12th English | Vistas Chapter 1 (V1)

THE THIRD LEVEL – Jack Finney

Introduction

The Third Level by Jack Finney is about the harsh realities of war. War has irreversible
consequences thus leaving people in a state of insecurity. It is also about modern-day
problems and how the common man tends to escape reality by various means. In this
story, a man named Charley hallucinates and reaches the third level of the Grand
Central Station which only has two levels. The third level represents a break from the
“full of insecurity, fear, war, worry and all the rest of it” modern world. The 1890s
depict a tranquil lifestyle that is not feasible in the present. The main character wants
to take his wife Louisa to Galesburg, Illinois, from this point on. While his psychiatrist
friend refers to it as a “waking-dream wish fulfilment,” for him, it is a part of reality.

Characters
1. Charley
Charlie was a nervous person. His hobby was collecting stamps. He was a young
man, yet he was afraid to live in the violent society. He desired to visit a peaceful
and idyllic place. Charley is an optimist who constantly sees the positive aspects of
situations. He regularly expresses his desire to escape the ordinary reality of his
daily existence and is also a dreamer. His fascination with time travel has led him to
think that the Third Level of Grand Central Station serves as a gateway to the past.
Charley is an adventurous person who welcomes a challenge. Sam is reluctant at
first, but Charley persuades him to go with him to explore the Third Level.
2. Louisa
Louisa is a practical, level-headed, and rational person. Louisa helps her husband
stay grounded by reminding him of his responsibilities in the outside world. She is
also portrayed as being a loving and understanding wife to her anxious husband.
Louisa first has doubts about the Third Level and believes it is just a figment of her
husband’s imagination. She hears him out, makes an effort to comprehend his
anxieties, and implores him to get help from a professional. She is kind to him and
encourages him as he makes baby strides towards recovery.
3. Sam
Sam was a psychiatrist. He was Charley’s friend as well. Sam is a practical and
sensible individual who enjoys his life. He retains his composure and is resistant to
Charley’s imaginative ideas. However, out of curiosity and a desire to disprove
Charley, Sam ultimately decides to go with him.
 He spoke with several psychic patients every day, who shared their problems and
fears with him. Sam’s life has become burdened as a result of this. He also began
looking for a sojourn. After hearing about the suffering of those with mental
illnesses, he yearned to leave the miserable life he had come to lead. Sam prevents
himself from enjoying the full potential of life by his reluctance to take chances and
investigate new ideas.

TEXTBOOK EXERCISES

Reading With Insight

1. Do you think that the third level was a medium of escape for Charley? Why?
Answer: Yes, I think that the third level was a medium of escape for Charley. The
third level is an escape for Charley from the modern setting of worry and
insecurity. It is an escape from the unhappy contemporary world that is full of
insecurity, fear, war, and worry. He had always desired to live his life peacefully as
he did in Galesburg. Charlie was so upset and frustrated with modern life and the
way of living that he wanted to move back into the past. Thus, in his mind, he has
forever wanted to go back in time, so he found the third level as a realization of
his dream.

2. What do you infer from Sam’s letter to Charley?

Answer: Sam’s letter is a consequence of Charley’s thoughts. Sam’s letter was full
of mystery when Charley came across it. This can be understood from the truth
that the letter was enclosed in the oldest first-day cover and directed to his
grandfather. Usually, the first-day covers have blank papers in them, but this one
included a letter. This is made so that the envelope is stamped along with the
date, and it remains as a remembrance always. So these kinds of envelopes carry
just blank letters and should not be opened. In this letter, Sam had notified
Charley that he was living on the third level. He had also stated that Charley and
his wife keep waiting for the third level. This confirms that Sam’s letter is an
outcome of Charley’s complete imagination.

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 contemporary world is full of illusion, insecurity, war, fear, worry,
tension, and stress. This is because the world is full of competition and people
need to pull each other downward. People can overcome this unrealness,
anxieties, and insecurities bred by our certain existence in the advanced world by
getting involved in useful and practical activities. To overcome such uncertainties,
firstly we must believe that both good and bad come our way. Hence, we want to
create equilibrium among professional, creative, personal, and economic
provinces of life. People need to spend a good time with friends and family, be
productive in art, poetry, prose, or in pursuing their hobbies.

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

Answer: Yes, some situations in the story show an interaction of time and space.
Firstly, the first two levels of Grand Central Station were found in the present
time, while the third level survived. Charley tries to buy tickets to Galesburg but
finds that he has current-day currency. The stairs that guide Charley to the third
level are also seen to be the pattern of the 19th century. Charley opens up the
first-day cover from his grandfather’s collection of stamps and assumes it to be
Sam’s letter which is supposed to be blank. In certain situations, Charley is brought
to a parallel world of thought where everything happens according to his desires.
This instance makes him completely content. However, when he experiences the
modern world, he becomes upset.

5. Apparent illogicality sometimes turns out to be a futuristic projection?

Discuss.
Answer: Indeed, apparent illogicality sometimes turns out to be a futuristic
prediction. Sometimes what appears to be illogical today or at a point in time
often turns out to be a reality the next day or in the future. This has usually been
the trend with scientific discoveries. No one could have accepted that man could
fly before the Wright Brothers invented the aeroplane. It was an illogical thought.
It later rolled out to be an actuality in the form of planes and parachutes. Likewise,
the baseless thought of communicating with people over long distances by
Graham Bell made him invent the telephone. Another example of this is the
mobile phone which is another version of taking the telephone to its next level. All
these discoveries were seeded in absurd thoughts. Illogical thoughts converted to
real-time inventions are possible due to time, effort, patience, hard work, and
resources.

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?
Answer: Besides philately, there are many other ways to help keep the past alive.
Holding on to the past alive also means protecting the memories, which can be
preserved in numerous ways. Philately is collecting the stamps that transport us into
our actual past. In the past, people would maintain a diary to keep incidents
recorded. Some people would also safely preserve letters, souvenirs, gifts, and coins
that they got from others. In the modern world, as time flies and technology
develops in people’s lives, they make videos or take photographs to capture the
moments.
The ability to fluctuate between the past, present, and future is a great intellectual
gift. It is good to make mistakes in our past. We can take beautiful lessons from it
and can make today and tomorrow wonderful. Human beings have a good ability to
keep events recorded in mind. This enables them to continually go back to any
situation in the past and revive it. Hence, we as humans have the power to probe
deep into the past, think about the present, and also imagine the future.

7. You have read ‘Adventure’ by Jayant Narlikar in Hornbill Class XI. Compare the
interweaving of fantasy and reality in the two stories.
Answer: In both stories, reality and fantasies are interwoven. Jayant Narlikar’s
‘Adventure’ is a complete narration of what happens to a person when his life is
stuck between two worlds that is imagination and presence. Professor Gaitonde and
Charley both have reached a situation where they are helpless to differentiate
between the world of actuality and fantasy. Professor Gaitonde is so engrossed in
concepts of the battle of Panipat that he visualises it happening in front of him
during the accident. He rather imagines it to be the chaotic battle of Panipat and
moulds it in the way that he wishes.
In the same way, Charley, in the third level, completely indulges himself in the
thoughts of Galesburg. So, he assumes the presence of the Third Level, which could
help him reach the land of his fantasies – Galesburg. In both cases, they were
extremely unsatisfied with the present scenario and desperately wanted to change
it. Thus, both stories present fantasy as well as reality.