The Third Level

The Third Level

The Third level is a story of 31 years old man named Charlie. He was returning to his home from his work and was in a hurry, so he decided to take a subway from the Grand Central station instead of a bus. He says that the station has been growing like a plant and he has often bumped into new corridors and doors. He was walking through a secret tunnel and reached the third level of the station. There he saw small rooms, wooden ticket windows, information booths with dim lit and train gates. People were dressed in old fashioned clothing and there were brass spittoons. People had fancy beards and moustaches. His suspicion was confirmed by the date printed in the newspaper, June 11, 1894. After realizing his time travel, Charlie wanted to go to Galesburg with his wife Louisa. He went to buy two tickets but his currency was not valid in that time. Next day he withdrew all his savings and converted into old century currency. This distressed his wife. He does not find the third level at the station the next day and his friend Sam disappeared. 

 

The next day Charlie reached the station to look for that third level to visit Galesburg, but he didn't find it. So Charlie turns to his stamp collection to distract him from his third level thoughts. He finds a letter from Sam who had gone missing recently. He wrote that he always believed in Charlie’s third level thoughts. He says he himself is present in the third level. He motivated Charlie and Louisa to keep looking for the third level.

 

1.  What does the third level refer to?

Ans. The third level refers to the imaginary third underground level of the Grand Central Railway Station.

2.   Would Charley ever go back to the tickets counter on the third level to buy tickets to Galesburg for himself and his wife?

Ans.  No. Charley would never be able to reach the third level again.

3. Do you think that the third level was a medium of escape for Charley? Why? 

Ans.  Yes, I think that the third level was a medium of escape for Charley. Charley wishes to escape from his present worries and insecurities. He believes that in the old days life was peaceful.  He always desired to live peacefully in Galesburg. Thus, in his mind, he wanted to go back in time, so he found the third level as a realization of his dream.

4. What do you infer from Sam’s letter to Charley?

Ans. Sam was a psychiatrist but he too had his dreams. The description of Galesburg given by Charley infected him. He too wanted to escape from the present world. He did not like to pursue his present profession. He wanted to live in small town like Galesburg. So he also discovered the ‘third level’ to escape.

5. ‘The modern world is full of insecurity, fear, war, worry and stress.’ What are the ways in which we attempt to overcome them?

Ans. People believe that the past was pleasant without haste and worries. The contemporary world is full of illusion, insecurity, war, fear, worry, tension, and stress. This is because the world is full of competition. So we try to escape from the present realities to imaginary past. But it is our imagination that plays the major role. We start stamp collecting, painting and listening music.

6. Do you see an intersection of time and space in the story?

Ans. Yes, some situations in the story show an interaction of time and space. Firstly, the first two levels of Grand Central Station were found in the present time, while the third level survived. Charley tries to buy tickets to Galesburg but finds that he has current-day currency. The stairs that guide Charley to the third level are also seen to be the pattern of the 19th century. Charley opens up the first-day cover from his grandfather’s collection of stamps and assumes it to be Sam’s letter which is supposed to be blank. In certain situations, Charley is brought to a parallel world of thought where everything happens according to his desires. This instance makes him completely content. However, when he experiences the modern world, he becomes upset.

7. Apparent illogicality sometimes turns out to be a futuristic projection? Discuss.

Ans. Science fiction writers often make predictions which seem illogical but sometimes they turn out to be true. In the present story, we read about Charley’s wandering into the past. It seems illogical today. But tomorrow some scientist might invent a time machine which would make it possible to move freely between the past, present and future.

8. 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:

Besides philately, there are many other ways to help keep the past alive. Holding on to the past alive also means protecting the memories, which can be preserved in numerous ways. Philately is collecting the stamps that transport us into our actual past. In the past, people would maintain a diary to keep incidents recorded. Some people would also safely preserve letters, souvenirs, gifts, and coins that they got from others. In the modern world, as time flies and technology develops in people’s lives, they make videos or take photographs to capture the moments.

The ability to fluctuate between the past, present, and future is a great intellectual gift. It is good to make mistakes in our past. We can take beautiful lessons from it and can make today and tomorrow wonderful. Human beings have a good ability to keep events recorded in mind. This enables them to continually go back to any situation in the past and revive it. Hence, we as humans have the power to probe deep into the past, think about the present, and also imagine the future.