The Third Leve,I

- Jack Finney
PROSE
941 \Villarll Street
Galesbi,rg llli11ois
J11ly 18, 1894
Clzarley
I got to ,visl1ing tl1at you \'Vere rigl1t. Tl1e11 I got to believi11g
yozt ,vere rigl1t. A11d, Cltarley, it is tn,e; I fou11d tlie tliird le\'el!
I'i'e been l1ere nvo ,veeks, a11d right no\v, do\Vtl tl1e street at tl1e
Dal)''s~ someone is pla)'ing a piano, and tlzey're all out on tl1e front
porch si11ging 'Seei11g Nell)' Home.' A11d 1',n i11vited O\'er for
lemonade. Come on back, Charley and Louisa. Keep looking till you
find the third level! Its worth it, believe me!
 8:." Cha ___ __,
He Is an unhaPP!I Helin a
thirty one-51ear old man i - - - 1 third level
~co nvi nce Central Station In
others ofthe Third LeveL

He doesn't believe Charley

He Is 0,arlefl's psychiatrist. 1----1 about the existence of
the third level

Sam

She at first doesn't support

She is r.harley's wife who is • . , _ _ - 1
her husband but changes
worried about him.
her mind in the end.

Louisa

.. .. .
.
~

IE Chapter i~ Detail '

\ { - ' I ·! ', • l "

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I r,,. ,. • i \,
• .
\ 1111 \ r. ,
Cha rley Tells his Psyc hiat rist frien • .
d since it was faster than the bus. ~e was wearing a
tan
Al,o ut the Thir d Leve l . ~ ~ .. , ',, · •·. gabardine suit, and a straw hat with a fancy band
When he entered Grand . Central from Vanderbilt
Charley was a thirty-one-year old. married man w~o
\ A~enue and to.ok the steps down to the first level
tells his friend Sam, a psychiatrist, the story of he
hi~ ducked into an _arched doorw ay and got lost. Charl
encounter of the third level at Grand Central station ey
·.
It was believed that it had only two levels, b_ut did not find this surprising since he always found
he a
could say "Yith confidence that there were three levels '· ne~ door or corridor when walking through the
Grand
because he had been to the third one. As a precaution, Centr~L He believed that the Grand Central was
• Ulce
he_ consulted his psychiatrist friend, who analysed an organic entity, growing corridors and stairca
this ses
incident as Charley's urge to escape unhappiness like a tree grows roots. He imagined that at that exact
, and Listening to this upset Charley's wife Louisa
, .
moment, there were long tunnels growing towar
.
. Then ds
Charley explained that ~~e psychiatrist meant that Central Park and Times Square. He admitted that
he he
was unhappy with the modern way of life because didn't tell this to his psychiatrist for fear of proving
of his
its wars, worry, fear and insecurity. Even his friend
s analysis right.
agreed with this diagnosis, and painted to his stamp

©.~ Character's Mood

'I /

collection as an example of his need to escap

e
from reality. Charley reasons that if this were , I t ''\
true,
his grandfather who started the stamp collec
tion -. Anxious; lost
woul dn't need it, since his life was peaceful
and
nice. His grandfather and ·President Roosevelt
'both Example 1. Do you think that the third level was a
collected stamps. This was how Charley disproved medi um of escape for _Charley? Why?
his [NCERT]
diagnosis. 'l
Ans. The third level was a medium of escape for
I ', ··~ .' ' • :~

Cha rley Exp lain s How it All Star ted Charley because he was unhappy .with the
complications of modern life, which is' full
.
of
One day, he want ed to get home early from work,
so he insecurity, wars, conflicts and worry. He wanted
decided to take the subway at Grand Central Station
to live a peaceful life in a simpler time.
 9 continue@ Walking d >

at he had discovered ~ . the Slantfng Chartau'f1ar'9d

echoing. These We•e h' artier, he heard Cdllictfo;w
• , , 1s own Th h
roar, which_ indicated an • en e heard One r\igtlt as he looked thro~
talking. Before long he open space and he discoverad a Letterthaf'he
ofGrand Centr al . ' came out on the third It was a first-day cover, an empty
is issued when a the new stamp is re
,tey Desc_ribes the Third Level . stamped to indicate the date. Among h
first-day covers, he discovered onethatshou. ..ch,u-..:,'lif.·
, 1
J1:!,tey saw ticket windows and noted that th been there. It was a letter from Sam, his P~
~ . . e
d
,A'l,rnatton gate at the
,.,.. •
centre was
ma e of wood A friend, who had written to his grandfathers address
•
...nn wearing eyeshades, and sleeve protectors sat with a stamp of President Garfield, dating back to th~
,,,_
L..hindthe counter. Then he noted the 9as U9hts.Several 1890s. He wrote that he had found the third level after
• ~· . .
cWes Uke brass spittoons, handlebar moustaches, and having heard about it from Charley, and moved there.
, l _f He also asked Charley and Louisa to make the joume y
.......,nen s eg o -mutt on sleeves• lead h'Im to conclude
""
.nt he had travelled to a different t'Ime, perhaps the
to Galesburg soon. Later, Charley found out that Sam
V"""
ed the newspap er being . sold had converted eight hundred modern dollars into
1990s. ,He also check , old-style . money to make this_ move. . Charley
tt,ere ... The World, which was now defu net Later, he •
speculated that Sam must have set up a hay feed on~
a publ'Ic l'b
d)eCke . d fi . in
up the same headlines I rary, •·. grain business with it.·· • ••
wti1ch con rmed that the date was June 11, 1894. He
Exa ~le 2. What do you infer from Sam's letter to
had somehow found a porta l into the past [NCERT]
Cha; ley? - • · ,'

