KRISHNA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, DEVIPATTINAM.

English Grade 12 Program Project

Proposal
Student and Faculty Agreement

Student Name:

Student E-mail Address:

Project Name:

Faculty Adviser Name: _

Student and Faculty Agreements an d

Signatures:
I am submitting one copy of the attached proposal to the English Graduate Department
for their consideration. I have read and understand the Policies and Procedures Description
for the Grade 12.

Student’s signature
Date

The faculty member who has signed below agrees to work as Director for the attached
proposal, has read the proposal, and endorses its submission to the English Department for
approval.

Teacher’s signature Date

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 PROJECT TITLE:

STUDENT NAME:

DATE:

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT

OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR GRADE 12.

KRISHNA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL,

DEVIPATTINAM
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

Project Director: GOWRISHANKAR R Date:

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 Acknowledgement

First and foremost, I would like to thank our English Teacher (GOWRISHANKAR.,
M.A.,B.Ed.,MPHIL.,TEFL.,TESOL.,RBT.,) who guided us in doing these projects.
He provided us with invaluable advice and helped us in difficult periods. His
motivation and help contributed tremendously to the successful completion of the
project.

Besides, we would like to thank all the teachers who helped us by giving us advice
and providing the equipment which we needed.

Also I would like to thank my family and friends for their support. Without that
support we couldn’t have succeeded in completing this project.

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Theme of the Lesson
The Third Level' explores the science fiction genre of 'time travel'.There is the
interweaving of fantasy and reality in the most futuristic projection of time travel.
Time travel is the main theme of the story. The other significant theme in the story is
escapism, an attempt to escape the painful reality of the modern world which is full
of fear, war, stress, insecurity, pressure, anxiety, and more, and to go back in the past
to happier times. A time before the world witnessed two of its deadliest world wars.
War has irreversible consequences and leaves people in a state of insecurity and fear.
The narrator wanted to escape from the past and lead a peaceful and better life.

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Walter Braden (The Narrator)Character Analysis

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Walter Braden 'Jack Finney' (October 2,1911-November 19,1995) was an American
author. He graduated in 1934 from Knox College, Illinois. He was best known for his
science fiction and thrillers. His best-known works include The Body Snatchers and
Time and Again. In 1987, he was given the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime
Achievement at the World Fantasy Convention

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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.”

Character Sketch Of Charley

The protagonist of the story, Charley is a true representative of modern man. He is a
victim of stress, insecurity and fear and wants to run away from reality. He is an
escapist and wants to escape from the world of harsh realities. He is fond of stamp
collection, a hobby, which he takes up to make his leisure hours more productive and
fulfilling experience. But his psychiatrist friend calls it a temporary refuge from
reality. He yearns to lead a good simple life of his grandfather’s time, when things
were pretty nice and peaceful. He quests for the fabulous ordinariness of a bygone
age that was free from modern razzle- dazzle, sophistication and material comforts
but exudes peace and
tranquility. He wants to go to Galesburg, Illinois, in the year 1894 when the First
World War was twenty years off and the Second World War still forty years ahead.

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 Character Sketch Of Louisa
Louisa is Charley’s wife. She is loving and caring towards her husband. However,
she is a simple lady and it is not difficult to take her in. She refuses to accept the
psychiatrist’s observation that her husband is unhappy. She takes this comment as a
personal attack and feels ‘kind of mad’. On being told the modern world is full of
insecurity, fear, etc. she feels satisfied with the psychiatrist explanation. When
Charley talks to her about his predicament regarding the third level, she gets alarmed
and advises him not to look for the third level anymore. Her husband’s exchanging
the new currency with the old one is a cause of concern for her and she tells Charley
emphatically to stop looking for it. When Charley tells her about Sam’s
disappearance, she joins him in looking for the third level every weekend.

