The Third Level

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.

Theme of the Lesson

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.

Q1. Read the given extract and answer the questions that follow:
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. 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 days, from all I hear, and he started my collection.

1. Why did Sam’s verdict make Charley’s wife ‘mad’?

A. It made it difficult for her to accept that Charley would consult a psychiatrist.
B. It seemed to suggest to her that she was the cause of Charley’s unhappiness.
C. It made her aware of Charley’s delicate state of mind.
D. It offended her that Charley and Sam collectively accused her.

Ans. B. It seemed to suggest to her that she was the cause of Charley’s unhappiness.

2. Sam’s explanation to the reaction of Charley’s wife was ___________ in nature

A. critical
B. aggressive
C. clarifying
D. accusatory

Ans. C. clarifying
3. Select the option that signifies the condition of people of the ‘modern world’
mentioned in the extract.
(1) unsure
(2) lazy
(3) offensive
(4) anxious
(5) afraid
A. (1) and (3)
B. (2) and (5)
C. (2), (3) and (4)
D. (1), (4) and (5)
Ans. D. (1), (4) and (5)
4. Select the option that displays a cause-effect set.

Ans. D

5. Why didn’t Charley’s grandfather need refuge from reality?

A. He was too busy to bother.
B. He had chosen to deny his reality.
C. He lived in peaceful times.
D. He was a very secure person.
Ans. C. He lived in peaceful times.

II. Read the given extract and answer the questions that follow:
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. 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 into…. escape maybe that’s how I got into the tunnel.

1. What does the word ‘Bumping’ mean?

A. Collide with force
B. Collide with empathy
C. Collide without any support
D. All of these

Ans. A. Collide with force

2. What does the narrator mean by ‘Grand Central has been an exit”?
A. People get lost in it
B. People want to escape through Grand Central station
C. People need excuses to go to Grand Central station
D. It is the best mode to reach the under-ground tunnel
Ans. B. People want to escape through Grand Central station

3. Which literary device has been used in ‘Grand Central Station growing like a tree’
A. Alliteration
B. Metaphor
C. Simile
D. Personification
Ans. C. Simile

4. Why does only Charley get lost at the third level?

A. Because he is practical
B. Because he is an escapist
C. Because he loves to do adventurous things
D. All of these
Ans. B. Because he is an escapist

Q2. Answer the following questions:

Q1 Why did the Psychiatrist’s analysis make Lousia lose her temper and how did
the psychiatrist appease her?
Ans. Lousia and Charlie were leading a happy married life. So. She couldn’t tolerate
the psychiatrist’s observation about Charley Being an unhappy man. However, her
anger subsided when he moved on to say that he was referring to modern man’s
unhappiness in general.

Q2 How did Charlie reach the third level

Ans. In this hurry to take a train back home, Charlie came to Grand Central from
Vanderbilt Avenue and took two flights to reach the second level from where his
train was to leave. He got lost while ducking into an arched doorway which led to the
subway and he found himself into a tunnel took him to another flight of stairs at the
end of which he found himself on the third level at Grand Central Station.

Q3 What was Charley’s vision about Galesburg town?

Ans. When Charley produced the modern currency to pay for the two tickets to
Galesburg, The ticket clerk accused him to trying to cheat and threatened to hand
him over to the police. This made

Q4 Why did Charley run back from the third level?

Ans. With the wings of imagination Charley returned to collect enough money to buy
two tickets to Galesburg town for himself and his wife Louisa. The clerk did not
accept the currency which Charley had so he went back to get the old currency.

Q5 When and how did Charley find the letter of Sam?

Ans. One night while fussing with his stamp collection, Charley found, among his
oldest first-day covers, the letter of Sam with a six cent stamp mailed to his
Granddad. It had been in his collection.

Q6 What did the ticket clerk say to Charley?

Ans. The ticket-clerk scolded Charley that that was not the real currency which he
was having. Additionally, he warned Charley that if he was trying to skin him, he
would not go very far. He would be prisoned.

Q7 “But now we are both looking.” What does this refer to? Explain.
Ans. The above mentioned words were said by Charley as he and his wife Louisa,
both every weekend started to search for the third level because they had the proof
that Charley’s friend Sam had disappeared. So, both Charley and Louisa were looking
for the third level.

Q8 What does the third level refer to?

Ans. The third level refers to the subway of the Grand Central Station in New York.
Though this Third level was not present there physically, Charley claimed it to be
present there.

Q9. Do you think that the third level was a medium of escape for Charley? Why?

Ans. Yes. The third level was a medium of escape for Charley because he might be
unhappy and fearful from worldly worries. He explained that he meant the modern
world is full of insecurity, fear, war, worry and all the rest of it and he just wanted to
escape from that. Perhaps Charley was not able to handle the stress.
Q10. What do you infer from Sam’s letter to Charley?

Ans. Sam’s letter to Charley proves that Sam had found and reached the third level.
He had been staying there in Galesburg since the last two weeks watching various
activities and explaining to Charley. He invites both Charley and his wife Louisa and
motivates them to continue their search for the third level. So, we can say that Sam
was also a victim of worldly worries and sought the escape, like Charley.

Q11 “The modern world is full of insecurity, fear, war, worry and stress. What are
the ways in which we attempt to overcome them?
Ans. No doubt, the modern world is full of insecurity, fear, war worry and stress. To
overcome them, people start to adopt their own ways. As some people start to
imagine and develop their own unreal world whereas some people start to use
alcoholic products and destroy their lives. These all ways are just escapement and not
the solution.

II Answer the following question in 100-120 words

A. Do you think that the third level was a medium of escape for Charley? Why?
Ans. Actually, Grand Central Station did not have a third level. Charley stated that
while travelling back to his house, he just made an imaginary trip to the third level in
order to escape the unsettling reality of this planet. He would frequently explore
relocating to Galesburg, which had already been established in 1894 and was thought
to be a peaceful community at the time.
He himself had aspirations of going there and pictured himself living in that era.
Whenever he got back to his regular life, he couldn’t stop thinking about that realm.
In this way, we can claim that the third level was unquestionably a medium of
escapement for Charley because his friend Sam’s disappearance forced him to
believe in it and subsequently he and his wife Louisa both started to search the third
level. Even though it was just in his head, it made him feel better.