THE THIRD LEVEL – JACK FINNEY

LESSON OBJECTIVES
Examine the elements of science fiction
in the story

Analyze the story as reflection of the

pressures of modern life

Examine Charley's experience as an

escape from reality

LITERARY ANALYSIS (Research work)

1. Lesson details (date of publication, selection from…, genre…)

2. Author (Country, Born & Died year, known for what kind of writing?)
3. Setting
4. Tone and mood
5. Purpose (instruct/entertain/inform/persuade/describe/apologize/…)
6. Theme

SETTING - set in the 1950s in America.

THEMES
• Time travel
• Modern life and its pressures on the common man
• War and its impact on life
• Nostalgia for the older, peaceful times – a wish to return to simple times
Second chances

• Jack Finney (October 2, 1911 – November 14, 1995) was an American author.
• His best-known works are science fiction and thrillers
• The Third Level is from Collection of short stories – 1959
• First published in a magazine in 1952
Imagination is a ‘temporary refuge from reality’. Explain with reference to THE THIRD LEVEL.
or
Do you think that the third level was a medium of escape for Charley? Why?

Yes, the third level was a medium of escape for Charley. He lived in a time when the common man was
burdened by the fears, anxieties and insecurities of a world affected by two world wars. Evidently, Charley
was unable to cope with his stressful life. He needed to escape from life’s harsh realities and found the apt
exit at the Grand Central, his gateway to the ideal world of Galesburg before both the world wars.
According to him, people at that time led a quiet, peaceful and happy life. His longing to be in such a world
made him imagine his presence in that century. As the lines between imagination and reality blurred for
him, he was constantly looking for ways to establish that his experience was true, especially by imagining
Sam’s letter. In this way, we can say that the third level was surely a medium of escape for Charley and
offered him temporary refuge from reality. (159 words)

 Context
 Key arguments (3-4)
 Conclusion that links the answer with the question

Do you see an intersection of time and space in the story?

Yes, there is an intersection of time and space is seen in the story. Firstly, the third level is the point where the
past and the present meet. 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, 1894, also overlaps with Charley’s real-time world and existence. Secondly,
Charley’s psychiatrist friend, Sam is also shown as being able to shift to the third level. He is able to cross time
and reach a quiet and peaceful past where his services as a psychiatrist would not be required. 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. Louisa believes
that one can cross the time dimension only after Sam’s letter of affirmation. Thus, the story presents the
intersection of time and space both in a logical and exciting manner.

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

How did Charley reach the third level of the Grand Central Station?
Grand Central Station, New York, has only two levels.
One evening Charley reached this station …
While he was on the second level, ….
He followed the steps and reached...
In the third level Charley saw a hundred year old world and people.

What was Charley’s strange experience at the Grand Central Station?

One evening Charley reached this station …
While he was on the second level, ….
He followed the steps and reached...
In the third level Charley saw a hundred year old world and people.
People, fashion, currency and dressing were different there.
Even though it was difficult for Charley to believe …
He thought of living there, a world behind his time, because the 1894 world was more...
He tried to get two rail tickets
But …..suspected him and his currency notes.
Charley had to make a quick exit….and reached the present world and got home.

How did The World help Charley to confirm his doubts regarding the existence of a third level?
The World was a popular newspaper which stopped…
In the beginning, when he reached the third level, Charley was confused.
Whatever he saw in the third level told him that he had travelled...
Charley noticed that the World was still available.
The lead story said something about President Cleveland and it was printed June 11, 1894.
He saw that day’s edition of the World and the date, June 11, 1894 and confirmed that he was back in 1894.

How did Charley ascertain that he had reached the 1894 world?
Charley reached the third level of the Grand Central Railway Station, New York.
…signs of being in a hundred year old world….observed the dim gas lamps, ….
Charley began to doubt that he had become part of the old world yet he still didn’t know which year it was.
The sights he saw in the third level told him that he had travelled back to the past.
This was confirmed when he saw The World, a newspaper of the past that was no...
The lead story said something about President Cleveland and it was printed June 11, 1894.
What was Sam’s answer to Charley’s dilemma?
Charley met his psychiatrist friend Sam and told him about this experience.
The psychiatrist interpreted it as a reaction to the problems around him
Citing his hobby of stamp collection and this sort of experiences, Sam explained his abnormality to be
‘escaping from the struggles of life by fantasizing.’
He called it a “waking-dream wish fulfillment” and rationalised Charley's psychology by saying that the
“modern world is full of insecurity, fear, worry, and war...” and everybody wanted to escape to some
“temporary refuge from reality.”
According to him, even hobbies like stamp collection was a manifestation of this escape. Soon his friends and
wife began to worry about Charley.

Does Charley agree that stamp collecting habit is a way of escapism? Why?
No, ….
Charley’s grandfather was a stamp collector yet ...
Another stamp collector was President Roosevelt, the American President ...
Charley believed that stamp collecting habit does not mean escapism…