Character Sketch Of Sam Charley's

Psychiatrist Friend

Sam is a psychiatrist by profession. He is a typical city boy. When Charley shares his
visiting the third level he tells him it is a waking dream wish fulfillment. He tells him
that he is looking for ways to escape since he is not happy. But he immediately
revises his statement that Charley is a victim of insecurities of modern life. He dubs
the argument of narrator’s hobby of stamp collection as a temporary refuge from
reality. He does not believe in mixing up his profession with his friendship. He gets

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fascinated by Charley’s description of Galesburg, Illinois, as a wonderful town with
big old frame houses, huge lawns, tremendous trees lining the streets.

He is also affected by the pulls and pressures of modern life that he thinks of
escaping to the peaceful world of Galesburg of 1894. In the end, he discovers the
third level of Grand Central and goes there. He writes a letter from there advising
Charley and Louisa to keep finding the third level because it is worth. According to
Charley, Sam must have set up his little hay feed and grain businesses as he can’t go
back to his old business as psychiatrists are redundant in Galesburg of 1894.

Background / Context

THE THIRD LEVEL

Jack Finney in this story conveys that the life of modern man is full of insecurity,
stress and worries and he is unable to cope with these challenges of modern life. So
he wants to escape and run away from the harsh realities of life. When he cannot
cope with the harsh realities, he wants to escape into a fanciful world. He tries to find
a level of existence that will provide him peace, happiness and tranquility. He
dreams of a fantastic world which is devoid of any stress. The author has given the
title 'Third Level to this fantastic world which is yearned for by the modern man. The
title 'Third Level' also refers to the reality that exists only in the mind of modern
man. It does not exist in space and time. It is his mind that helps him escape the
tensions and harsh realities of life. On the contrary, things were pretty nice and
peaceful in the earlier times. People did not suffer from stress. They led a simple and
carefree life full of peace and serenity. They did not entertain fanciful and unrealistic
ideas. They were neither dreamers nor escapists. They led a contented life.
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 What is Third Level means?

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, the protagonist wants to travel to
Galesburg, Illinois, with his wife Louisa.

What is The Conclusion Of Third Level?

All in all, The Third Level brings us to the conclusion that people find it hard to
make peace with unpleasant things they come across in life. The story further makes
the reader realize that the past and future are real illusions. They exist in the present,
which is all there is.

What do we Learn from Third Level?

The third level is a medium of escape through which man yearns to be away from
life’s harsh realities. Modem life is devoid of peace and tranquility so man in his
quest to seek solace escapes to a place where his aim is to seek the realization of his
dreams and unfulfilled wishes of his subconscious mind.

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Summary
The narrator Charley believes that there are three levels at the Grand Central Station
when in reality there are only two. He claims that he has been on the third level of
the Grand Central Station. His psychiatrist friend Sam Weiner explains that it is a
waking dream wish fulfillment and that he(Charley) is hallucinating. He also says
that Charley is unhappy and wants to escape from the modern world full of fear, war,
worry, insecurity, and other problems. He claims that his (Charley's)habit of stamp
collecting is also a temporary escape from our painful reality. One night Charley
worked late at the office and was in a great hurry to get to his apartment with Louisa,
his wife. He decided to take the subway from the Grand Central Station. He turned
into the station from Vanderbilt Avenue and went down to the first level. Then he
walked down to the second level, stooped down to an arched doorway heading for
the subway, and got lost. The corridor started angling left and slanting downward. He
couldn't see anyone there and all he could hear were his own footsteps sound. Then
he heard a hollow roar ahead which meant open space and people talking. The tunnel
then turned left; he went down the stairs and got to the third level at the Grand
Central Station. This level looked very different from the other levels, the room was
smaller, and there was less number of ticket windows and train gates. The
information booth was wood and old-looking. There were open-flame gaslights and
brass spittoons on the floor. Everybody at that level was dressed in late 19th-century
fashion. To be sure he glanced at 'The World' newspaper which was dated June
11,1894 and the lead story read about President Cleveland, the then president of the
United States.
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Passage: THE presidents of the New York Central and the New York, New Haven
and Hartford railroads will swear on a stack of timetables that there are only two. But
I say there are three, because I’ve been on the third level of the Grand Central Station.
Yes, I’ve taken the obvious step: I talked to a psychiatrist friend of mine, among
others. I told him about the third level at Grand Central Station, and he said it was a
waking dream wish fulfillment. He said I was unhappy. That made my wife kind of
mad, but he explained that he meant the modern world is full of insecurity, fear, war,
worry and all the rest of it, and that I just want to escape. Well, who doesn’t?
Everybody I know wants to escape, but they don’t wander down into any third level
at Grand Central Station.

