CLASS : XII

SUBJECT : ENGLISH CORE

CHAPTER : THE THIRD LEVEL
MODULE : 1
TEACHER : NISHA NAIR
:
THE  THIRD
LEVEL
JACK FINNEY

This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC.

 ABOUT THE WRITER
• Walter Braden ‘Jack’ Finney was an American
author. He was born on October 2 nd , 1911 in
Wisconsin, USA.
• He attended Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois.
His best known works are in Science fiction and
thrillers, including the Body Snatchers and Time
and Again.
 CONTINUED…..
• Jack Finney began his career by writing his first article,
‘Someone Who Knows Told Me…….’ published in the
Dec. 1943 issue of Cosmopolitan, a magazine first
published in New York City in1886.
• His great success came with his science fiction novel
‘Time and Again.’ He passed away at the age of 84.
 BACKGROUND
In the 1950s , people were scared. Panic and chaos
were prevalent. The world had already seen two
World Wars and Cold War was heating up. This
was when Jack Finney came up with his book
which is a collection of short stories on escapism
and time travel. ‘The Third Level’ is a short story
from this book.
 THEME :
• The story of ‘The Third Level’ clearly explores the science
fiction genre of ‘time travel.’ Jack Finney interweaves
fantasy with reality in the most futuristic projection of
time travel. The story also deals with the theme of
escapism, not only as a psychological refuge, from the
grim realities of the present day world but also to keep
the past alive in the complexities of the present.
 Characters :
• CHARLEY : The main character or the
protagonist, who stays in the suburbs of New York.
The first one to reach the third level.
• LOUISA : Charley’s wife. •SAM : The psychiatrist
friend of Charley. Charley consults and discusses
many topics with Sam.
 THE GRAND CENTRAL STATION:
• Grand Central Station is a railway station in
New York. It has two levels, the first level and
the second level.
• At the First Level, one can find inter-city
trains, that is, long distance trains plying
between cities.
 CONTINUED…
• At the Second Level, one can board intra city
trains, that is, trains plying within the city.
• There is also a controversial third level from where
one can take trains to any idyllic place in 1894. At
this level the ambience of the station is that of 1894.
THE THIRD LEVEL AT GRAND CENTRAL
STATION:
• Charley, the protagonist, begins the story with a
curious experience he had. He claims that the
authorities of the New York Central and the New
York, New Haven and Hartford railroads will swear
that it has only two levels. However, according to
Charley, there are three levels. He, not only believes in
the existence of this third level, but also claims to have
been there.
 VISIT TO HIS PSYCHIATRIST FRIEND:
• After this rare experience, he talks to his friends and also
went to the extent of visiting his psychiatrist friend and
sharing his bizarre experience. To this, the friend said
that it was ‘a waking-dream wish fulfillment (a pleasant
wish that makes one forget the present) and that Charley
was unhappy and just wanted to escape from this modern
world filled with insecurity, fear, worry and war.
 CHARLEY’S HOBBY:
• Charley enjoyed Philately, that is, stamp collection. A
hobby that was passed onto him by his grandfather, who
lived in Galesburg, Illinois.
• •The friends knowing his hobby claimed that even his
hobby of stamp collection was ‘a temporary refuge from
reality’ for Charley. Charley’s opinion on that was
different as he could not understand what kind of tensions
his grandfather had during the peaceful time of 1890s.
 CHARLEY:
• Charley, is 31 years old and lives in the suburbs of
New York.
• He is a man who loves to lead a simple life, devoid
of any tensions and worries. He dresses up like any
other ordinary man in his locality.
 ON A NIGHT LAST SUMMER:
From here, Charley takes his readers as to what had
happened on a last summer night. Charley worked late at
the office that day and was in a hurry to reach home to
his wife. He assures that this was all that he had in his
mind and he was in a very normal state of mind and
never wanted to escape from anywhere. Since he was late
that day, he decided to take the subway rather than the
usual bus to save time. He entered the Grand Central.
CHARLEY LOSES HIS WAY AT GRAND
CENTRAL:
Charley first reached the first level of the Grand
Central and then to the second level. From there,
he entered an arched doorway and got lost. For
Charley, getting lost at the Grand Central was not
at all unusual, because there were many occasions
where he had bumped into new corridors and
doorways.
 CONTINUED…
• There were times when he had entered the wrong lobby and
reached Roosevelt Hotel and also in an office building which was
three blocks away. Albeit, he has never mentioned this experience
to Sam.
• Charley feels that the Grand Central was growing like a tree with
roots. He continued walking through the corridor that began
angling left, moving downward and after a short flight of stairs,
Charley reached the third level.