VISTAS CHAPTER 1-THE THIRD LEVEL

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 information 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 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 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 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 fast paced 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.

ird Level Reading with insight

Question 1.

What does the third level refer to?

Answer:

The third level is the world somewhere between desire or dream and reality. It is a world of fantasy that
we create for ourselves and occasionally seek to escape to. Most of the time it is a picture of the simple
past of our forefathers, who, we believe were happier. It is an escapist’s world which one weaves around
to be off the current-day problems, worries, anxieties and tensions.

Question 2.

Would Charley ever go back to the ticket-counter on the third level to buy tickets to Galesburg for
himself and his wife?

Answer:

Time travel is a temporary relief that man seeks to escape from the rush of his present existence. It was a
world of fantasy that Charley too had created. So, he exchanged all his savings for 1894 currency to buy
tickets from the third level to Galesburg, Illinois. However, he could not find the third level again as it did
not exist.
The Third Level Reading With Insight
Question 1.

Do you think that the third level was a medium of escape for Charley? Why?

Answer: Life today is full of insecurity, fear and worries and time travel is man’s way of escaping from it.
Occasionally, man seeks escape into the world of fantasy and his nostalgic memories, the happier • times
of the past. Yes, the third level was Charley’s medium of escape from the mad rat race of modern times.

Question 2.

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

Answer: Sam’s letter shows man’s pining for the simple, less harassing and a happier era. He too had
found respite from the hurry and worry of modern life in time travel. Sam had learnt to transport himself
into the time period of his ancestors whose quality of life he considered was better than their present
existence.

Question 3.

The modern world is full of insecurity, fear, war, worry and stress. What are the ways in which we
attempt to overcome them?

Answer: Man often creates in his fantasy a world which is somewhere between his desire and reality, and
often seeks respite by transporting himself to it mentally. Time travel is another way of overcoming
stress; we travel back in time to the past which we believe was a quieter and happier era. Nostalgic
memories too are often a way of escape from the harassing present.

Question 4.

Do you see an intersection of time and space in the story?

Answer: Yes, the story clearly shows an intersection of time and space. Firstly, the first two levels of
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 Charley goes to get old currency to buy
tickets to go to the Galesburg of 1894. The old architecture of the platform at the third level is different
from the platform of the modern times. The archaic manner of dressing by the people and the
newspaper, The World, dated June 11, 1894 also overlap with Charley’s real time world and existence.
Finally, the letter that was mailed to Charley’s Grandfather on 18 July, 1894 highlights the intersection of
time and space.

Question 5.

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. A good
number of scientific inventions sounded ridiculous and absurd till some brilliant minds gave them a
concrete shape. Before the Wright Brothers invented the first aeroplane, nobody could have dared to
believe that man could fly. There are many other examples of inventions 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 the mankind. It
would not be far-fetched to think about railway stations fitted with time-machine devices from one era
to another. It is just a matter of time.

Question 6.

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 keep the past alive. Collecting historical artefacts,
paintings and statues in a museum, collecting and reading books, collecting stamps, first day covers, etc.
are all a few ways of revisiting history.

Fond memories of the past are often kept alive through photographic collections, letters, etc. Man seeks
refuge in the nostalgic memories, the happier times of the past. He transports himself to the world by
travelling through time to escape the present. In fact, he is constantly moving between past for escape,
and present and future.

This 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. Such a
tendency helps in ensuring acceptance of the impact of important decisions taken at any point of time
and learning from them.

Question 7.

You have read ‘Adventure’ by Jayant Narlikar in Hornbill Class XI. Compare the interweaving of fantasy
and reality in the two stories.

Answer:

In ‘Adventure’ Jayant Narlikar expressed that many worlds exist simultaneously though they appear to be
separated by time. He conveyed that the other world also existed and prospered with the world we are
aware of.

In The Third Level, Charley, a young New York commuter wandering Grand Central Station by accident,
finds a gateway that leads to the past of 1894. Charley attempts to escape the rat race by buying a one
way ticket to his childhood town of Galesburg, Illinois. But circumstances forced him to postpone his plan
to escape to the past.