Word Meaning:
Stack- a pile of objects, typically one that is neatly arranged
Timetables- a schedule showing the departure and arrival times of trains, buses or
aircraft
Waking dream- an involuntary dream occuring while a person is awake
Wander- walk; roam

Explanation of the above passage: The story begins with the mention of a third
level at the Grand Central Station (which only has two levels in real). The protagonist
himself is aware that even the Presidents of New York Central and the New York,
New Haven and Hartford railroads would express great confidence in the existence of
only two levels but he himself has been to the third level. Considering the entire
scenario, Charley, the protagonist had a word with his psychiatrist friend. He
explained that Charley was experiencing a ˜waking dream wish fulfillment or in other
words, hallucination. According to the psychiatrist, Charley was unhappy (the fact
her wife did not like). Upon explaining further, it became clear that it is the burden of
all the modern problems that is pushing him to experience the apparent perception of
something not present. He tends to escape the reality. Charley agreed with what his
psychiatrist friend had to say but he still found it a bit odd to have been to the third
level of the Grand Central Station.

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Passage: But that’s the reason, he said, and my friends all agreed. Everything
points to it, they claimed. My stamp collecting, for example; that’s a temporary
refuge from reality. Well, maybe, but my grandfather didn’t need any refuge from
reality; things were pretty nice and peaceful in his day, from all I hear, and he
started my collection. It’s a nice collection too, blocks of four of practically every
U.S. issue, first-day covers, and so on. President Roosevelt collected stamps too,
you know.

Word Meaning: Refuge- the state of being safe or sheltered from pursuit,
danger, or difficulty

Explanation of the above passage: Charley begins to believe in the possibility

that he has been experiencing all this to escape the harsh realities of the modern
world. His friends agreed to it as well. Even his stamp collecting is a sort of asylum
he resorts to in order to feel protected. On the other hand, he starts thinking
otherwise. His grandfather started his stamp collection but in those days, they had
not seen the consequences of war and there was peace, harmony and security.
His grandfather must have not been insecure. The collection, moreover was
amazing, with blocks of four of practically every U. S. issue. Even President
Roosevelt collected stamps.

Passage: Anyway, here’s what happened at Grand Central. One night last
summer I worked late at the office. I was in a hurry to get uptown to my
apartment, so I decided to take the subway from Grand Central because it’s faster
than the bus.

Explanation of the above passage: He starts explaining what exactly

happened and begins with how he chose to take the Subway to his apartment
instead of the usual bus after a late-night shift. He did this in order to save time.

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Passage: Now, I don’t know why this should have happened to me. I’m just an
ordinary guy named Charley, thirty-one years old, and I was wearing a tan
gabardine suit and a straw hat with a fancy band; I passed a dozen men who
looked just like me. And I wasn’t trying to escape from anything; I just wanted to
get home to Louisa, my wife.

Word Meaning: Gabardine- a smooth, durable, twill-woven worsted or cotton

cloth

Explanation of the above passage: He describes himself as an ordinary man

of 31 dressed in a tan gabardine suit and a straw hat with a fancy band. It was so
ordinary that he could see other similar men at the station. He explains how he
was in his normal state of mind not wanting to escape from anywhere. All he
wanted was to be with his wife Louisa at that hour. He still doesn’t understand
why this happened with him.

