Would Charley ever go back to the ticket-counter on the third level to buy tickets to Galesburg for himself and his wife?
Charley is sure about the presence of the third level after receiving Sam’s letter. So, he will definitely try to find a way to reach the Third Level. If he succeeds in doing so, then he might buy two tickets to Galesburg for himself and his wife.
Do you think that the third level was a medium of escape for Charley? Why?
The third level is an escape for Charley from the contemporary setting of insecurity and worry. He had always wanted to live his life in peace like he did in Galesburg. Slow and serene life mesmerized him. He wanted to go back to a place where people eat, drink, dance and celebrate life together. A life where there is no hustle for superiority and brotherhood prevails. But physically that wasn’t possible, so he took to the thoughts of the Third level where he found an escape from reality.
What do you infer from Sam’s letter to Charley?
Sam’s letter is a result of Charley’s imagination. This can be understood from the fact that the letter was enclosed in a first-day cover and addressed to his grandfather. First-day covers are usually sent by a person to himself on the launch date of a particular stamp. This done so that the envelope is stamped along with the date and it remains as a memory for ever. Such envelopes carry only empty letters and are not meant to be opened. But Charley happens to open one of his grandfathers’ first-day covers dated 11th July 1894 and finds Sam’s letter in it. This proves that Sam’s letter is completely imaginary.
‘The modern world is full of insecurity, fear, war, worry, and stress.’ What are the ways in which we attempt to overcome them?
The modern world is full of insecurity, fear, war, worry, and stress. This is because the world has become competitive and people want to pull each other down. We fear failure. To overcome such insecurities, we must first accept that both good and bad come hand in hand. Hence, we need to create a balance between personal, professional, creative and economic spheres of life. It is important for us to spend quality time with family and friends, be creative in art, poetry or prose etc. Some sort of sport, vacations, indoor games and healthy eating all sum up to make life- stress-free and healthy. Life is all about balance.
Do you see an intersection of time and space in the story?
The intersection of time and space is seen innumerable times in the story. Charley tries to buy to Galesburg but discovers that he has present-day currency. The stairs that lead him to the third level are also seen to be of the 19th-century pattern. Charley also opens up a first-day cover which is supposed to be blank from his grandfather’s collection of stamps and imagines it to be Sam’s letter.
In all these instances Charley is transported to a parallel world of imagination where everything happens according to his wishes. This makes him very satisfied. But simultaneously when he experiences things of the contemporary world, he gets confused.
Apparent illogicality sometimes turns out to be a futuristic projection? Discuss.
What appears to be illogical today often turns out to be a reality tomorrow. This has mostly been the trend with scientific inventions. For example, the camera, gravity, sun, moon, stars etc. The thought of humans being able to fly was once an illogical thought that the Wright Brothers had. It later turned out to be a reality in the form of airplanes and parachutes. Similarly, the baseless thought of talking to people over long distances by Graham Bell made him invent the telephone. The mobile phone is yet another version of taking the telephone to the next level. All these inventions were seeded in absurd imaginations. Time, effort, patience, hard work and resources make illogical thoughts get converted to real-time inventions.
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?
Keeping the past alive also means preserving memories. There are various ways in which memories can be preserved. Earlier people would maintain a diary to keep happenings recorded. Some would also safely preserve letters/ souvenirs/gifts that they received from others. As time changed and technology got largely involved into human life, people these days make videos or take photographs to capture moments.
Humans have a sharp ability to keep happenings recorded in memory. This enables them to constantly go back to any event in the past and recall it. Also, sometimes we humans tend to day-dream. Day dream is another name for dreaming about the future. Hence, we as humans have the power to delve deep into the past, linger about in present and also imagine the future. It is advisable to use this power properly so that better future can be built.
You have read ‘Adventure’ by Jayant Narlikar in Hornbill Class XI. Compare the interweaving of fantasy and reality in the two stories.
Jayant Narlikar’s ‘Adventure’ is a detailed explanation of what happens to a person when his life is stuck between two worlds i.e., imagination and reality. Both Professor Gaitonde and Charley have reached a point where they are unable to distinguish between the world of reality and fantasy. Professor Gaitonde is so engrossed in thoughts of the battle of Panipat that he visualizes it happening in front of him during the accident. The accident for him doesn’t remain limited to his own loss. He rather imagines it to be the chaotic battle of Panipat and moulds it in a way that he wished.
Similarly, Charley completely indulges himself in the thoughts of Galesburg. So, he imagines the presence of the Third Level which could help him reach Galesburg – the land of his dreams.
Both of them were extremely unsatisfied with the current scenario and desperately wanted to change it. But such a change was not possible on the grounds of reality. So, the both created a vent in their imagination that could take them to the utopia in which they wanted to live.