The Third Level NCERT Questions and Answers

Q1.What does the Third level refer to?
Ans.The Third level refers to that level where one transcends the boundaries of time and space and reaches far flung destinations like Galesburg, Illinois, 1894.Few people like the narrator and his friend Sam dare to explore it “Third Level could also symbolize man’s yearning to get transported to the world of imagination as an escape from the world of harsh realities.


Q2.Do you think that the third level was medium of escape for Charley?  Why?
     Ans.: .If Yes
it was a waking dream
a wish fulfilment
provided escape from modern day fear, insecurity, worry

If No
then the place really existed as Charley describes vividly railway station, people, dresses, newspaper and counters
Sam exchanging money, disappearance, letter in the first day cover

Q3. Do you find an intersection of time and space in the story ?
Ans. “The Third Level” is a story based on the idea of time –travel where Charley is transported from the present world to the year 1894.

Charley while wandering inside Grand Central Station suddenly finds portal that transports him to 1894 where the dim and flickering light of open-flame gaslights illuminated the place .Everyone in the station was dressed like eighteen nineties.

Charley comes back to the twentieth century while his friend Sam disappears into Galesburg of 1894. Thus, Sam’s stay in Galesburg of 1894 and yet his communication with Charley in twentieth century brings about a convincing intersection of time and space.

Q4. What do you infer from Sam’s letter to Charlie?
Sam’s letter from Galesburg in 1894 to Charley in the twentieth century leaves the readers mystified and perplexed. Charley finds this letter among the first day covers of his grandfather’s collection. Someone had mailed it to his grandfather at his home in Galesburg. But the paper inside the envelope was not blank ,rather Charley found a letter written to him by Sam in which he informs that he has reached the third level.

Several inferences could be drawn from Sam’s letter. First ,it is possible that Sam,getting influenced by Charley’s glowing description of idyllic Galesburg , got transported to the peaceful past through the medium of imagination. His inability to cope up with rigours of harsh reality led him to take recourse in the tranquil world of Galesburg. So ,through the letter , Sam suggests Charley and Louisa to keep looking for the third level till they find it.

Second, the question could be raised about the authenticity of the letter. It is possible that the  letter is a figment of Charlie's imagination. The introductory part of the letter seems to be a projection of Charley’s waking dream wish fulfilment. It confirms his belief in the existence of the third level.

Thus, the letter gives an interesting angle to the story and makes the reader curious.

Q5.The modern world is full of insecurity, fear, war, worry and stress. What are the ways in which we overcome it?
Ans Value Points
Present world- rat race
• Everybody running after power, money or success.
• One gets stressed out
• Feeling of being a failure develops
• To overcome such insecurities and fears one starts imagining
• Charley starts imagining his grandfather and the village he came from
• He starts believing that there is a third level at the grand station, New York from where trains went to Galesburg, Illinois, where his grandfather used to live
-Pursuing hobbies such as collecting stamps is also a way to escape harsh reality.

Q6 Apparent illogicality sometimes turns out to be a futuristic  Projection? Discuss
  Logic is not the only yardstick for guiding ,motivating and inspiring human  thought and feelings .Every occurrence in nature cannot be  explained by  logic .The visualization of something that the world is  unfamiliar with is often termed as illogical .All the great scientists ,poets   and philosophers have  had vision about the future ,these dreams may not  have appeared logical at that time but may come true later on . For  example: The diaries of Leonardo de Vinci  contained sketches of aero   planes  and many such inventions which may have appeared illogical at  that time but scientists invented and  developed them later. Similarly in the  Chapter ‘The Third level’, the concept of time travel has been dealt with  Today it may appear to be a illogical but who knows in the future it may become  a reality  and man may travel back and forth in time.

THE THIRD LEVEL
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