Passage: I turned into Grand Central from Vanderbilt Avenue, and went down the
steps to the first level, where you take trains like the Twentieth Century. Then I
walked down another flight to the second level, where the suburban trains leave
from, ducked into an arched doorway heading for the subway and got lost. That’s
easy to do. I’ve been in and out of Grand Central hundreds of times, but I’m
always bumping into new doorways and stairs and corridors. Once I got into a
tunnel about a mile long and came out in the lobby of the Roosevelt Hotel.
Another time I came up in an office building on Forty-sixth Street, three blocks
away.

Word Meaning:
Suburban- residential
Ducked- lower the head or body quickly
Arched- curved
Bumping- knock or run into something

Explanation of the above passage: Charley comes to the part of the incident
where he entered the Grand Central from Vanderbilt Avenue and took the stairs to
the first level where one boarded trains like the Twentieth Century. Then he went
down another floor to reach the second level from where the suburban trains
leave. From there he entered an arched doorway and got lost. It was nothing
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unusual for him because even if he had come to that station a thousand times,
there were occasions he bumped into new corridors and doorways. Once he entered
the wrong lobby and reached Roosevelt Hotel and another time in an office building
which was three blocks
away.
Passage: Sometimes I think Grand Central is growing like a tree, pushing out new
corridors and staircases like roots. There’s probably a long tunnel that nobody
knows about feeling its way under the city right now, on its way to Times Square,
and maybe another to Central Park. And maybe because for so many people
through the years Grand Central has been an exit, a way of escape maybe that’s
how the tunnel I got into… But I never told my psychiatrist friend about that idea.

Explanation of the above passage: He wondered that Grand Central was

expanding at a very fast rate just like a tree and with its roots. He it is no big deal
that they even have a secret tunnel under the city to the Times Square or maybe
the Central Park. He feels it might be because Grand Central is a place of exit for
innumerable people, he also managed to escape reality because of the same
reason. Although he never shared it with his psychiatrist.
Passage: The corridor I was in began angling left and slanting downward and I
thought that was wrong, but I kept on walking. All I could hear was the empty
sound of my own footsteps and I didn’t pass a soul. Then I heard that sort of
hollow roar ahead that means open space and people talking. The tunnel turned
sharp left; I went down a short flight of stairs and came out on the third level at
Grand Central Station. For just a moment I thought I was back on the second level,
but I saw the room was smaller, there were fewer ticket windows and train gates,
and the information booth in the centre was wood and old looking. And the man
in the booth wore a green eyeshade and long black sleeve protectors. The lights
were dim and sort of flickering. Then I saw why; they were open-flame gaslights.
Explanation of the above passage: The unusual corridor he had entered into
began angling left and slanting downward which he felt odd about but
nevertheless, he kept on walking. There was no one except him and the voice of
his feet echoed. He finally heard the sound of people talking from a distance, then
he took a left and walked down the stairs again only to reach the third level of the
Grand Central. He thought he had somehow made his way back to the second
level but as he noticed, the room was smaller, there were fewer ticket windows
and train gates, and the information booth in the center was wood and oldlooking.
The man in the booth was also different and the station was dim-lit for there were
open-flame gaslights.

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Passage: There were brass spittoons on the floor, and across the station a glint of
light caught my eye; a man was pulling a gold watch from his vest pocket. He
snapped open the cover, glanced at his watch and frowned. He wore a derby hat,
a black four-button suit with tiny lapels, and he had a big, black, handlebar
mustache. Then I looked around and saw that everyone in the station was dressed
like eighteen-ninety-something; I never saw so many beards, sideburns and fancy
mustaches in my life. A woman walked in through the train gate; she wore a dress
with leg-of-mutton sleeves and skirts to the top of her high-buttoned shoes. Back
of her, out on the tracks, I caught a glimpse of a locomotive, a very small Currier &
Ives locomotive with a funnel-shaped stack. And then I knew.

