The Third Level

1. Answer each of the following questions in about 30-40 words:

Question 1.
What does the third level refer to? What is the significance of the third level?
(2001; 2004, Delhi)
Answer:
The third level is a medium of escape through which man yearns to be away
from life’s harsh realities. Modem life is devoid of peace and tranquility so man
in his quest to seek solace escapes to a place where his aim is to seek the
realization of his dreams and unfulfilled wishes of his subconscious mind.

Question 2.
What convinced Charley that he had reached the third level at Grand Central
Station and not the second level? (2010 Delhi)
Answer:
The general layout of the third level was different from that of the second
level. It had comparatively smaller rooms, fewer ticket windows and lesser
train gates. The infor¬mation booth in the centre was made of wood and
looked old. The place with its brass spittoons did not look very bright. So
Charley was convinced it was not the second level.

Question 3.
How does Charley, the narrator describe the third level at Grand Central
Station? (2013 Delhi)
Answer:
Charley says that the rooms on the third level were smaller than that of the
second level. There were fewer ticket windows and train gates and the
information booth in the centre was wood and old looking. There were open-
flame gaslights and brass spittoons on the floor. Everyone at the station was
dressed in nineteenth century dresses.

Question 4.
How did Charley make sure that he was not in the present time? (2002 Delhi)
Answer:
To make sure that he was not in the present time, Charley did a reality check.
He looked at the newspapers which were on sale at a kiosk and found a copy
of the newspaper ‘The World’, which carried the main story on President
Cleveland. Then he confirmed from the Public Library files that the newspaper
he had seen was dated 11th June, 1894.

Question 5.
How did Charley often get lost on the Grand Central Station? (2010 Delhi)
Answer:
The Grand Central Station was growing like a tree pushing out endless
corridors, doorways and stairs like roots. It had intricate and tangled
pathways. The network of passages was so complicated that instead of
reaching his destination, one did tend to move up and down to look for entries
and exits. So, Charley often got lost on this station.

Question 6.
Why did Charley suspect that Sam had gone to Galesburg? (2011 Outside
Delhi)
Answer:
When Sam disappeared all of a sudden and no one knew about his
whereabouts, Charley suspected he had gone to Galesburg as Sam was a city
boy and liked Galesburg very much. Then Charley found an envelope mailed to
Sam by his grandfather from his home in Galesburg and so it confirmed that
Sam was indeed in Galesburg.

Question 7.
How does Charley describe Galesburg as it used to be in 1894? (2013 Comptt.
Outside Delhi)
Answer:
Charley describes Galesburg as a quiet, simple and peaceful place with big old
frame houses, huge lawns and tremendous trees. The summer evenings were
rather long and people sat out on their lawns in a peaceful world, men
smoking cigars and women waving palm-leaf fans.

Question 8.
What did Charley learn about Sam from the stamp and coin store? (2012
Outside Delhi)
Answer:
From the stamp and coin store Charley gets to know that Sam had bought old
style currency worth eight hundred dollars. This money was sufficient to set
him up in a little hay, feed and grain business in Galesburg.

Question 9.
How did Sam reach Galesburg? What did he advise Charley to do? (2012
Outside Delhi)
Answer:
Sam was fascinated by Charley’s description of Galesburg. He was so burdened
by the tensions and stress of modem life that he thought of escaping to the
peaceful world of Galesburg. His advice to Charley is that, he (Charley) and his
wife, Louisa should come over to Galesburg through the medium of the ‘third
level’.

Question 10.
Why did the booking clerk refuse to accept the money? (2010 Delhi)
Answer:
The booking clerk refuses to accept the money because the notes Charley had
given him were of old style. He did not pay in the currency notes that were in
circulation in 1894. So the clerk stared at him and told him, “That ain’t money,
Mister”. He thought Charley was trying to cheat him and even threatened to
get him arrested.

Question 11.
Why did Charley rush back from the third level? (2012 Outside Delhi)
Answer:
When Charley took out the modem currency to pay for the two tickets to
Galesburg, the ticket clerk accused him of trying to cheat him. He threatened
to hand Charley over to the police. Charley was frightened and he decided to
rush back from the third level, lest he was arrested and put into prison.

