About the author
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.
Word-meaning
- Railroads: Metal tracks on which trains run
- Stack: A pile of objects, typically one that is neatly arranged
- Psychiatrist: A medical practitioner specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness
- Refuge:(a place that gives)protection or shelter from danger, troubles, unhappiness, etc.
- Blocks: Group of things considered together
- Issue: A set of newspapers or magazines published at the same time or a single copy of a newspaper or magazine
- Subway: A railway system in which electric trains travel through tunnels below ground
- Gabardine suit: A suit made from thick cloth especially used for making coats
- Suburban trains: Residential trains
- Ducked: Lower the head or body quickly
- Bumping: Knock or run into something
- Booth: Small temporary structure used for providing information, selling goods, or staging shows.
- Flickering: unstable
- Gaslights: A type of lamp that uses gas as fuel
- Spittoons: A metal or earthenware pot typically having a funnel-shaped top, used for spitting into
- Glint: A small flash of light, especially a reflected one
- Frowned: Bring your brows together indicating disapproval, displeasure, or concentration
- Derby hat: Hard felt hat with a rounded crown
- Leg-of-mutton sleeves: A sleeve that is full and loose on the upper arm but close-fitting on the forearm and wrist
- Locomotive: Engine of a train
- Stack: Chimney in steam engines
- Tremendous: Great in amount, size, or degree
- Fare: The money paid for a journey on public transport
- Skin: Cheat
- Premium: A sum added to an ordinary price or charge
- Fussing: Show unnecessary or excessive concern about something
- Postmark: An official mark, typically showing the place that it was sent from and the time or date that it was sent
- Porch: A covered structure in front of the entrance to a building
- Hay: Dried grasses and other foliage used as animal feed
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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.
Then he turned towards the ticket window to buy two tickets for himself and his wife to Galesburg, Illinois in 1894 with the war still years ahead. He wanted to go back to a peaceful world free of war and stress. The clerk at the ticket counter refused to accept the money bills that Charley offered and warned him that if he is trying to deceive him he won't go too far and will be punished. Charley left as fast as he could and the next day he bought three hundred dollars worth of old-style currency which was less than two hundred dollars in old-style bills. But he never found the third level again.
Louisa got worried and persuaded Charley to stop his search and after a while, he stopped. But now they both started their search again because they got proof that the third level exists. His friend Sam Weiner disappeared and the narrator Charley is sure that Sam is in Galesburg in the year 1894.
One night, looking at his stamp collection, Charley found a strange first-day cover that someone had mailed to his grandfather in Galesburg and it had been there since July 18,1894. The stamp was a six-cent, dull brown, with a picture of President Garfield. The envelope had a letter for Charley written by Sam. In that letter, Sam confirms that there is a third level and that he is present in Galesburg, Illinois. He also asks Charley and Louisa to keep looking for the third level because it's worth it.
Later, Charley found out that Sam bought eight hundred dollars worth of old-style currency which will be sufficient to set up a hay feed and grain business which Sam always wished to do. Sam certainly can't go back to his old profession as a psychiatrist in Galesburg, in 1894 since no such profession existed at that time.
Theme
'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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NCERT Solutions
Question Answers
Read and find out
Question 1. What does the third level refer to?
Answer. The third level refers to the third floor at the Grand Central Station. The narrator of the story Charley claims that there are three levels at the Grand Central Station while in reality there are only two. The third level was Charley's hallucination.
Question 2. Would Charley ever go back to the ticket counter on the third level to buy tickets to Galesburg for himself and his wife?
Answer. Charley tried to find the third level at the Grand Central Station but never again found the corridor that leads to it and hence he couldn't go back to the ticket counter on the third level to buy tickets to Galesburg for himself and his wife.
Reading with Insight
Question 1. Do you think that the third level was a medium of escape for Charley? Why?
Answer. Yes, the third level was a medium of escape for Charley. He wanted to escape the gloomy and cruel realities of the present-day world. He wanted to move back into the past, to happier times, and lead a peaceful life. It was his desire to go back to Galesburg, Illinois in the year 1894 in a harmonious world free of modern-day problems like fear, stress, pressure, and insecurity and when the world hasn't witnessed two devastating world wars. The third level was a result of Charley's wish to escape to pleasant times.
Question 2. What do you infer from Sam's letter to Charley?