Charley Puts his Plan into Acti on. Ans. From Sam's letter' to Charley, it can be inferred
that Sam believes he travelled to Galesburg
Charley wanted to get two tickets for himself and ~~~.
'-
in 1894, as indicated by the letter's ·.~ontents
wife, from the Grand Central to anywhere in the United and the postm.ark. However, it a_lso suggests
St~ H h possibility that Charley .is experiencing
. ~s. e ~ ose a rural haven called . Galesb urg, 1 _ the
•

r ·" hallucinations or , fantasies, highlighting his

Illinois, at a time when the world wars didn't exist, and
•
life was simple. He approached the desk to buy tickets, steadfast need for escape. • ·:
but when t~e clerk sa'lv'. ~is mode rn money , he was ..
Example ·3. Extra ct Based: _• • _
alarmed that Charley was trying to sea,,:; him. He was
so he left the same .way Read the extrac t given - below ' and answer the
afraid he would; be arrested, . · •- s, • .• • •
·• questions that follow:·
.

he came, hoping to get back ·to the third level better

The presidents of the New Yo~k Centra l and the New
prepared the next day. 'f I • ~

'I / York, New Haven and Hartford railroads will swe~r

@ acter 's Mood , . • • on a stack of timetables that there are only two. Bui
,,.,,, Char
I say there are three, because I've been on the third
~

• Alert; worried. level of the Grand Central Station. Yes, I've taken the
obvious step: I talked to a psychiatrist friend of mine,
Charley Tries to Find the Third tevel among others. I told him about the third level at Grand
Again Central Station, and he said it was a waking dream
wish fulfillment I

The first visit to the third level made Charley want

• ),

s (A) What kind of timetables_ are being referred to

to go back. The next day, he withdrew all his saving
worrie d here? -~ (', . ., l.,
and used them to buy old-style currency. This \' I '

his psychiatrist fri~nd 'a lot, beca~se Charley was (8) It can be inferred that the Presidents ofthe New
behaving irrationally. Old money was expensive, but York Central and the New York, New Haven and
Olarley didn't' mind the premium he paid for it. He Hartfo rd railroads .................. .
kept searching for the third leveL but all in vain .. His (1) do not know their own statio ns well. " •
'
wife Louisa was very worried when he told her all this.
\

(2) know their own statio ns quite well

~ then, after he searched for a few days, he went stations.
(3) are aware of a secret le~l In their
~de to his sta~p collection. I Later, he and his wife • I ,

(4) need to revise their respective timet ablel a

vered that Sam Weiner, his psychiatrist friend,
 (8) (b) (1) and (4).
Options: explanation: From the extract we know
(a) (1) and (2) (b) (1) and (4) that Charley discovers a third level Which
(c) (1) and (3) he says the Presidents of the various
(d) (2) and (3)
railroads don't know about Hence, the
(C) Complete the following sentence appropriately:
correct answer is (b). Option (a) is illogical
Charley's admission that talking to a Options (c) and (d) are partially correct and
psychiatrist was the obvious step points to hence, are not the correct answer.
..................... (C) his awareness that his claim sounded illogical
(0) Comment on the tone of the narrator in the
(D) The tone of the narrator is disbeli~ Charley
extract. could not believe what he has discovered _
Ans. (A) The timetables referred to here are the a third level to the Grand Central Station.
railway or train timetables.

~ Significant Morals
d lt with his emotions correctly.
(1) Rnding an escape route signfies that the person has not ea

(2) Mind tends to find things when one does not look for them.

(3) Sometimes, strange things are hidden within plain sight.

(4) When there is a will to escape, there is a way as well.

(5) A-hobby can also be said to be constructive escape route.

I) Dictionary
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--:--.-, 7~ (., ~ Antonyms
Word
e T;
Meaning - Synonyms
- ..
- ~ ' I ,,
-
a train timetable that gives schedule, calendar, random, unscheduled
timetables
I
details of trains and their programme
I
schedule. I

refuge a place or situation providing shelter, asylum, sanctuary 1 trouble, exposure, peril
safety or shelter I
uptown the residential part of a city, residentia~ housing, downtown , commercia l
away from the commercial residence centre
center i
- - ------ I
suburban of or characteristic of a suburb; fringes, outskirts, outlying centre, metropoUs, wilderness
away from the city, but not district
rural
1
ducked lower the head or body quickly dodged, avoided, evaded stand, straighten
to avoid a blow or missile, or so
I
as not to be seen
I
bumping into to have found unexpectedly, or discovered, found, overlooked, neglected, missed
during a search uncovered
-- I
angling the act of setting, or of being inclination, slant, gradient I level, flat, horizontal
set. at ari angle
I
figured indicated or noted by figures calculated, tallied, formed i doubted, guessed, estimated
premium a sum added to an ordinary surcharge, fee, extra I discount. deduction,
price or charge Lreduction
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fussing to be anxious or concerned sweating, fretting, worrying calming, composed, soothing
about something in particular