Word Meaning:
Spittoons- a metal or earthenware pot typically having a funnel-shaped top, used
for spitting into
Vest- a garment worn on the upper part of the body
Snapped- break suddenly and completely
Locomotive- a powered railway vehicle used for pulling trains

Explanation of the above passage: Charley could see brass spittoons

everywhere when suddenly a glimpse of light caught his eye and he saw a man
pulling his gold watch from the vest. He was dressed in an old-fashioned style.
Suddenly, he noticed that everyone was dressed like the nineteenth century. It
was basically the time before deadly wars. So many beards and fancy mustaches
all around, something that the protagonist had never seen before. He even saw a
very small Currier & Ives locomotive which made him sure about which time he is
in.
Passage: To make sure, I walked over to a newsboy and glanced at the stack of
papers at his feet. It was The World, and The World hasnâ’t been published for
years. The lead story said something about President Cleveland. I’ve found that
front page since, in the Public Library files, and it was printed June 11, 1894.

Explanation of the above passage: To validate his suspicion, he went over to

the newspaper boy who was selling The World, a newspaper which was
discontinued years ago. There were some headlines about the then President
Cleveland. The date on the front page was also June 11, 1894. He was now sure.

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Passage: I turned toward the ticket windows knowing that here on the third level
at Grand Central I could buy tickets that would take Louisa and me anywhere in
the United States we wanted to go. In the year 1894. And I wanted two tickets to
Galesburg, Illinois. Have you ever been there? It’s a wonderful town still, with big
old frame houses, huge lawns, and tremendous trees whose branches meet
overhead and roof the streets. And in 1894, summer evenings were twice as long,
and people sat out on their lawns, the men smoking cigars and talking quietly, the
women waving palm-leaf fans, with the fire-flies all around, in a peaceful world. To
be back there with the First World War still twenty years off, and World War II
over forty years in the future… I wanted two tickets for that.

Explanation of the above passage: Immediately, he went to the ticket

window to get the tickets for Galesburg, Illinois for him and his wife. It was a
wonderful town with a lot of greenery. He was well aware that from here one
could buy tickets that would take them anywhere in the United States. He
describes how things were in 1984 before the two World Wars took place.
Evenings were twice as long as they are now and men and women living in peace
and serenity.

Passage: The clerk figured the fare he glanced at my fancy hatband, but he
figured the fare — and I had enough for two coach tickets, one way. But when I
counted out the money and looked up, the clerk was staring at me. He nodded at
the bills. That ain’t money, mister,he said, and if you’re trying to skin me, you
won’t get very far, and he glanced at the cash drawer beside him. Of course the
money was old-style bills, half again as big as the money we use nowadays, and
different-looking. I turned away and got out fast. There’s nothing nice about
jail, even in 1894.

Word Meaning: Clerk- administrator

Explanation of the above passage: As the clerk calculated the fare, he looked
at Charley’s fancy hatband. Charley just had enough for one sided journey. Just
as he took out money, the clerk informed that this is not the acceptable legal
tender and by any chance if he tried to be smart, he won’t be able to get away
with it. He glanced at his cash drawer and realised that currency used back then
was different and almost double the size. He ran out because he didn’t want to to
jail.

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Passage: And that was that. I left the same way I came, I suppose. Next day,
during lunch hour, I drew three hundred dollars out of the bank, nearly all we had,
and bought old-style currency (that really worried my psychiatrist friend). You can
buy old money at almost any coin dealers, but you have to pay a premium. My
three hundred dollars bought less than two hundred in old-style bills, but I didn’t
care; eggs were thirteen cents a dozen in 1894.
Explanation of the above passage: The day ended after he came out. The
next day he went to withdraw his entire savings and got them converted into old
money by paying some amount of premium. It cost him much and even worried
his psychiatrist friend but he still went with it. Back then, eggs cost thirteen cents
a dozen.
Passage: But I’ve never again found the corridor that leads to the third level at
Grand Central Station, although I’ve tried often enough. Louisa was pretty worried
when I told her all this, and didn’t want me to look for the third level any more,
and after a while I stopped; I went back to my stamps. But now we’re both
looking, every weekend, because now we have proof that the third level is still
there. My friend Sam Weiner disappeared! Nobody knew where, but I sort of
suspected because Sam’s a city boy, and I used to tell him about Galesburg ” I
went to school there” and he always said he liked the sound of the place. And
that’s where he is, all right. In 1894.
Explanation of the above passage: But unfortunately, he could never find the
way to the third-level corridor again despite hard efforts. His wife Louisa was
pretty worried when she got to know about it all. After a while, he went back to
finding distractions with the help of stamps. Somehow, Sam, the psychiatrist
disappeared out of the blue. Charley suspected that he had gone to Galesburg. He
finds himself in the time-space of 1894.

