Character Sketch of Charley ('The Third Level' by Jack Finney)

-
Charley, the main character of the story finds a portal which leads to 1894. He tries to go to his hometown, Galesburg. But, as because he didn’t have any currency of 1894, he had to postpond his plans for the future. He exchanged his 3 hundred dollar bills for less than 2 hundred dollars of that of 1894’s currency.
However, he never finds the third level again. When he tells this to his wife and his psychiatrist friend about this, both think that alike philately, this is also another way to take refuge from the realities of the world. However, the proof of the third level’s existence comes from the most unexpected source, his psychiatrist friend – Sam. Sam sends Charlie a letter telling him about the third level. When Sam heads over to 1894 through the third level, he sends a first day cover to his Grandfather’s address.

His Grandfather thinking that the first day cover was sent to him by himself, adds it to his collection of stamps and never opens it thinking that there is nothing in that envelope but blank paper. In the story, you will find a line ‘…he started my collection’. It means that Charlie’s Grandfather had a collection of stamps along with first day covers which was passed over to Charlie. When Charlie was looking at his collection, he found the letter which Sam had written to him and that letter gave solid proof of the third level’s existence. You might be confused by the last part of the story, but it’s really simple you see… the concept is something like something you do in the past which has direct effect on the present.

Charlie received the letter because Sam wrote it to him in 1894. Charlie didn’t exist in 1894 because in 1894, he wasn’t born.
So, Sam had to think and write a letter to Charlie’s Grandfather who’s hobby was to collect stamps alike Charlie and Sam knew that if somehow he could make his Grandfather into adding the letter to his collection, then it would straightly go off to Charlie as Charlie’s collection was started by Charlie’s grandfather. So, I think it’s clear that Charlie got that letter only when Sam sent it to him. He didn’t receive it until Sam actually went to 1894 and wrote a letter to Charlie’s grandfather. It’s like this…something someone does in the past which has a direct ( in this case immediate) effect on the present you are living in.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Character Sketch of Mukesh ('Lost Spring' by Anees Jung)

-
Image
Mukesh is a young boy who belongs to a bangles maker family from Frizabad the city which is famous for its colourful bangles where almost every colour of bangles are made sunny, gold, blue, red, paddy green, yellow, sky blue, violet and many others. He lives in Firozabad with his elder brother, sister-in-laws and his father. Firozabad is famous for bangles Industries where almost 20 thousand children illegally work with adults in dingy cell at high temperature around the furnace without air and light. Mukesh's family is among them whose entire family work in bangles industry and have spent generation working around forge. But Mukesh doesn't want to work in the bangles industry. He has a dream to be a motor-mechanic and he insists to be that. though it seems not too easy to be but he does. He takes the author to his half built home through a narrow stinking lane chocked with garbage and 24 hours running water. There is no facility of proper drainage and dirty water management.
Read more

Character Sketch of Rajkumar Shukla ('Indigo' by Louis Fischer))

-
Image
Rajkumar shukla was an illiterate poor sharecropper of Champaran, Bihar. He was born on 23 August 1875 at a village Satwaria of Champaran Bihar. During the thirty first session of the Congress in Lucknow in 1916 Shukla met Mahatma Gandhiji as a representative of farmers from Champaran who requested Gandhiji to visit his district to see himself miseries of Indigo sharecroppers there. Because most of the arable lands of Champaran was divided into large estates owned by Englishmen. They forced the Indian tenants to plant 15% of their holdings with Indigo and surrender the entire Indigo harvest as rent. After the landlords learned that Germany had developed synthetic Indigo, they asked for compensation from the sharecroppers for being released from the 15% arrangement. The sharecropping arrangement was irksome and so many peasants signed willingly. However, some of them engaged lawyers. Meanwhile, the news of synthetic Indigo reached the sharecroppers and they felt cheated, unhappy a
Read more

Character sketch of Saheb-e-Alam ('Lost Spring' by Anees Jung))

-
Image
  The author’s acquaintance with Saheb and many of his friends who are  barefoot  rag-pickers introduce her to Seemapuri. Saheb is such a boy who picks up rags roaming street to street many with his friends, Saheb and his entire family live in Seemapuri, it is a slum area located on the periphery of Delhi. Though Saheb and his family have come from Bangladesh in 1971 while war as being refugees and they settled here forever. Saheb’s family is one among many rag-pickers in Seemapuri. The area consists of mud structures, with roof of tin and tarpaulin. Saheb roams barefoot with his friends; they appear like flight of birds in the morning and disappear till the afternoon. There are no facilities of sewage, drainage or 24 hours running water. About 10,000 rag-pickers live in Seemapuri. Saheb has also many dreams like a common child but there is no one around him who could listen his sound of heart. He seems curious to have a pair of shoes. The shirt that he has worn looks discolou
Read more