THE THIRD LEVEL

JACK FINNEY

Walter Braden (Jack) Finney

Born October 2, 1911

Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, United States

Died November 14,

1995 (aged 84)
Greenbrae, California, United
States

Occupation Novelist, short story

writer
Nationality American
Period 1946–1995
Genres Noir fiction, science
fiction,
thrillers, comedy
 BACKGROUND:
In the 1950s, people were scared. The possibility of
the atom bomb was fresh in everyone's mind. Kids had to
do duck and cover drills at school. The Sputnik had been
launched into the skies by the Russians. The Cold
War was heating up. In this atmosphere, Jack Finney
wrote a book about escape. In "The Third Level," a
collection of short stories, Finney writes about people
who are upset with the world they live in, they seek
some idyllic place in the country's recent past. In the
story "The Third Level," it's a mysterious level of Grand
Central Station that leads to a town in Ohio.

By means of 'The Third Level', Jack

Finney shows the human tendency
to escape into the world that doesn't
exist because the real life is too hard
to handle. The story shows the thin
line that exists between
schizophrenia and miracles!
SUMMARY

Charley's convinced there are three, not just two, levels

at Grand Central Station. Charley's psychiatrist, and his
friends, thinks his delusion is a “waking-dream wish
fulfillment,” and like his stamp collection, a temporary
refuge from a world full of insecurity, fear, war, and
worry.
Charley explains that one evening while hurrying home,
he decided to take the subway from Grand Central
Station, and became lost. He eventually found himself on
a strange third level with spittoons on the floor, oddly
dressed people, and a locomotive from 1894.
Understanding he'd somehow gone back in time, Charley
tries to buy tickets to Galesburg, IL, “a wonderful town …
with big old frame houses, huge lawns and tremendous
trees whose branches meet overhead and roof the
streets.” Because the clerk won't accept his 1950-style
money, Charley leaves the station.
During his lunch break the next day, Charley withdraws
nearly all their savings and buys old-style currency. But
he can never again find the entrance to the third level at
Grand Central Station.
Charley finds evidence the third level actually exists
when he discovers a letter to him, dated July 18, 1894,
from Galesburg, IL. It seems Charley's psychiatrist was
not as incredulous of the third level as he appeared.

Theme
The story third level clearly explores the science fiction
genre of ‘time travel’; Jack Finney, the recipient of the
world fantasy award interweaves fantasy with the reality
in the most futuristic projection of time travel. Charley
wishes to be transported to the third level, the world of
1894 which is supposedly much happier and quieter
place to be. It is one of the most concise and entertaining
story about time travel. The question whether the third
level exist in real or only in charley’s mind can be inferred
from Sam’s letter.
The story also dwells on the theme of escapism, not only
as a psychological refuge from the grim realities of the
present world but also as a desire to stay with the past
or to keep the past alive in the complexities of the
present. In the story charley not only expresses desire to
escape but also prepares and tries very hard, a desire
which is not contested by the wife either. Sam is also
happily escaped with no plans to resort to his old
profession along with scores of other people who cross
the grand central everyday… to escape seems to be an all
pervasive feeling.

The Third Level-Reading Comprehension

(Jack Finney)
Objectives:
 to develop listening, reading and writing skills
 to arouse interest in reading for pleasure
 to introduce students to the world of
imagination
Contents:
-deals with flights of imagination of human mind
-Levels at Grand Central Station-imaginary level-III level
-Hobbies-its impact-leisure activities
-Status of modern man in the modern world
Methodology/Activity:
-Group discussion
-Characterization
-Question Answer technique
-Whole class Discussion-mapping information
Teaching Aids:
-Computer aided learning
-Blackboard/OHP
-Information from Internet
-Encyclopedia

