1.

“The Third Level”(By Jack Finney)

In “The Third Level”, Jack Finney presents a contrast between fantasy and reality.
Here, the third level refers to the third underground level of the Grand Central
Railway Station. In real, the third level is nothing but a product of Charley’s own
mind. It is only a way of escape for Charley from the harsh realities of life. Life in the
modern world is full of insecurity, fear, war, worry and stress. Man should face them
bravely. But he uses his own strange ways to overcome them. He attempts to
overcome them through imaginary ways. Charley is an escapist. He just wants to
escape from the harsh realities of life. He moves into the world of romance and
fancy. Stamp-collecting is also a way to escape from reality. It keeps our past alive. It
is a human nature to move in the past, the present and the future. Charley finds a
letter written and signed by Sam. In real, it is Charley’s another way to escape from
the harsh realities of life. Thus, the story underlines the idea of escapism from the
modern world of harsh realities.
2.“The Tiger King” [By Kalki]
“The Tiger King” is a good story written by Kalki. It is based on the general attitude of
human beings towards wild animals. It is a satire on the pride ad conceit of the
powerful people. They kill the innocent animals only to show their power. In this
story, the Maharaja is used as the symbol of cruelty and conceit. The astrologers
declare that his death will come from a tiger. The Maharaja decides to kill the tigers.
His minions are not sincere towards him. They seem to be selfish, coward and
foolish. Their bahaviour is only driven by fear. It is clear from the way the dewan
behaves. He is afraid of the Maharaja’s anger. In his fear, he arranges the hundredth
tiger for the Maharaja. We often find that the politicians bow to their boss for
personal benefits. Game-hunting among the rich and the powerful is common in the
present times. All this shows the callousness of human beings towards wildlife. The
king thinks himself safe after killing the hundredth tiger. But in the end only a toy tiger
causes his death. All this shows that man can cause any big loss to anybody for his
own benefits.
3. “Journey to the End of the Earth” (By Tishani Doshi)
In “Journey to the End of the Earth” Tishani Doshi describes the journey to the
coldest continent, Antarctica. It is true that the world’s geographical history is trapped
in Antarctica. The study of this area helps us to know about the history of
humankind. Geoff Green has made a programme, “Students on Ice”. Its aim is to
take high school students to the ends of the world. Geoff Green takes them as the
most responsible members of the society. They have the ability to absorb, learn and
act. There was a continent called Gondwana about 650 million years ago. Its climate
was much warmer. Gondwana flourished for about 500 million years. Then the age
of mammals started and the dinosaurs disappeared. Finally, it broke into separate
countries as they exist today. Antarctica provides a warning for the future. The future
of humankind looks dark and full of sufferings. Global warming is a big danger for
mankind. So Antarctica is the place to go to, to understand the earth’s present, past
and future. We should take care of small things and the big things will take care of
themselves. It means that if we solve small problems, there will be no danger of any
big problem.
4 “The Enemy” (By Pearl S. Buck)
“The Enemy” is a good story based on the theme of service of mankind. It moves
round the duty and conduct of Dr. Sadao. Dr. Sadao was a famous Japanese
surgeon. Hana was his wife. Japan was at war with America. Dr. Sadao helped a
wounded American soldier. He operated on him and saved his life. It was his duty as
a doctor to save an injured person. He was a famous and respected doctor.
Moreover, he was treating the General. So he was not arrested. His wife was a kind
lady. She knew that her husband was not helping an enemy but he was doing his
duty as a doctor. She helped her husband in the treatment of the soldier. When the
servants refused to wash the wounded soldier, she herself washed him. Thus, Dr.
Sadao and his wife nursed the wounded soldier with great care. After saving his life,
he informed the General about him. He knew that Dr. Sadao was so skilled that he
could save anyone. The General himself was ill and so he badly needed Dr. Sadao.
The General decided to get the American soldier killed. But he forgot to do so. Then
Dr. Sadao made a plan to get rid of the soldier. He put his boat on the sea shore.
Then he asked him to run away by the boat.
5.“Should Wizard Hit Mommy?”
[John Updike]
“Should Wizard Hit Mommy?” is a lesson giving story. In this story, the writer
conveys a moral message. He presents a picture of love and affection between a
daughter and her father. The writer also tries to present the difference between the
views of the adults and that of the children. In this story, Jo is a girl of four years. Her
father tells her stories created by him. She listens to him carefully. She asks many
questions related to stories. She does not fall asleep till Jack tells her a new story.
Each story is a little different from other stories. His stories are not real but he
imagines to tell her. In the present story, there is a small creature named Roger
Skunk. He smells very bad. No creature plays with him. He goes to a wise owl who
sends him to a wizard. The wizard makes him smell like roses. Now he is very
happy. His mother does not like this. She goes to the wizard and hits him with an
umbrella. She tells him to make him smell very bad again. Jo does not like this. She
thinks that wizard should hit mommy.
6. “On the Face of It” [Susan Hill]
“On the Face of It” is a lesson giving play. It tells us about two persons’ attitude
towards life. The whole story moves around Derry and Mr. Lamb. The play conveys
the message that any kind of inferiority complex is bad for life. Derry is a young boy.
He has a burnt face. He suffers from inferiority complex because of his burnt face.
He does not go out of his house. Lamb is a middle aged man. He has a tin leg.
Children call him ‘Lamey Lamb’. But he does not mind it. Once, Derry enters the
garden of Lamb. He is afraid of him but Lamb treats him like a friend. Lamb says that
he has many friends. He does not lock himself in the house. Lamb advises him not to
worry about the world. The meeting of Lamb has a great impact on Derry. He is free
from inferiority complex. His mother stops him from going to meet Mr. Lamb again.
But he cannot stop because Mr. Lamb has given him a new meaning of life.
7. “Evans Tries an O-Level” [Colin Dexter]
“Evans Tries an O-Level” is an interesting story of a prisoner, Evans. He is very
clever. He is expert to escape from the prison. He has run away from the prison.
When the story begins, Evans is in prison. He decides to appear in German O-Level
examination. But in real it is a trick to escape from the prison. Special policemen are
appointed to keep a watch on Evans. McLeery comes to the prison to conduct the
examination. All the officers are strictly ordered to watch the activities of Evans. The
prison officers are happy when the exam is over peacefully. After the examination is
over, McLeery goes away. Stephens accompanies to the main gate. Then they are
surprised to find that Evans is not in his cell. He runs away in the guise of McLeery.
The Governor orders to chase Evans. He is arrested at the golden Lion. The
governor hands him over to the policemen. In real, the policeman is a friend of Evans
in the guise of police. Once again, Evans succeeds to deceive the Governor.
8. “Memories of Childhood”
“Memories of Childhood” is a heart touching lesson. It has two parts---- ‘The Cutting
of My Long Hair’ and ‘We too are Human Beings’. In ‘The Cutting of My Long Hair’,
Zitkala-Sa describes her painful experiences of her childhood. In ‘We too are Human
Beings’, Bama describes her painful experiences of her childhood. Zitkala-Sa
describes how she lost her hair in her childhood. She says that she had long, heavy
and beautiful hair. When she was admitted to a school, the white staff of the school
got her hair cut forcibly. She cried and tried hard to save her hair. But nobody came
to help her. She hid herself under a bed. She was dragged out and tied fast in a
chair. Then her hair was cut forcibly. Bama describes how her tribe is a victim of
untouchability. She was in third class. One day, she saw a landlord sitting in his
fields on her way. Then an elder of her street came to the landlord. He was holding a
packet of food by its string without touching it. He could not touch it as he belonged
to a low caste. At this, Bama was filled with anger and said, ‘We too are human
beings’