The Third Level ( lesson for 12th)

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5/5/2020




The Third Level by
                Jack Finney
Explanation by Baljit Singh

Summary-:

The Third Level explains how modern man is affected by complexity of life, tension, worry and war. He has no leisure time for himself which affects his mental condition. In rat race of accumulating more and more money man has become mechanical which tells upon his physical as well as his mental health. This is what happens to Charley.

Charley is a 31 year old business  man who travels hundreds of miles daily from his home to office. He travels by train. He takes train from the Grand Central Station which has two levels. But one day Charlie finds a third level also . He tells his psychiatric friend Sam about the third level. His friend tells him that there are only two levels and the third level is nothing but a waking dream wish fulfilment . It was due to insecurity, fear, war and worry. Sam advises Charley not to look for the third level again. But Charley insists that he has visited the third level. He says that one day he was in a hurry to reach home earlier . So he decided to take the sub way. There he saw new corridors which led him to a 1890 type of station where everything was old type, the locomotives, the ticket windows, spittoons, lamps and even currency. He wanted to purchase two tickets for Galesburg. He had with him bills of modern currency. The booking clerk did not accept them . So Charley came back and got exchanged some old style bills to purchase tickets for Galesburg. But he did not find the third level again . His wife got worried about him and advised him not to look for the third level again. One day an amazing thing happened to him.  He was looking among his oldest first-day covers. There he found one that had been mailed to his grandfather 's address at Galesburg. The post mark showed July 18, 1894. The paper inside it was not blank. It had a note from his psychiatric friend, Sam. Sam had written to Charlie that he also saw the third level. He saw that the people were dancing and playing music. It was  very pleasant there. Why Sam wrote to Charlie is very mysterious and has many interpretations.
__________________________________&__________SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Q1. What does the third level refer to? Or
Do you think the third level was a medium of escape for Charley?
Ans- The third level exists only in Charley's mind or in his imagination. It is a medium of escape from reality. In fact, the modern man has become so busy in earning wealth that he has no time for himself. It creates tension, worry and war. In order to escape from reality, modern man resorts to fantasy. This is what happens to Charley. He travels hundreds of miles daily in train from The Grand Central in New York which has two levels. But Charley wants to reach home soon. So he imagines the third level also. His psychiatrist friend Sam tells him that it was his waking dream wish fulfilment.

Q2. What do you mean by a waking dream wish fulfillment? Or
   How did Charley'' psychiatric friend Sam react when he told him about the third level at the Grand Central Station?

Ans- Waking dream wish fulfillment means day dreaming or fulfillment of a wish in dreams or escape from reality. Sam told Charley that modern world is full of fear, worry and war. So everyone wants to escape from reality.

Q3. Who was Sam Weisner?
Ans. He was Charley's psychiatric friend.

Q4. What do you mean by the first day cover?
Ans. Usually when a new stamp is issued, the stamp collectors buy some of them and fix them on the envelopes mailed to themselves. The post mark on them proves the date. Such covers are called as first day covers.

Q5- What did Sam write in his letter? Why did he post it to Charley's grandfather's address in Galesburg ?

Ans- Sam wrote to Charley that he was right. He himself had also visited the third level . There everything was fine. People were happy. He heard that someone was playing on flute. Sam had posted it to the address of Charley's grandfather for two reasons. Firstly,  he wanted to convince Charley that third level really existed. Secondly, as a  psychiatrist he wanted to create the situation where Charley finds himself normal.

Q6-. What unusual things did Charley see at the third level? (Very Important)

Ans-: Charley saw many unusual things at the third level. He saw old type of locomotives and  ticket windows. He saw open gas lights and big brass spittoons on the floor. Even the currency was old style as was used in 1890. 

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