12 THE THIRD LEVEL 1

  1. “The Third Level”

by Jack Finney,:

 

Summary

Introduction to the Story:

The story is a blend of fantasy and reality. It follows Charley, a 31-year-old man who discovers something strange—a third level at Grand Central Station, which, according to everyone else, doesn’t exist. The story is told in first person, through Charley's point of view.

 

Modern Life and the Need for Escape:

Charley starts by explaining that there are officially only two levels at Grand Central Station, according to railway authorities. But he insists that he once discovered a third level.

When he told his psychiatrist friend Sam about this, Sam said it was just a “waking-dream wish fulfillment”—a form of daydreaming caused by stress. He explained that Charley wanted to escape the troubles of the modern world, which is full of war, fear, insecurity, and pressure.

Even Charley’s hobby of stamp collecting is seen as a kind of escape by others. But Charley says it’s just a normal hobby passed down from his grandfather.

 

Charley’s Discovery of the Third Level:

One evening, Charley was at Grand Central Station. He was in a hurry to get home, so he decided to take the subway. But while walking through the station, he somehow took a wrong turn and found himself in an unknown corridor.

He followed the passage and ended up on a level he had never seen before. The lights were dim and old-fashioned, and the people around were dressed in 19th-century clothing—men with pocket watches, women in old-style dresses, and everything lit by gas lamps, not electricity.

 

Realization That He’s in 1894:

Charley soon realized that he had traveled back in time to the year 1894. He confirmed this by checking a newspaper (The World, which stopped printing in the 1930s) and noticing a story about President Cleveland. He was both shocked and excited.

 

His Desire to Escape to the Past:

Charley wanted to go to a peaceful place, so he decided to buy two tickets to Galesburg, Illinois in 1894—a place he had read about and admired for its quiet, simple life. It reminded him of a world without war, where people enjoyed calm summer evenings.

But when he tried to pay for the tickets, the ticket clerk rejected his modern money and became suspicious. Charley got scared and quickly ran away, exiting the third level.

 

Charley’s Search for the Third Level Again:

The next day, Charley went to a coin store, exchanged $300 for old-style currency, and kept trying to find the third level again. But no matter how hard he searched, he never found it again.

His wife, Louisa, was worried about him and asked him to stop. He agreed, but they both still hoped he could find it again someday.

 

The Mysterious Disappearance of Sam:

A surprising twist comes when Sam, the psychiatrist, suddenly disappears. Nobody knows where he went. Later, while going through his stamp collection, Charley finds a first-day cover (a special collector's envelope) that he had never seen before.

Inside is a letter from Sam, sent from Galesburg, Illinois in 1894. In the letter, Sam says he found the third level, and he is now living happily in 1894. He describes a peaceful life and encourages Charley and Louisa to come and join him there.

 

Final Revelation:

Charley later finds out that Sam had bought $800 worth of old-style currency, saying it was for setting up a hay and grain business in Galesburg. This confirms that Sam has really escaped into the past.

The ironic twist is that Sam, the psychiatrist who once told Charley it was just a fantasy, has now chosen to escape into that fantasy himself.

 

 Themes of the Story:

1. Escape from Reality:
People often want to escape the stress of modern life. The third level is symbolic of that desire.

2. Imagination vs. Reality:
The story blurs the line between what is real and what is imagined. It makes readers question what is truly possible.

3. Time Travel/Fantasy:
The idea of traveling back to a simpler, peaceful past adds a magical element to the story.

4. Nostalgia:
The story reflects a longing for the peaceful times of the past—when life was slow, safe, and full of joy.

 

 Conclusion:

“The Third Level” ends on a mysterious and open-ended note. The reader is left wondering:

·         Was it real time travel, or just a product of Charley’s mind?

·         Did Sam really go back to 1894, or is it all part of Charley’s imagination?

The story encourages us to think deeply about modern life, the need to escape, and whether the past is truly as perfect as we imagine.

 

1. Charley (Narrator)

 The man who discovers the Third Level at Grand Central

Character Traits:

·         Imaginative and curious:
Charley believes he has found a mysterious “third level” at Grand Central Station, even though others say it doesn’t exist.

·         Stressed but hopeful:
He lives in the modern world filled with tension, insecurity, and fear (especially due to war), and wishes to escape into a simpler, peaceful past.