Assignment:
LEVEL I
1. What was the medium of escape for Charley?
2. Did Charley find the third level again?
3. Why does he wish to escape to the third
level?
4. What is a First Day Cores?
LEVEL II
1. What did Charley’s psychiatrist friend and his
friends tell him about his mental state?
 2. Why had Charley been to the third level?
3. What happened when Charley got lost?
4. How does Charley propose to go to
Galesburg? Why couldn’t he reach there?
LEVEL III
1. What did Charley do to confirm that he was
in 1890’s?
2. Why does Charley rush back from the third
level?
3. What was the proof of the belief for Charley
that the third level existed?
Long Answer Questions
1. How did Charley reach the third level of
ground Central? How was it different from
the other level?
2. What are the various ways to overcome
stress, insecurities and anxiety of modern
life?
Extra Questions
Q.1) Why did the narrator meet a psychiatrist?
The narrator met a psychiatrist because he was sure he
had been on the third level of the Grand Central Station.
He was also aware of the fact that only two levels of the
station existed and the presidents of the rail road would
even swear on a stack of timetables to prove this point.
The need to meet a psychiatrist became urgent because
he was in a dilemma.
Q.2) What, according to the psychiatrist, was Charley’s
problem?
Charley told the psychiatrist about his belief in the
existence of the third level at the Grand Central Station
but was told that it was only a waking- dream wish
fulfillment. The third level was the work of his mind, his
desire and fantasy. The psychiatrist also added that
Charley was unhappy because of the insecurity, fear,
war, worry and that he just wanted to escape just like
everyone else. And the third level offered him that
escape just like his hobby of collecting the stamps which
was interpreted as ‘a temporary refuge from the reality’.

Q.3) 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. According to him, the grand central was so big that
it could lose his way very easily and each time discovered
some new part of it suggesting its meandering ways.
Charley thought that there was probably a long tunnel
that nobody knew about, feeling its way under the city,
on its way to Times Square, and maybe another to
Central Park. He thought Grand Central had been an exit,
a way of escape.

Q.4) What was the most shocking and disturbing

discovery/ revelation made by Charley?
The most shocking and disturbing discovery Charley
made was that the note had been sent by his friend Sam
who had recently disappeared. Charley found out that he
had exchanged a large sum of present time dollars and
bought eight hundred dollars worth of old-style currency
which he wanted to invest in the business in 1894 at
Galesburg. He also admitted that Sam was his
psychiatrist who could not go back to his ‘old business’
(psychiatry) in 1894. It was shocking because Sam had
initially dismissed charley’s claims of third level as a
‘waking dream fulfillment’ whereas his letter in the end
becomes the clenching evidence of the third level.

Q.5) What was Charley’s argument when the

psychiatrist told him that the stamp collecting was a
temporary refuge from reality?

Charley argued that his own grandfather lived at a time

when things were pretty nice and peaceful and he was
the one who had actually started his collection of
stamps. Charley refused to believe that his stamp
collection was ‘a temporary refuge’ from reality. He
considered third level to be true. He further gave the
example of the President Roosevelt who also shared his
hobby and was far removed from any desire to escape.

Q.6) What idea did Charley have about the tunnel and
why didn’t he tell the psychiatrist about it?
Charley felt there was a tunnel that nobody knew about,
which was feeling its way under the city at that moment
too, on its way to Times Square, and maybe another to
Central Park. Grand Central, he felt, was like an exit, a
way of escape and perhaps that’s how he got into the
tunnel. He didn’t want to tell the psychiatrist, for he
would not have believed him and would have wanted to
treat him it as it would further prove that charley was
imagining the third level since he nurtured a desire to
escape.

Q.7) Describe briefly the scene at the station as seen by

Charley.
Charley noticed that everyone at the station was dressed
like eighteen-ninety something. He never saw so many
beards, side burns, and fancy moustaches in his life. A
woman he saw was wearing a dress with leg-of-mutton
sleeves and a skirt to the top of her high-buttoned shoes.
On the tracks, he saw a locomotive, a very small Currier
and Ives locomotive with a funnel shaped stack. The
open gaslight and brass spittoons at the third level clearly
gave it a look of 1894.