2. Answer each of the following questions in about 125-150 words.

Question 12.
How did Charley reach the third level of Grand Central? How was it different
from the other levels? (2009 Delhi; 2012 Comptt. Delhi)
Answer:
One night Charley worked till late at the office. Then he was in a hurry to get
back to his apartment. So he decided to take the subway from Grand Central.
He went down the steps and came to the first level. Then he walked down to
the second level from where the suburban trains left. He ducked into an
arched doorway that headed to the subway. Then he got lost. Knowing that he
was going wrong he continued to walk downward. The tunnel turned a sharp
left and then taking a short flight of stairs he came out on the third level at the
Grand Central Station. Here he saw many unusual things. There were very few
ticket windows and train gates that were old-looking and made of wood. Dim
gaslights flickered and men wore derby hats and four-button suits. It was a
rather strange world of sideburns, beards and fancy moustaches.

Question 13.
Do you think that the third level was a medium of escape for Charley? Why?
(2005; 2008 Delhi)
Answer:
The fears, anxieties and insecurities of the modem world are taking a toll on
man’s mind. He feels helpless and frustrated and seeks temporary respite from
life’s harsh realities. Charley too was unable to cope up with his fastpaced and
stressful life so his flight to the third level was undoubtedly a medium of
escape for him. It is nothing but a creation of Charley’s own mind. He wants to
escape from the modern world’s insecurity, fear, worries and stress and so
seeks an exit, a medium to get away into the world of dreams and fancies.
Question 14.
What made Charley believe that the was actually standing at the third level?
(2010 Comptt. Delhi)
Answer:
One night Charley worked late at the office. He was in a hurry to get to his
apartment. So he decided to take the subway from Grand Central. He ducked
into an arched doorway and then he got lost. He walked down the steps to the
second level, turned left and kept on walking. He came out on the third level
at the Grand Central Station. This was a different, old and romantic world. So
he was convinced that he was actually standing at the third level. There were
fewer ticket windows there which were made of wood and were old-looking.
There were open flame gaslights. He saw people with beards, sideburns and
fancy moustaches. Then he caught a glimpse of an old locomotive and also
saw an 1894 issue of ‘The World’ newspaper. Perhaps Charley is under
pressure to escape from the harsh world of realities. He would like to escape to
the peaceful world of 1894.

Question 15.
What kind of people did Charley ‘See’ at the third level? (2011 Outside Delhi,
2010 Comptt. Outside Delhi)
Answer:
Having worked late at the office Charley decided to take a train back home. So
he came to Grand Central Station and from the second level he got lost while
ducking into an arched doorway and found himself inside a tunnel. This tunnel
took him to another light of stairs and he found himself on the third level of
the station. As compared to the second level, the third level had smaller
rooms, fewer ticket windows and train gates. Everyone there was dressed in
‘eighteen-ninety-something’. Charley came across men and women wearing
19th century dresses. Men sported fancy moustaches, beards and sideburns.
Tiny lapels, four-button suits, derby hats and pocket gold watches seemed to
be in vogue. Women were wearing fancy cut sleeves, long skirts and high-
buttoned shoes. Charley was confused to see people sporting old-fashioned
clothes and hair styles at the third level.

Question 16.
How does Charley make his description of the third level very realistic? (2013
Comptt. Delhi)
Answer:
To make his description of the third level very realistic, Charley describes its
minute details, vividly comparing it to the second level of the Grand Central
station. He says the rooms here were smaller. There were fewer ticket
windows and train gates, and the information booth was wooden and old-
looking. He also gives a detailed description about the people he saw at the
third level and their dresses. He says the people wore nineteenth century
dresses; many men had beards, sideburns and fancy moustaches. He also
buys tickets to Galesburg, Illinois thus making the reader believe that he was
actually at the third level.
Question 17.
What is being inferred from Sam’s letter to Charley? (2003 Delhi)
Answer:
Sam’s letter to Charley is dated 18th July, 1894. It is written from Galesburg,
Illinois. In response to Charley’s claim of having visited the third level, Sam
who is equally insecure wishes the entire episode is true, as he too believes in
the existence of the third level. There are some inferences made by the letter.
The introductory part of the letter confirms Charley’s belief in the existence of
the third level. It also suggests that those who find the third level can travel
across to Galesburg and enjoy the festivities, songs, music and peaceful world
of the 1890s. So the author uses Sam’s letter as a unique combination of the
real and fantasy world.