·         Dreamer and romantic:
He wants to go to Galesburg, Illinois in 1894—a place where life is calm, people sit outside on lawns, and the world is safe.

·         Determined and brave:
Even though people call him crazy, he keeps looking for the third level and even collects old currency in hopes of returning to the past.

·         Sensitive and emotional:
He is affected by the troubles of modern life and finds comfort in his hobbies like stamp collecting, which connects him to the past.

 

2. Louisa (Charley’s Wife)

Charley’s supportive but worried partner

Character Traits:

·         Caring and loving:
Louisa deeply cares for Charley. When he tells her about the third level, she gets worried about his mental health.

·         Practical and balanced:
At first, she asks him to stop searching for the third level, thinking it’s just his imagination.

·         Supportive:
Later in the story, when she sees proof (Sam’s letter), she believes him and even joins him in searching for the third level every weekend.

 

 

3. Sam Weiner (The Psychiatrist)

Charley’s friend and a psychiatrist

Character Traits:

·         Logical and scientific (at first):
Sam initially dismisses Charley’s experience as a “waking-dream wish fulfillment,” saying that Charley is just unhappy with modern life.

·         Curious and adventurous (later):
Eventually, Sam himself disappears and is discovered to be in Galesburg in 1894, proving that he also longed for the peaceful past.

·         Hopeful and freedom-loving:
He leaves behind his modern life (including his job as a psychiatrist) and follows his dream of starting a hay, feed, and grain business in 1894.

·         Symbol of irony:
The biggest twist is that the person who tried to convince Charley that the third level wasn’t real ends up going there himself.

 

 4. Grand Central Station (Symbolic Setting)

💡 Not a person, but almost like a character itself

Symbolic Role:

·         Acts as a portal between the present and the past.

·         Represents escape and the hidden possibilities in life.

·         Shows how reality and imagination can blur in one’s mind.

 

 Brief Mentioned Characters:

·         People at the third level: Dressed in 1890s style—men with pocket watches, women with leg-of-mutton sleeves. These characters help Charley realize he’s in the past.

·         Charley’s grandfather: He started the stamp collection. Represents a peaceful past and family legacy.

·         The ticket clerk (1894): Confused and suspicious when Charley offers modern money.

 

 

 

1. "The Third Level" by Jack Finney

 

Paragraph 1:

“The presidents of the New York Central and the New York, New Haven and Hartford railroads will swear on a stack of timetables that there are only two...”

Explanation:
The narrator, Charley, says that the officials of two major railway companies believe there are only two levels at Grand Central Station. But Charley insists there’s a third level—because he has been there himself. He even consulted a psychiatrist, who said this was just his imagination or a wishful dream, meaning that Charley was unhappy and wanted to escape from reality. Charley’s wife didn’t like hearing that, but the psychiatrist explained that the modern world is full of stress and fear, so it’s normal for people to want to escape sometimes. However, Charley is the only one who claims to have found this “third level.”

 

Paragraph 2:

“But that’s the reason, he said, and my friends all agreed. Everything points to it, they claimed. My stamp collecting, for example…”

Explanation:
Charley says that his psychiatrist and friends all think his stamp collecting is also a way of escaping reality. They call it a “temporary refuge.” But Charley disagrees. He says his grandfather started the collection back in the peaceful past when people were not so stressed, so it was just a normal hobby. He even mentions that President Roosevelt collected stamps too, suggesting it’s a respectable activity.

 

Paragraph 3:

“Anyway, here’s what happened at Grand Central…”

Explanation:
Charley begins telling the story of how he discovered the third level. One summer night, after working late, he decided to take the subway from Grand Central because it was faster. He describes himself as an ordinary man, 31 years old, wearing everyday clothes, and in a hurry to get home to his wife Louisa. He wasn’t running away from anything—just going home.

 

Paragraph 4:

“I turned into Grand Central from Vanderbilt Avenue, and went down the steps…”

Explanation:
Charley describes how he entered Grand Central Station. He went down to the first level, then to the second level, and tried to find the subway, but somehow got lost. He says Grand Central is like a maze, and it’s very easy to find unknown passageways. He’s even accidentally come out in other buildings nearby before.