Q.8) Why did Charley go to the newsboy?

Or
How did charley confirm that he has been to the third
level?
Charley had walked up to the newsboy to confirm what
he thought was true, i.e. the third level of the Grand
Central as he saw existing in the year 1894. He saw the
newsboy selling the newspaper, The World, which hadn’t
been published for years and which carried the lead story
about President Cleveland. Later, he found a copy of the
same newspaper in the Public Library Files dated June 11,
1894.
Q.9) Describe Galesburg, as it existed in the year 1894?
Galesburg was a wonderful town with big old frame
houses, huge lawns, and tremendous trees whose
branches met overhead and roofed over the streets. In
1894, summer evenings were twice as long, and people
sat on their lawns, the men smoking. It was the peaceful
and tranquil place without wars and worry.
Q.10) In which context did Charley say, “eggs were
thirteen cents a dozen in 1894”?
Charley had got his three hundred dollars out of the bank
and got them changed into old-style currency so that he
could go back to the third level and buy the tickets to
Galesburg. For his three hundred dollars he had got only
two hundred dollars old-style currency but he didn’t
mind that. The only consolation was that in the year
1894, the two hundred dollars would have more value,
as things were much cheaper than they were now.

Q.11) What did Charley suspect when his friend Sam

Weiner disappeared?
Despite Charley’s efforts to go to the third level, he was
unable to find it again. He shared his experience with his
wife, who got worried. He went back to his stamps. His
friend Sam had disappeared and nobody knew where he
was but Charley was certain that he had found the third
level and gone there. Charley’s description of the place
had fascinated him and he had gone there, in 1894.

Q.12) What was written on the paper that Charley

found inside the envelope?
Charley read the note that said the fact that the third
level existed, was true. The note signed by Sam also read
that he had been at Galesburg for two weeks and was
enjoying himself there. Sam had urged Charley and his
wife Louisa to keep looking for the third level till they
could find it and join him. It was worth the effort.
Q.13) What happened when Charley went to buy the
tickets?
The clerk at the ticket counter stared hard at Charley and
also glanced at his fancy hat bands. But he figured the
fare. When Charley was about to pay the fare for two
tickets, he told him that it wasn’t money and if Charley
tried to cheat him, he wouldn’t get far. Charley went
away from there as fast as he could.
Q.14) Do you think that the third level was a medium of
escape for Charley? Why?
According to Charley’s psychiatrist Sam, it was just a
waking dream wish fulfillment and provided escape from
modern day fear, insecurity, worry, etc. On the other
hand, the vivid description that Charley provides
indicates that the place really existed and later Sam
exchanging money, disappearing and sending a letter in
the first day cover perhaps prove that it was not an
escape but a reality.

LONG ANSWERS (6 marks)

Q.1) What do you infer from Sam’s letter to Charley?
(6 Marks)
Charley, the main character of Jack Finney’s ‘The Third
Level’ gave up hope of ever finding the third level again.
He resumed his stamp collecting to pass his time. It was
then that he noticed a first day cover which he had not
seen before and should not have been there. It bore the
stamp of July 18, 1894 and had been posted from
Galesburg, Illinois. As Charley read the contents of the
letter, he was shocked and surprised to read that it was
Sam, his friend who had posted it to him. Earlier he had
only hoped that Charley was right about the third level
but now he actually believed in it. He had found it and
had been there for two weeks. He admired the place as it
was peaceful, people were warm and friendly. He urged
Charley and Louisa to continue their search for the place
and not to give up.The letter brought out the difference
between the two worlds –the peaceful one of the pre-
world war era and the modern world full of stress, worry
and insecurities. People led a life of fun, enjoyment and
little pleasures meant a lot to them in 1894. The letter
also corroborates charley’s belief in the third level.

Q.2) ‘The Third Level’ written by Jack Finney is a story

that illustrates an intersection of time and space.
Elaborate.

