THE THIRD LEVEL

Brief Introduction

The Third Level by Jack Finney is about the harsh realities of war. War has irreversible consequences
thus leaving people in a state of insecurity. It is also about modern day problems and how common
man tends to escape reality by various means. In this story Charley reaches the third level of the Grand
Central Station which only has two levels.

Summary

The story revolves around a 31-year-old man named Charley, who experienced something weird. One
day after work, coming from the Subway, he reached the third level of the Grand Central station
(which actually didn’t exist). He reminisces the entire experience with his psychiatrist friend Sam.
Charley had reached somewhere in the eighteen-nineties, a time before the world saw two of its
deadliest wars. As soon as he realised what time he is in, he immediately decided to buy two tickets to
Galesburg, Illinois; one for himself and the other for his wife. Unfortunately, the currency used in that
century was different. Thus, the next day he withdrew all his savings and got them converted even if it
meant bearing losses. He went looking for the third level but failed to find it. It worried his wife and
the psychiatrist Sam who told him that he is hallucinating in order to take refuge from reality and
miseries of the modern world which is full of worry. Charley thus resorts to his stamp collection in
order to distract himself when suddenly one day he finds a letter from his friend Sam in the first day
covers who had gone missing recently. Sam wrote that he always wanted to believe in the idea of third
level and now that he is there himself, he encourages Charley and Louisa to never stop looking for it.

Description of the Third level

 Small room, few ticket windows and train gates, wooden and old looking
information booth
 Men had beards, sideburns, fancy moustaches
 Women wore skirts, high buttoned shoes and leg of muttons sleeves.
 A man looking at a pocket watch
 Old style locomotive with the funnel-shaped stack
 Open gaslights being used
 Brass spittoons on the floor
 Wants to visit his home town, Galesburg
 Past is quiet and peaceful
 Tries to buy two tickets to Galesburg (one ticket for his Wife Louisa)
 Clerk grows suspicious as Charlie doesn’t have old-style currency.
 Back to the present-day world

People’s reaction to Charlie’s experience

 Presidents of NY railroads swear on the existence of two levels.

 Psychiatrist friend Sam refuses to believe
 Interprets it as an escape from insecurity, fear, war and worry of the modern world.
 Louisa too disbelieves Charlie

Charlie’s determination to find the Third Level

 Withdraws money buys old currency worth 300 dollars.

 Fails to find the Third Level
 Louisa and Psychiatrist worried
 Unexpected Ending

 Sam disappears
 Charlie finds a first-day cover, never seen before
 Note from Sam dated 18th July 1894 from Galesburg
 Sam asks Charlie and Louisa to come to Galesburg and enjoy a quiet and
peaceful life
 Charlie discovers Sam had bought old currency worth 800 dollars
 Enough to help him start hay and grain business in 1894 at Galesburg

First Day Cover

 Stamp collectors buy stamps on the day of release

 Mail the envelopes with blank paper in it with the postmark of the date to
themselves
 Covers remain unopened
 Charley inherited stamp collection from his grandfather

Vocabulary

 Suburban- residential
 Ducked- lower the head or body quickly
 Arched- curved
 Bumping- knock or run into something
 Snapped- break suddenly and completely
 Locomotive- a powered railway vehicle used for pulling trains

Justification of the Title

‘The Third Level’ is an escape from harsh realities of life. For Charley, Grand Central Station of
New York has three levels. Actually, there are only two levels. There does not exist any third
level. The modern world is full of insecurity, fear, war and worries. Charley just wants to escape.
So he wanders into the fanciful world of 1894 which is much away from the harsh realities of life.
The writer Jack Finney uses the third level on Grand Central Station as a medium of escape.
Consequently Charley wants to escape into the old world. Even his psychiatrist Sam calls it just a
waking dream wish fulfillment. Charley represents the problem of modern age which people are
facing.

Question & Answers

1. What does the third level refer to?

A. Third level refers to an additional level at the Grand Central Station which originally only had two
levels. Charley one night while going home reached the third level.

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

A. Charley went looking back for the third level that could take him and his wife to Galesburg because
he wanted to go back to his past. He wanted to go back to the world that has not seen two of its deadliest
wars that changed everything.

3. Do you think that the third level was a medium of escape for Charley? Why?
A. Yes, the third level of the Grand Central Station was a medium of escape for Charley. Modern world
offers a lot of challenges and in order to take refuge from reality, one might resort to escape. We all
understand the miseries of the modern world which is full of worry and pressure, thus, in order to take
the burden away from his shoulders and heave a sigh of relief, Charley resorted to escaping reality,
although unintentionally.

4. What does Charley think of Grand Central?

Charley thought that Grand Central was growing like a tree, pushing out new corridors and stair cases,
like roots. There was probably a long tunnel that nobody knew about, feeling its way under the city, on
its way to Times Square, and may be another to Central Park. He thought Grand Central had been an
exit, a way of escape, for all.

5. Describe the third level.

The third level was a small room with few ticket windows and train gates. It had a wooden and old
looking information booth. Open flame gaslights were being used. Brass spittoons were on the floor .The
man in the information booth wore a long black sleeve coat. Everyone was dressed like eighteen - ninety
something. Men had beards, side burns and fancy moustaches. Women wore skirts, high buttoned shoes
and leg of muttons sleeves. Charley saw a man was looking at a pocket watch. A very small Currier &
Ives locomotive with funnel shaped stack could be seen. Charley looked around and glanced at the
newspaper. It was The World and dated June 11, 1894.