 

Paragraph 5:

“Sometimes I think Grand Central is growing like a tree…”

Explanation:
Charley imagines that Grand Central is growing new tunnels and staircases, just like tree roots spreading underground. Maybe, he says, these unknown tunnels lead to places like Times Square or Central Park. Since many people use Grand Central to escape their lives, maybe he found one such secret tunnel. He admits that he never told his psychiatrist this idea.

 

Paragraph 6:

“The corridor I was in began angling left and slanting downward…”

Explanation:
Charley continues his experience. He followed a strange corridor that turned and sloped downward. He heard no one else—just the sound of his footsteps. Then, he heard a murmur of voices ahead, suggesting he was entering a large space filled with people.

 

Paragraph 7:

“The tunnel turned sharp left; I went down a short flight of stairs…”

Explanation:
Charley says he reached a place that looked different from the usual levels. It had fewer ticket counters, dim lights, wooden furniture, and people dressed in old-fashioned clothes from the 1890s. Even the lights were gas lamps instead of electric ones. The whole place felt like a scene from the past.

 

Paragraph 8:

“There were brass spittoons on the floor…”

Explanation:
Charley notices more old-fashioned things: spittoons, a man with a gold pocket watch, and people wearing derby hats, old suits, and mustaches. Even the trains looked old—like those from Currier & Ives paintings (famous for their images of 19th-century America). He realizes this is the year 1894.

 

Paragraph 9:

“To make sure, I walked over to a newsboy and glanced at the stack of papers…”

Explanation:
To confirm the time period, Charley checks a newspaper. It’s called The World, which hasn’t existed in modern times. The front page mentions President Cleveland, confirming the date as June 11, 1894. He feels thrilled that he’s in the past and wants to stay there with his wife.

 

Paragraph 10:

“I turned toward the ticket windows knowing that here…”

Explanation:
Charley wants to buy two tickets to Galesburg, Illinois, a peaceful old town he remembers fondly. In 1894, life was calm and slow, with people sitting on porches, enjoying summer evenings. There were no world wars, and he wants to escape to that simpler time with Louisa.

 

Paragraph 11:

“The clerk figured the fare…”

Explanation:
The ticket clerk looked at Charley strangely because his money was modern, and didn’t match the old currency. The clerk accused him of trying to cheat and Charley quickly left, afraid of being caught or arrested.

 

Paragraph 12:

“And that was that. I left the same way I came…”

Explanation:
The next day, Charley went to the bank and withdrew $300, buying old-style currency from a coin dealer, even though he got less value. But he didn’t mind, because things were cheap in 1894. However, he was never able to find the third level again, no matter how many times he tried.

 

Paragraph 13:

“Louisa was pretty worried when I told her all this…”

Explanation:
Charley’s wife Louisa was concerned about his obsession with the third level and asked him to stop looking for it. He agreed and returned to his stamp collection. But soon they both started searching again — because they got proof that the third level was real.

 

Paragraph 14:

“My friend Sam Weiner disappeared! Nobody knew where…”

Explanation:
Charley’s friend Sam, a psychiatrist, had disappeared mysteriously. Charley guessed that Sam might have escaped to Galesburg in 1894, because Sam had always liked the idea of the place when Charley talked about it.

 

Paragraph 15:

“Because one night, fussing with my stamp collection, I found —”

Explanation:
One night, while going through his stamp collection, Charley found a first-day cover (a special collector’s envelope). It had been sent from Galesburg in 1894 and addressed to his grandfather. This envelope shouldn’t have been there—but it was.

 

Paragraph 16:

“The paper inside wasn’t blank…”

Explanation:
Inside the envelope was a letter from Sam, confirming that he had found the third level, and was now living in Galesburg, 1894. He described a peaceful evening and invited Charley and Louisa to come back and join him.

 

Paragraph 17 (Last):

“At the stamp and coin store I go to, I found out that Sam bought eight hundred dollars’ worth of old-style currency…”

Explanation:
Charley found out from a coin store that Sam had bought $800 in old-style money, likely to start a business in the past. Sam had always wanted to own a hay and grain shop, and now he could live his dream. The surprising twist is that Sam was Charley’s psychiatrist, which means even the doctor decided to escape to the past.

Answers to Textbook Questions:

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

Yes, the third level was Charley’s way of escaping from the worries of the modern world. The story shows how he is tired of stress, war, and insecurity in his time. The peaceful life of 1894 seems better to him, so he imagines or finds a way to escape there.