In ‘The Third Level’, Jack Finney treats his favourite

subject ‘Time’ in a new dimension. The Third Level is a
point where the past and the present meet.Charley, the
protagonist loses his way. He finds himself in what he
thinks is the third level of the Grand Central Station in
New York. He realizes that something is different and
discovers that he has somehow reached the year 1894.It
is the period Finney would want to be in. The responses
and happiness of the three characters in the story
revolve around the third level. Charley is excited and
wants two tickets for Galesburg, a peaceful town in the
pre-war period. Sam, Charley’s psychiatrist friend
attributes it to his desire to escape from the stress of life.
Later on, Sam drew all his life’s savings from the bank
and exchanged it for 1894 currency. He was able to cross
time and reach a quieter, more peaceful past where his
services as a psychiatrist were not required. Louisa did
not believe that one could cross over the time dimension
till Charley received a letter from Sam. Jack Finney leaves
the readers wondering what ‘The Third Level’ really is.
Even though Charley is able to find proof and make the
transition back and forth in time, Sam, his friend is
already there and enjoying himself. The reader gets
transported into the shadowy, eerie world of dreams,
desires and reality.
Q3. What is the explanation of ‘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, because he didn't have any currency of
1894, he had to postpone 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
like 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 whose hobby was to collect
stamps, like Charlie and Sam knew that if somehow he
could make his Grandfather into adding the letter to his
collection, then it would 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.
Practice Questions (Extended learning)
1. What made Charley believe that the Third Level did
exist?
2. Briefly describe the events that led up to Charley
finding the Third Level at the ground central
3. What does the third level refer to?
4. What was Sam’s reaction when Charley mentioned the
discovery of the Third level to him?
5. What did Sam say in his letter to Charley?
6. ‘But now we are both looking for….’.What does this
refer to? Explain briefly?
7. ‘……….the modern world is full of insecurity, fear, war,
worry and all the rest of it………..’ What is the implication
expressed in these sentiments? Explain with reference to
the story ‘The Third Level’.
Short Questions:
Q.1 Why was Charley not able to find the third level
again?
 It was a waking dream
 A wish fulfillment
 A flight of fancy
Q.2. What was unusual about the first day cover found
by charley in his stamp collection.
 It was a new stamp issued in 1894.
 It bore the picture of President Garfield.
 It was mailed by Sam to Charley’s grandfather.

Long Questions:
Q.1 Imagination is a ‘temporary refuge from reality’
Explain.
  Believed it was a waking dream, perhaps wish
fulfillment.
 Felt that like many man in the modern world Charley
too was unhappy.
 Modern world is full of trails and tribulations,
worries and insecurities.
 Felt Charley wanted to escape this world.
 People indulge in some sort of hobby to escape the
stark harsh realities.
 Even stamp collecting was a kind of temporary
escape.
 Charley refuted his contention- said people do not
wander about due to stress.
 Besides his grandfather had also collected stamps in
the good old peaceful days of eighteen-nineties and
did not need to escape as life was quite stress free in
those days.
Q-2. Do you find an intersection of time and space in
the story? If yes , give details ?
Charley is transported from the present time to the year
1894
1. Reaches the ancient time – the third level.
2. sees people dressed in four buttoned coats with
small lapels , open flame gas lights, brass spittoons
 gold pocket- watch , fancy moustaches, sideburns ,
etc.
3. Again comes back to reality/ present world
4. Sam disappears; charley suspects that he also has
found the third level.
5. Finds the first day cover from same addressed to his
grandfather dated 18th July 1894.

Q3- Why is the fact that Sam has moved to the third
level ironical?
o Sam believed that only two levels existed.
o He explained Charley’s experience as ‘Waking –
dream wish fulfillment.
o He believed 3rd level was a medium to escape foam
tension of modern life.
o But later, Sam himself found the 3rd level and got
settled there.
o Earlier he believed there was not third level at all but
ironically he himself became a resident of Galesburg.
He even urged charley to keep finding it .