Answer. The letter was the outcome of Charley's thoughts. Charley found Sam's letter among the oldest first-day covers. It was mailed to his grandfather in Galesburg. The first-day covers are never opened and there is a blank paper inside the envelope but strangely the paper inside wasn't blank. The letter was dated July 18,1894 and was written by Sam to Charley. In the letter, Sam told Charley that he found the third level and is now present in Galesburg, Illinois in the year 1894. He has happily escaped to happier times. He also advises Charley and Louisa to keep looking for the third level at the Grand Central Station, it's worth the search. It was all Charley's hallucinations.
Question 3. 'The modern world is full of insecurity, fear, war, worry, and stress.' What are the ways in which we attempt to overcome them?
Answer. The present-day world is filled with negativity, uncertainty, panic, fear, war, pressure, stress, and anxiety which tends to take a toll on our mental and physical health. We all attempt to overcome this in different ways. Doing what makes one happy like going on vacation with family and friends, listening to music, watching sunsets, and so on works as a temporary refuge from the grim reality. Our hobbies like stamp collecting, reading books, and watching movies or shows that we find comforting, painting is a momentary escape from the present day. We also try to keep the past alive in the present by mentally transporting ourselves to the past to happier times as a psychological escape from the contemporary world.
Question 4. Do you see an intersection of time and space in the story?
Answer. Yes, an intersection of time and space is clearly visible in the story. There are a few instances like the existence of the first and second levels of the Grand Central Station in the present time while that of the third level in the past. The architecture and the furniture of the third level were old-fashioned and everyone on that level was dressed in the fashion of the 1890s something. The newspaper 'The world' which didn't publish at the present time was there and dated June 11, 1894. Charley goes to buy two tickets to Galesburg, Illinois in the year 1894 but only has new-style money. Charley and Louisa existed in the present world. The first-day cover that Charley found in his stamp collection dated July 18, 1894, it was mailed to his grandfather in Galesburg. There was a letter inside the envelope which was written by Sam who also existed in the present. These instances show the intersection of time and space in the story.
Question 5. Apparent illogicality sometimes turns out to be a futuristic projection. Discuss.
Answer. Yes, apparent illogicality sometimes turns out to be a futuristic projection. This is not only true but has been proved time and again. Sometimes what seems to be illogical at the very beginning turns out to be a reality in the future. World's greatest discoveries and the technologies without which we can't imagine our lives today were once an idea in someone's mind and were unimaginable to most people. The idea of the light bulb was regarded as impossible until Thomas Edison invented it. The invention of aeroplanes and cars, electricity and the internet, mobile phones, and televisions were considered impossible too. The ideas of these inventions were regarded as illogical and the scientists working on them were called insane. But, today we use it all. Similarly, the possibility of having a railway station that allows us to time travel from past to future cannot be completely ruled out.
Question 6. 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?
(Philately: the collection and study of postage stamps)
Answer. Along with philately, a lot of things that we practice in our day-to-day lives help in keeping the past alive in the present. Collecting old-style currency, reading old books, watching old movies and tv shows, and listening to old songs are some of the ways. We also capture a lot of photos and preserve them in photo albums, we also preserve letters and gifts that remind us of fond memories of ourselves and our loved ones. Visiting heritage sites and practicing age-old customs and traditions not only connects us to our roots but also educates us. We also treasure a lot of things that we no longer use because they are memorable to us and hold importance.
We human beings are gifted with the ability to remember the past and of making predictions about the future.
The present-day world is very fast and competitive and often leads to a tremendous amount of stress and anxiety. We all resolve to different ways to find peace and harmony. When the reality is not as we wished it to be and is disappointing we often find temporary escape by remembering the past when things were better and we were happier. The past helps us to analyze our mistakes so the chances of repeating them become less. We also tend to imagine what our future would look it, it helps us to make our current choices so that it leads to the future that we wish to have.
Question 7. You have read 'Adventure' by Jayant Narlikar in Hornbill Class XI. Compare the interweaving of fantasy and reality in the two stories.
Answer. The interweaving of fantasy and reality is shown in both stories. Both stories explore the science fiction genre of 'time travel'. Both of the stories clearly narrated how our mind tricks us into believing the presence of something that is not there but we see it because of our strong desire to want it to exist. Both Charley's and Professor Gaitonde's life is stuck between fantasy and reality. They both struggle to differentiate the real world from the imagination. Gaitonde is so absorbed in the concept of the battle of Panipat that he creates a parallel world in his mind and alters the result of the battle as per his desire.
Similarly, Charley always wished to live in Galesburg and have a peaceful and happier life. He wanted to escape reality. This results in him imagining the presence of the third level at the Grand Central Station. The third level was a way of making his wish come true. Both of them tried to change the disappointing reality by creating a world of fantasy in their minds.
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