THE THIRD LEVEL

MCQs

1. How would you describe Charley’s vision of his grandfather’s life and times?
(a) Wistful escapism
(b) Idealized sentimentality
(c) Nostalgic simplicity
(d) Dreamy perfection

2. What does the Third Level refer to?

(a) The Third level refers to Charley’s hallucinated mind.
(b) The Third Level refers to Galesburg, Illinois.
(c) The Third Level

3. Which of the following is a conclusion that can be drawn from the story?
(a) Reality is indeed stranger than fiction.
(b) With all its worries, modern life is not worth living.
(c) The past is undoubtedly better than the present.
(d) Imagination might be the only great escape.

4. Choose the statement which is not true with reference to Charley.

(a) Charley wanted to take a temporary refuge from a world full of insecurity, fear, war
and worry.
(b) Charley withdraws nearly all his savings and buys old-style currency.
(c) Charley was eventually able to find the third level with the help of his psychiatrist
friend, Sam.
(d) Charley wanted to go to Galesburg.

5. Which statement form the following justifies the core theme of The Third Level?

(a) The world in 1894 had not seen the repercussions of war.
(b) Charley’s wife thinks the Third Level is nothing but a mere figment of his imagination.
(c) People find it easy to make peace with unpleasant things they come across in life.
(d) Charley wanted a transient relief from harsh realities of contemporary life.
 SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

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

2. “The modern world is full of insecurity, fear, war, worry and stress”. What are the ways in
which we can overcome them?
3. Apparent illogicality sometimes turns out to be a futuristic projection. Discuss.
4. Why was Charley’s habit of stamp collection termed as “a refuge from reality”?
5. Philately helps to 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?

LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS

1. Do you think that the third level was a medium of escape for Charley? Why?
2. How has the writer created the atmosphere of the 1890s in the lesson The Third Level?
3. Contrast the world in which Charley lives and the world he accidently bumps into.