The Third Level By Jack Finney

The Third Level

By Jack Finney

About the Author

Walter Braden “Jack” Finney was an American author. He was born on October 2, 1911 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. Finney was given the name Jack Finney. After his father died when he was three years old, he was renamed Walter Braden Finney in honor of his father, but he continued to be known as “Jack” throughout his life. He graduated in 1934 from Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. He married Marguerite Guest. They had two children, Kenneth and Marguerite. After living in New York City and working for an advertising agency there, he moved with his family to California in the early 1950s. He lived in Mill Valley, California. He died of pneumonia and emphysema on November 14, 1995 at the age of 84 in Greenbrae, California. His best-known works are science fiction and thrillers, including The Body Snatchers and Time and Again.

Reference: en.wikipedia.org

Introduction

The narrator interweaves fantasy with the reality in the most futuristic projection of time travel. Charley, a young New York commuter loses his way. He finds himself in what he thinks is the third level of the Grand Central Station in New York. The Grand Central Station has subways on two levels from where the commuters take trains to different destinations. No third level was ever built. However Charley believes in the existence of a third level, operating in a time-frame of 1890s. The period of 1890s represents a peaceful life not possible in the present era. From this level, Charley wants to travel to Galesburg, Illinois, with his wife Louisa. For him, it is a part of reality while his psychiatrist friend calls it a “waking-dream wish fulfilment.”

“Waking-dream wishes fulfilment.” = a pleasant wish that makes you forget about the present.
Theme of The Third Level

The story's third level is the most concise and entertaining story about time travel. Charley wishes to be transported to the third level, the world of 1894 which is supposedly a much happier and quieter place to be. The question whether the third level exists 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 day world but also as a desire to stay with the past or to keep the past alive in the complexities of the present.

Summary of The Third Level

The story begins in a mock serious manner. Everyone knows that there are only two levels at Grand Central Station in New York. But Charley, a 31 year old guy, asserts that there are three and he had been on the third level.

One night Charley, an ordinary guy worked late at the office. He was in a hurry to reach home. So he decided to take the subway from grand Central Station. He turned into Grand Central from Vanderbilt Avenue and went down the steps to the first level where one could take trains like the twentieth century. Then he walked down the second level where trains left for suburban areas. Then he ducked into an arched doorway heading for the subway and got lost.

He had lost his way a couple of times earlier too while taking the subway. Once, he entered the lobby of the Roosevelt Hotel while the other time he emerged at an office building that was three blocks away. But this time when he loses his way, something unique happens. He visits the third level.

Charley keeps walking in the quiet corridor, angling left and slanting downward, till he reaches an architecturally old station that is completely different from the two familiar levels. The antiquated small room with fewer ticket counters and train gates, a wooden information booth, flickering open flame gas lights and brass spittoons remind him of the architecture of the 1800s. He also finds that people are dressed in outmoded outfits. He notices that the date on the newspaper ‘The World’ is printed June 11, 1894. He turns towards the ticket windows and wants to buy two tickets to Galesburg, Illinois. Since he had no old style currency, he could not buy tickets and came back home.

He had always wanted to travel to Galesburg with his wife, Louisa. In his mind, it is a wonderful town still, with big old frame houses, huge lawns, and tremendous trees whose branches meet overhead and roof the streets. It is a place with long and pleasant summer evenings where people sat out on their lawns, smoked cigars and talked quietly. So, the next day during lunch, he exchanges three hundred dollars for old style bills amounting to some two hundred only. The loss doesn’t bother him much as he believes that in Galesburg everything will be cheaper and that he can manage even with a small amount. But, he could never again find the corridor leading to the third level.

His wife Louisa is worried after knowing all this and asks him not to look for the third level any further. Suddenly Charley realizes that his psychiatrist friend, Sam Weiner with whom he shared his experience, is nowhere to be found, so he and his wife keep looking for him in the weekends.

One day while fussing with his stamp collection, Charley comes across a letter that was not there earlier. It bears the postmark on a faded six-cent stamp with a picture of President Garfield. The envelope was sent on July18, 1894 to Charley’s grandfather in Galesburg and is addressed to Charley. The letter reads that Sam has reached Galesburg and is enjoying his life there. He also invites Charley and Louisa to Galesburg. When Charley goes to the stamp and coin store, he found out that Sam had bought eight hundred dollars’ worth of old currency bills to establish his business of hay feed and grain in Galesburg. The letter was written by Sam Weiner, who was Charley’s psychiatrist.

This story brings us to the conclusion that people find it hard to make peace with unpleasant things they come across in life. It brings out a common man’s craving for peace and security. Like any common man, Charlie too appreciates the so-called ‘pleasures’ of everyday life. He wants to stay in the past because 1894 is much more peaceful, secure and serene. The world in 1894 hasn’t seen the repercussions of war. The insecurities that come with war, terror, and disease had gotten the better of common folks like Charlie who wants a transient relief from the harsh realities of life.

Textual Questions & Answers of The Third Level

Q1. What does the third level refer to?

Ans. The Grand Central Station of New York has subways on two levels from where the commuters take trains to different destinations. No third level was ever built. However Charley believes in the existence of a third level, operating in a time-frame of 1890s. The third level signifies an escape from the modern world that is full of insecurity, fear, war, worry and all the rest of it. The period of 1890s represents a peaceful life not possible in the present era. From this level, Charley wants to travel to Galesburg, Illinois, with his wife Louisa. For him, it is a part of reality while his psychiatrist friend calls it a “waking-dream wish fulfilment.”

