VISTAS

THE THIRD LEVEL

-BY JACK FINNEY

SYNOPSIS

 Charley is the protagonist of the story, a 31 year old dweller of New York
City.
 He wants to escape from harsh realities of modern world.
 One evening while returning home in a hurry, he loses his way and finds
himself in the Third Level.
 Actually there are only two levels at Grand Central Station.
 He narrates his experience to his friend Sam who is a psychiatrist.
 Sam feels that Charley is trying to escape the pressures of present of life and
declares it merely a temporary refuge from the tensions of the modern world.
 He calls Charley’s theory of finding the third level a “waking dream wish
fulfilment”. According to him, even hobbies like stamp collection is a
manifestation of this escape.

CHARLEY LOSES HIS WAY AT GRAND CENTRAL STATION

One evening while returning home in a hurry, he loses his way and finds himself in
the Third Level.

Actually there are only two levels at Grand Central Station.

Once he gets into the tunnel and comes out into the Lobby, *he finds people
wearing old style clothes.

He reaches an architecturally old station that is completely different from the two
familiar levels.
He imagines to be in the year 1894.

He notices that the date on the newspaper The World is printed June 11, 1894.

He turns towards the ticket window to get a ticket to Galesburg. On seeing the
currency, the clerk at the ticket window warns Charley for cheating.

Charley leaves Third Level, deciding to reach the next day after converting all his
saving into old style currency.

CHARLEY’S PLAN FOR A JOURNEY TO GALESBURG

 Galesburg is a place of his dream, a “wonderful town with big old frame
houses, huge lawns and tremendous trees...”
 The next day, he exchanges 300 dollars for old style bills amounting to some
200 dollars.
 The loss doesn’t bother him because everything will be cheaper at Galesburg
in 1894.
 He fails to find the corridor leading to the Third Level. He gives up his
search.
 Charley resorts to stamp collection to put his thoughts away from the Third
Level.

SAM GOES MISSING!

 One day, Charley realises that his friend Sam is missing. He and his wife
keep looking for him in the weekends.
 While going through his stamp collections, he finds a letter from Sam who
has gone missing.
 He describes the beautiful life of Galesburg. He motivates Charley and
Louisa to keep looking for The Third Level.
 In the letter, Sam tells Charley that he has reached Galesburg and he invites
Charley and Louisa there.
  After going to the stamp and coin shop he gets to know that Sam had
exchanged eight hundred dollars for old currency bills to establish his
business in Galesburg. Besides, Sam was none other than Charley’s
psychiatrist friend!
 He urges Charley and his wife to keep looking for the Third Level.

FIRST DAY COVER

 A first day of issue cover or first day cover is a postage stamp on a cover,
postal card or stamped envelope
 franked/ postmarked on the first day of the issue is authorized for use within
the country or territory of the
 stamp-issuing authority. Sometimes the issue is made from a temporary or
permanent foreign or overseas office.

LIFE AT GALESBURG

 The narrator states that Galesburg, Illinois, is a wonderful town with big old
frame houses, huge lawns and big trees. Summer evenings were twice as
long. People sat out on their lawns, the men smoking cigar and talking
quietly, the women waving palm-leaf fans. It means the people had lived in
peace and harmony and had a lot of leisure time.

DESCRIPTION OF THE THIRD LEVEL

 Everyone at Third Level was dressed like in 1890s. There were brass
spittoons on the floor. The gas lights
 were dim and flickering. Besides this he saw a very small Currier and Ives
Locomotive. People had beards, side-burns and funny moustaches. They
used watches and had kept them in their vest pockets. They wore derby hats,
four buttoned-suits with tiny lapels. Women wore dresses with leg of mutton
sleeves, skirts to the top of high buttoned-shoes.