Question

Discuss the narrative techniques used by the author in The Third Level. How do these techniques effectively convey the themes of escapism and nostalgia? Provide specific examples from the text to support your analysis.

Answer 1

1. First-Person Narrative: 
   • Technique: The story is presented from Charley's first-person perspective, providing an intimate and personal account of his experiences and thoughts.
   • Effect: This strategy connects readers with Charley's desires and worries, making his desire for escape and nostalgia for a simpler past more relatable.
   • Textual evidence: Charley stated, "But that's the reason," and his companions agreed. "Everything points to it," they stated. Stamp collecting, for example, is a 'temporary retreat from reality.'"
     This personal perspective describes his explanations and how others interpret his escapism.
2. Detailed Description Language:
   • Technique: Charley's descriptions of the third floor of Grand Central Station are vivid and specific to the setting and period in history.
   • Effect on Themes: These descriptions create a believable environment and effectively depict the past, emphasizing nostalgia and the temptation to escape to a better and simpler time.
   • Textual evidence: "Then I saw why; they were open-flame gaslights," etc. "everyone in the station was dressed like eighteen-ninety-something; I never saw so many beards, sideburns, and fancy moustaches in my life."
     These details emphasise Charley's escape to a historical setting with aspects of the period.
3. Symbolism:
   • Technique: The story uses the 'third level' as a symbol, representing both a physical location and a mental escape to another time.
   • Effect on Themes: The third level represents the psychological shelter from modern anxieties, emphasizing the concept of escape.
   • Textual Evidence: Charley mentions, "Grand Central has been an exit, a way of escape; maybe that's how I got into the tunnel."
     This statement associates the physical space of the third level with the concept of leaving reality.
4. Contrast and irony:
   • Technique: The sharp contrast between Charley's commonplace, modern life and his exploits on the third level creates irony.
   • Effect on Themes: The contrast strengthens the third level's nostalgic attraction while highlighting the impracticality of such a retreat.
   • Textual Evidence: "The clerk calculated the fare—he glanced at my fancy hatband—and I had enough for two coach tickets, one way." But when I finished counting the money and looked up, the clerk stared at me."
     This demonstrates how out of place modern features are in the past, emphasizing his escape's nostalgic but problematic nature.