 

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

Sam's letter proves that he has found the third level and is now living happily in 1894. This suggests that either Sam also escaped reality or that the third level might be real. The letter encourages Charley and Louisa to keep looking, adding to the mystery.

 

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

People try different ways to escape or reduce stress:

·         Hobbies like reading, collecting stamps, painting

·         Meditation or yoga

·         Traveling to peaceful places

·         Talking to friends or therapists

·         Watching movies or listening to music

·         Living a simple life, avoiding overwork

 

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

Yes. The story mixes two different time periods — the present and the year 1894 — at the same place, Grand Central Station. The third level becomes a space where time connects the past and present, like a time portal.

 

5. Apparent illogicality sometimes turns out to be a futuristic projection. Discuss.

Sometimes, what seems impossible or illogical at one time becomes real in the future. Long ago, flying in the sky or speaking on video calls was fantasy — now it’s real. Similarly, the third level may seem unreal, but it could be a metaphor for future possibilities like time travel or alternate dimensions.

 

6. Philately helps keep the past alive. Discuss other ways in which this is done.

Besides stamp collecting:

·         Photography: Preserves past moments

·         Museums and Archives: Store old artifacts and documents

·         Writing and Storytelling: Record history and experiences

·         Painting and Art: Show how life was in different periods

·         Family Heirlooms: Keep memories alive

We often move between the past, present, and future in our thoughts because we:

·         Learn from the past

·         Live in the present

·         Plan or dream about the future

 

7. Compare ‘The Third Level’ with ‘Adventure’ by Jayant Narlikar.

Aspect	The Third Level	Adventure
Genre	Fantasy, psychological	Science fiction, alternate history
Theme	Escape from modern life	Scientific explanation of parallel worlds
Main idea	A man finds a time portal in NYC	A historian enters a parallel universe
Tone	Emotional, nostalgic	Rational, logical
Link to reality	Dream or imagination	Based on scientific theory

Both stories blur the line between fantasy and reality, showing how the mind can travel to other times or worlds

 

 “The Third Level” by Jack Finney:

Page 1 – Reading with Insight (NCERT Questions and Answers)

Q1. What does the third level refer to?

Answer:
The third level refers to a fictional and mysterious platform at Grand Central Station in New York. The narrator, Charley, believes he has discovered a third level of the station, even though only two levels officially exist. This third level serves as a symbol of escape from the modern world’s stress, a place where one can go back to the peaceful and simple life of the 1890s.

Q2. Would Charley ever go back to the ticket-counter on the third level to buy tickets to Galesburg for himself and his wife?

Answer:
It is unlikely that Charley would go back to the third level, as it probably does not exist in reality. It may be a product of his imagination or a result of his desire to escape modern-day anxieties. However, Charley believes the third level is real and plans to go back with his wife, Louisa. This shows his hope and longing for a peaceful past rather than present-day problems.

Q3. Do you think that the third level was a medium of escape for Charley? Why?

Answer:
Yes, the third level was a medium of escape for Charley. He was a victim of modern stress, worry, and fear (called “the stamp of the world”). He longed for a simpler time, and his subconscious created the third level as a safe place to escape from his problems. It was not real, but a reflection of his mental state and emotional needs.

Q4. What do you infer from Sam’s letter to Charley?

Answer:
Sam’s letter, supposedly sent from the 1890s, adds to the mystery. It supports Charley’s belief that the third level exists. But in reality, it seems that Sam, too, might have used imagination or fantasy to cope with modern life. The letter could be Charley's own subconscious creation, as he misses his friend and wants to believe that escape to the past is possible.

Q5. “The modern world is full of insecurity, fear, war, worry and stress.” What are the ways in which we attempt to overcome them?

Answer:
People use various methods to overcome modern-day stress and insecurity:

• Hobbies and recreational activities

• Vacations or traveling

• Therapy or meditation

• Daydreaming or imagination

• Spending time with family and pets

• Reading books or watching movies
  Like Charley in the story, some may mentally escape into fantasy worlds to deal with reality.

Q6. Do you see an intersection of time and space in the story?

Answer:
Yes, the story creates an intersection of time and space through the third level. Charley moves between modern New York (20th century) and Galesburg, Illinois (1890s). This blending of different times and places shows the power of imagination and memory, and how people can mentally travel between the past and present to escape or find comfort.