Q2. Would Charley ever go back to the ticket-counter on the third level to buy tickets to Galesburg for himself and his wife?
Ans. After reading the story we get to know that Charley was interested in travelling to Galesburg with his wife Louisa. However, he couldn’t locate the third level again. The first time round, he found the third level by accident. When he reached the ticket-counter, he realized that the currency he had with him was not useful as it belonged to a different period. He went back to convert his three hundred dollars into the “old-style currency” that could enable him to buy two tickets to Galesburg. However, when he returned to the Grand Central, he could not find the corridor leading to the third level. He couldn’t go back looking for the third level as his wife was too worried about him. Moreover, he himself had stopped looking for it after sometime.

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

Ans. Yes, the third level was a medium of escape for Charley from the unhappy modern world that is full of insecurity, fear, war, worry and the like. This is because he could never find it again at the Grand Central Station. Charley did not agree with his psychiatrist friend when the latter called his experience of visiting the third level ‘a waking-dream wish fulfillment.’ His friend tried in vain to make him realise that his hallucinations are a result of his strong desire to escape to the peaceful times of the 1890s.

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

Ans. The letter was addressed to Charley but mailed to his grandfather in Galesburg, Illinois. It was mailed in 1894 and now appears in his grandfather’s collection. The letter was suddenly found among the first-day covers where it had never been seen earlier. Moreover, the contents of the letter are exactly what Charley thought about Galesburg of 1890s. Sam’s letter to Charley is a mystery that blends together the worlds of reality and fantasy, and thus, needs further exploring. There are two perspectives from which one can look at the letter. At one level, it proves that Sam has reached Galesburg of 1984. However, if we look at a deeper level, we can infer that the letter is just another instance of his hallucination or dreams of escapism. It is possible that while Charley was looking at the old first-cover letter, he was carried away to a different world where the letter was sent to Charley by Sam. The letter reflects Sam’s undeterred urge that forces him to keep looking for the third level.

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

Ans. We can overcome the anxieties and insecurities bred by our inevitable existence in the modern world by getting involved in some practical and beneficial activities. Cultivating hobbies, spending time with family and friends, going on trips and excursions, pursuing meditation and exercises help us live a balanced and healthy life. Reading good books is equivalent to having good friends with great insight. They not only enrich us with the vast store of knowledge but also help us to learn from other’s experience and stay rooted to some basic qualities of humanity. Joining hobby classes or gym, attending social events like birthdays and weddings, going for outdoor games, interacting meaningfully through social-networking sites and writing diaries etc can also help us relieve our worries and stay focussed and disciplined in life. Simple activities like listening to music, playing with pets, an occasional dinner out, watching cinema or plays or going to places like parks etc. can go a long way in helping us get rid of stress, boredom and insecurities.

Q6. Do you see an intersection of time and space in the story?
Ans. Yes, there are certain instances in the story that show an intersection of time and space. Firstly, the first two levels of Grand Central Station were located in the present time while the third level existed in the 1890s. Secondly, Charley and his wife, Louisa, live in the present time yet he rushes to get old currency to buy two tickets to go to the Galesburg of 1894. Further, the old architecture of the platform at the third level is different from the modern platforms of the first two levels. Besides, the archaic manner of dressing by the people, and the newspaper, The World, dated June 11, 1984 also overlaps with Charley’s real time world and existence. Lastly, the letter that was mailed to Charley’s grandfather on 18th July, 1894 highlights the intersection of time and space as the sender (Charley’s friend Sam) and receiver (Charley himself) belong to the present time.

Q7. Apparent illogicality sometimes turns out to be a futuristic projection? Discuss.

Ans. Apparent illogicality sometimes turns out to be a futuristic projection. Before the Wright Brothers invented the first aeroplane, nobody could have dared to believe that man could fly. Before Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, it would have been impossible to believe in long-distance talks happening in the real-time interface. Moreover, there are examples of inventions, like that of inventing a modern-day sewing machine with a needle that has hole on its wrong end, which were conceived in dreams but now are part of our everyday reality. All this emphasizes that fantasies of one point of time that seem illogical may turn out to be revolutionary things that change the future of the mankind. Similarly, it would not be far-fetched to think about railway stations fitted with time-machine devices that would make travel from one era to another just a matter of time.

Q8. Philately helps keep the past alive. Discuss other ways in which this is done. What do you think of the human tendency to constantly move between the past, the present and the future?

Ans. Besides philately, there are numerous other ways to help keep the past alive. Collecting historical artifacts, paintings and inscriptions in a museum, collecting and reading books (including autobiographies, bio-sketches, letters, and diary entries) written in different eras, collecting and viewing documentaries and other videos are all a few ways of revisiting history. Besides, we can keep our culture and traditions alive when we follow the rituals in ceremonies, treasured memories in the form of videos, photographs and audio collections. Also, reviving old monuments, buildings and other artifacts may prove a huge learning opportunity to those visiting such places, and promote tourism at the same time. The capacity to oscillate between the past, present and future is a great intellectual gift. This human tendency enables him to plan for the future in the present by reaping benefits from the past. Consider a very simple example of adopting a study technique for board exams. Considering the past result (of the class test or half-yearly exams) a student makes a strategic plan to address the weak areas more and score better in the future. Thus, such a tendency helps in ensuring acceptance of the impact of important decisions taken at any point in time and learning from them.