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Passage: Because one night, fussing with my stamp collection, I found — Well,
do you know what a first-day cover is? When a new stamp is issued, stamp
collectors buy some and use them to mail envelopes to themselves on the very
first day of sale; and the postmark proves the date. The envelope is called a firstday
cover. They’re never opened; you just put blank paper in the envelope.
Word Meaning: Fussing- show unnecessary or excessive concern about something

Explanation of the above passage: One night Charley came across a first-day
cover. It is an envelope (with a stamp on it) that stamp collectors mail to
themselves on the first day of its sale to mark the date. They’re just blank
inside and are not meant to be opened.

Passage: That night, among my oldest first-day covers, I found one that
shouldn’t have been there. But there it was. It was there because someone
had mailed it to my grandfather at his home in Galesburg; that’s what the address
on the envelope said. And it had been there since July 18, 1894 ” the postmark
showed that” yet I didn’t remember it at all. The stamp was a six-cent, dull brown,
with a picture of President Garfield. Naturally, when the envelope came to
Granddad in the mail, it went right into his collection and stayed there ” till I took
it out and opened it. The paper inside wasn’t blank. It read:

Explanation of the above passage: That night he found by surprise one of his
grandfather’s old first day covers. Someone had mailed it to his father at his
home at Galesburg, as he saw from the address on the envelope. The post mark
showed that it had been there since July 18, 1894. The stamp had a picture of

President Garfiled on it. It was a six cent, dull brown colour stamp. His grandfather
had put put it in his stamp collection and the Charley now discovered it. The paper
inside and a letter written in it. The letter read as:

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Passage: 941 Willard Street Galesburg,
Illinois
July 18, 1894
Charley
I got to wishing that you were right. Then I got to believing you were right. And,
Charley, it’s true; I found the third level! I’ve been here two weeks, and right now,
down the street at the Daly’s, someone is playing a piano, and they’re all out on
the front porch singing Seeing Nelly Home.And I’m invited over for lemonade.
Come on back, Charley and Louisa. Keep looking till you find the third level! It;s
worth it, believe me!

Explanation of the above passage: The letter talked about how the writer
wished his third level story was true until he actually started believing it to be
true. He had found the third level and had been there for two weeks. He describes
the place he was at that time. He asks Charley and Louis to never stop searching
for the third level and come back.

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Passage: The note is signed Sam.
At the stamp and coin store I go to, I found out that Sam bought eight hundred
dollar’s worth of old-style currency. That ought to set him up in a nice little hay,
feed and grain business; he always said that’s what he really wished he could do,
and he certainly can’t go back to his old business. Not in Galesburg, Illinois, in
1894. His old business? Why, Sam was my psychiatrist.

Explanation of the above passage: The letter had been signed off as Sam.Â
Charlie found out from the coin store that he used to visit that Sam had bought
old currency worth eight hundred dollars., which was to be utilised in a hay, feed
and grain business, which what he always wished to do. He could not go back to
his old business certainly not in Galesburg, Illinois. The story ends at a mysterious
note where Charlie is wondering that Sam is psychiatrist.

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Grand Central station

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Bibliography
www.successCds.com
www.vedantu.com
www.byjus.com
www.toppr.com
www.ncertbook.com

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