Chapter 1

THE THIRD LEVEL

1.What does the third level refer to?
Answer: Modern life is devoid of peace and tranquility. So, man in his quest to
seek solace, escapes to a place where his aim is to attain the realization of his
dreams and unfulfilled wishes of his subconscious mind. The third level in the
station was a medium of escape for Charley, the narrator, from the harsh realities
of modern life. It provided him a base where he could interweave fantasy and
reality.

2.Do you think that the third level was a medium of escape for Charley? Why?
Answer: Yes, I think that the third level was a medium of escape for Charley. Life
in modern world is full of insecurity, fear, war, worries and stress. Man has to
confront them all the times. The harsh realities of life make living quite
unpleasant and even unbearable. So, he wants to escape to a wishful world.
Charley talks to his psychiatrist friend about the third level at the Grand Central
Station. His friend calls it “a walking-dream wish fulfillment”. Charley possesses an
escapist tendency. Even his stamp collecting is a ‘temporary refuge from reality’.
3. What do you infer from Sam’s letter to Charley?
Answer: The way Charley came across Sam’s letter was surrounded in mystery.
Among his oldest first-day covers, he found an envelope. The envelope containing
the letter bore the address of his grandfather. It was written on July 18, 1894. The
postmark showed the picture of President Garfield. Generally the first day covers
have blank papers in them, but this one contained a letter. The letter was
addressed to Charley. In the letter Sam had informed Charley that he was living a
peaceful and contented life in Galesburg, Illinois. He had also told Charley and his
wife to keep looking for the third level. Clearly, the letter was a product of
Charley’s imagination.
4. ‘The modern world is full of insecurity, fear, war, worry and stress.’ What are
the ways in which we attempt to overcome them?
 Answer: We can overcome the anxieties and insecurities bred by our inevitable
existence in the modern world by getting involved in some practical and beneficial
activities. Cultivating hobbies, spending time with family and friends, going on
trips and excursions, pursuing meditation and exercises help us live a balanced
and healthy life. Reading good books is equivalent to having good friends with
great insight. They not only enrich us with the vast store of knowledge but also
help us to learn from other’s experience and stay rooted to some basic qualities
of humanity. Joining hobby classes or gym, attending social events like birthdays
and weddings, going for outdoor games, interacting meaningfully through social
networking sites and writing diaries etc can also help us relieve our worries and
stay focussed and disciplined in life. Simple activities like listening to music,
playing with pets, an occasional dinner out, watching cinema or plays or going to
places like parks etc can go a long way in helping us get rid of stress, boredom and
insecurities.
5.Do you see an intersection of time and space in the story?
Answer: Yes, there are certain instances in the story that show an intersection of
time and space. Firstly, the first two levels of the Grand Central Station were
located in the present time while the third level existed in the 1890s. Secondly,
Charley and his wife, Louisa, live in the present time yet he rushes to get old
currency to buy two tickets to go to the Galesburg of 1894. Further, the old
architecture of the platform at the third level is different from the modern
platforms of the first two levels. Besides, the archaic manner of dressing by the
people, and the newspaper, The World, dated June 11, 1984 also overlaps with
Charley’s real time world and existence. Lastly, the letter that was mailed to
Charley’s grandfather on 18th July, 1894 highlights the intersection of time and
space as the sender (Charley’s friend Sam) and receiver (Charley himself)
belonged to the present time.
6. Apparent illogicality sometimes turns out to be a futuristic projection?
Discuss.
Answer: It is true that apparent illogicality sometimes turns out to be a futuristic
projection. Before the Wright Brothers invented the first aeroplane , nobody
could have dared to believe that man could fly. Before Alexander Graham Bell
invented the telephone, it would have been impossible to believe in long-distance
talks happening in the real-time interface. Moreover, there are examples of
inventions, like that of inventing a modern-day sewing machine with a needle that
has hole on its wrong end, which were conceived in dreams but now are part of
our everyday reality. All this emphasizes that fantasies of one point of time that
seem illogical may turn out to be revolutionary things that change the future of
mankind. Similarly, it would not be farfetched to think about railway stations
fitted with time-machine devices that would make travel from one era to another
just a matter of time.
7. 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 numerous other ways to help keep the past
alive. Collecting historical artifacts, paintings and inscriptions in a museum,
collecting and reading books (including autobiographies, bio-sketches, letters and
diary entries) written in different eras, collecting and viewing documentaries and
other videos are all a few ways of revisiting history. Besides, we can keep our
culture and traditions alive when we follow the rituals in ceremonies, treasure
memories in the form of videos, photographs and audio collections. Also, reviving
old monuments, buildings and other artefacts may prove a huge learning
opportunity to those visiting such places, and promote tourism at the same time.
The capacity to oscillate between the past, present and future is a great
intellectual gift. This human tendency enables him to plan for the future in the
present by reaping benefits from the past. Consider a very simple example of
adopting a study technique for board exams. Considering the past result (of class
test or half yearly exams) a student makes a strategy plan to address the weak
areas more and score better in the future. Thus, such a tendency helps in ensuring
acceptance of the impact of important decisions taken at any point of time and
learning from them.

EXTRA QUESTIONS
1. ‘Yes, I’ve taken the obvious step. ‘Why does Charley term meeting the
psychiatrist as ‘an obvious step’?
2. What does Charley compare the Grand Central Station to? Why?
3. What sort of dresses and appearances did Charley come across on the third
level?
4. How did Charley confirm the specific date of era that he had passed into?
5. Why could Charley not reach the third level again?
6. Why did Louisa stop Charley from looking for the third level?
7. What do you understand by a first–day cover?
8. How did Charley come to know that Sam had found the third level?
9. How did Sam like life in Galesburg?
10.Why does Charley say, ‘he (Sam) certainly can’t go back to his old business?