's grandfather and he kept it is his collection and reached Charley.