Jh Venkateshwar International School
Sector-18, Dwarka, New Delhi-75
Class XII - Vistas : The Third Level – Jack Finney
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 the common man tends to escape reality by various means. In this story, a man named Charley
hallucinates and reaches the third level of the Grand Central Station which only has two levels.
Theme of the Lesson
The third level represents a break from the “life full of insecurity, fear, war, worry and all the rest of it”
modern world. The 1890s depict a tranquil lifestyle that is not feasible in the present. The main
character wants to take his wife Louisa to Galesburg, Illinois, from this point on. While his psychiatrist
friend refers to it as a “waking-dream wish fulfillment,” for him, it is a part of reality.
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 doesn’t actually exist). He reminisces the entire experience with his psychiatrist friend Sam.
Charley thought he experienced time travel and 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 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.
Questions & Answers
1. How did Charley reach the third level of the Grand Central Station?
2. What was Charley’s strange experience at the Grand Central Station?
3. How did The World help Charley to confirm his doubts regarding the existence of a third
level?
4. How did Charley ascertain that he had reached the 1894 world?
5. Why did Charley run away from the third level?
6. What was Sam’s answer to Charley’s dilemma?
7. How did Charley’s friends relate his stamp collecting habit to his being abnormal?
8. Does Charley agree that stamp collecting habit is a way of escapism? Why
9. Why was Charley not able to get to Galesburg?
10.How did Charley’s behavior return to normal?
11.How did Sam reach Galesburg?
12.How did Sam settle down in the old Galesburg?
13.Why couldn’t Sam practice psychiatry in Galesburg?
This was what happened on the third level. Next day Charley first went a shop that sold old currency,
bought some old currency and went to the station. He began searching for the tunnel that led to the
third level but could not locate it any more. For a week he came, searched for the tunnel and went
back disappointed. Finally he told the whole story to Louisa and the good lady brought him to their
friend Sam, a psychiatrist.
● Sam heard his friend’s story and termed it a slight deviation of the mind.
● He explained it happened to Charley because he was always in search of a place to escape from
the burden and monotony of city life.
● Charley disagreed to this explanation but Louisa and other people believed the psychiatrist.
● Slowly Charley stopped his search for the unknown.
● He was returning to a normal state when suddenly the most unexpected happened – Sam
reached the third level and sent him a message.
Questions & Answers
1. What made Louisa, Charley’s wife, believe that the third level was a reality?
2. What do you think had happened with Sam the psychiatrist friend after he went missing
from New York?
3. Why did Charley think that Sam could not practice psychiatry in Galesburg?|
4. What is a first day cover?
5. How did Sam’s mail reach Charley?
6. What is role of the stamp-collection in the story?
7. How does the psychiatrist turn out to be a firm supporter of Charley and his third level?
8. Briefly describe Charley’s strange experience in the third level?
9. Do you think Charley was really a worried man as his psychiatrist friend and the other
friends believed?
