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G12 Notes -The Third Level

The Third Level by Jack Finney explores the concept of time travel through the protagonist Charley, who believes there is a hidden third level at Grand Central Station that transports him to the peaceful world of 1894. Charley's psychiatrist interprets his experiences as a psychological escape from the anxieties of modern life, but Charley remains convinced of the third level's existence. The story culminates in a letter from his psychiatrist friend Sam, confirming that he too has found the third level and invites Charley to join him in Galesburg.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
5 views17 pages

G12 Notes -The Third Level

The Third Level by Jack Finney explores the concept of time travel through the protagonist Charley, who believes there is a hidden third level at Grand Central Station that transports him to the peaceful world of 1894. Charley's psychiatrist interprets his experiences as a psychological escape from the anxieties of modern life, but Charley remains convinced of the third level's existence. The story culminates in a letter from his psychiatrist friend Sam, confirming that he too has found the third level and invites Charley to join him in Galesburg.

Uploaded by

Avish Khandelwal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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THE THIRD LEVEL By JACK FINNEY

Theme
The story third level clearly explores the science fiction genre of ‘time travel’; Jack Finney, the
recipient of the world fantasy award interweaves fantasy with the reality in the most futuristic
projection of time travel. Charley wishes to be transported to the third level, the world of 1894
which is supposedly much happier and quieter place to be. It is one of the most concise and
entertaining story about time travel. The question whether the third level exist in real or only in
charley’s mind can be inferred from Sam’s letter.

The story also dwells on the theme of escapism, not only as a psychological refuge from the grim
realities of the present day world but also as a desire to stay with the past or to keep the past alive
in the complexities of the present. In the story charley not only expresses desire to escape but
also prepares and tries very hard, a desire which is not contested by the wife either. Sam is also
happily escaped with no plans to resort to his old profession along with scores of other people
who cross the grand central everyday… to escape seems to be an all pervasive feeling

Summary

Charley is convinced there are three, not just two, levels at Grand Central Station. Charley's
psychiatrist, and his friends, thinks his delusion is a “waking-dream wish fulfillment,” and like
his stamp collection, a temporary refuge from a world full of insecurity, fear, war, and worry.
Charley explains that one evening while hurrying home, he decided to take the subway from
Grand Central Station, and became lost. He eventually found himself on a strange third level
with spittoons on the floor, oddly dressed people, and a locomotive from 1894.

Understanding he'd somehow gone back in time, Charley tries to buy tickets to Galesburg, IL, “a
wonderful town … with big old frame houses, huge lawns and tremendous trees whose branches
meet overhead and roof the streets.” Because the clerk won't accept his 1950-style money,
Charley leaves the station.

During his lunch break the next day, Charley withdraws nearly all their savings and buys old-
style currency. But he can never again find the entrance to the third level at Grand Central
Station.

Charley finds evidence the third level actually exists when he discovers a letter to him, dated
July 18, 1894, from Galesburg, IL. It seems Charley's psychiatrist was not as incredulous of the
third level as he appeared.
Explanation

The Third Level at Grand Central


Station

Grand Central Station of New York has two levels. But Charley, a thirty-one year
old dweller of the city, talks about there being three. Not only does he believe in
the existence of this hypothetical third level but also claims to have been there.

A visit to his psychiatrist friend

Charley visits a psychiatrist friend to talk about this problem. The psychiatrist
calls it a “waking-dream wish fulfillment” and rationalises Charley's psychology
by saying that the “modern world is full of insecurity, fear, worry, and war...”
and everybody wants to escape to some “temporary refuge from reality.”
According to him, even hobbies like stamp collection is a manifestation of this
escape.

Charley loses his way at Grand Central


The fast growing Grand Central station at times seems to be a maze to Charley.
He had lost his way a couple of times earlier too while taking the subway. Once,
he entered the lobby of the Roosevelt Hotel while the other time he emerged at
an office building that was three blocks away. But this time when he loses his
way, something unique happens. He visits the third level!

The Third Level

Charley keeps walking in the quiet corridor, angling left and slanting downward,
till he reaches an architecturally old station that is completely different from the
two familiar levels. The antiquated small room with fewer ticket counters and
train gates, a wooden information booth, flickering open flame gas lights and
brass spittoons reminds him of the architecture of the 1800s. He also finds that
people are dressed in outmoded outfits. He notices that the date on the
newspaper The World is printed June 11, 1894. As he tenders money to the clerk
at the counter to buy two tickets, he realises that he need to have old currency
bills to do so.

Charley's plan for a journey not realised

He had always wanted to travel to Galesburg with his wife, Louisa. In his mind, it
is “a wonderful town still, with big old frame houses, huge lawns, and
tremendous trees....” It is a place with long and pleasant summer evenings and
where people have ample of time. So, the next day during lunch, he exchanges
three hundred dollars for old style bills amounting to some two hundred only.
The loss doesn’t bother him much as he believes that in Galesburg everything
will be cheaper and that he can manage even with a small amount. But, he
could never again find the corridor leading to the third level.
Sam goes missing!

His wife Louisa is worried after knowing all this and asks him not to look for the
third level any further. Suddenly Charley realises that his friend, Sam Weiner, is
nowhere to be found, so he and his wife keep looking for him in the weekends.
Sam was the one with whom Charley used to share his ideas about Galesburg.

Philately & the first day covers

Philately is not just stamp collection but a broad term including the study of
stamps, postal history and other related items. When a new stamp is issued, on
the first day, people mail a blank paper to themselves and then retain that
unopened letter with the date on the postmark. Charley has inherited the hobby
and the collection from his grandfather.

A letter from Sam

One day while fidgeting with his stamp collection, Charley comes across a letter
that was not there earlier. It bears the postmark on a faded six-cent stamp with
a picture of the President Garfield. The envelope was sent on July18, 1894 to
Charley's grandfather in Galesburg and is addressed to Charley. The letter reads
that Sam has reached Galesburg and is having whale of a time there. He also
invites Charley and Louisa to Galesburg. When Charley goes to the stamp and
coin store, he is apprised of Sam's exchanging eight hundred dollars for the old
currency bills to establish his business of hay feed and grain in Galesburg. The
letter was written by Sam Weiner, who was Charley's psychiatrist!
The past is a good place to visit, but certainly not a good place to stay. The Third Level by
Jack Finney is an engrossing story set in the 1950s. The story is studded with numerous
undertones of irony. It takes you back in time. It was a world when people hadn’t seen two
of the bloodiest wars in the history of mankind. The story brings to light the fact that
figments of someone’s imagination can be used for shying away from reality, which in all
fairness, is harsh enough. Let us take a closer look at the story.

Overview
The Third Level tells the story of a 31-year-old guy named Charlie (not Charlie Sheen). One
fine evening, while rushing home, he decides to take the subway from the Grand Central
Station in New York City. He ends up finding himself on the Third Level of the Grand
Central Station (there were only two levels). There, Charlie observes spittoons lying on the
floor. He observes that people wear wearing derby hats and gold watches, which they kept
in their vest pockets. He also sees a Currier & Ives locomotive.

Realising that he’s gone back in time, Charlie tries to buy tickets to Galesburg. During the
lunch hour, the next afternoon, Charlie withdraws all his savings (nearly 500 US Dollars) to
buy old style currency notes. Charlie narrates this incident to Sam, his friend who works as
a psychiatrist. Sam concludes that the Third Level is nothing but a mere figment of
Charlie’s imagination. The miseries which the modern world, full of war, worry and terror,
had to offer made Charlie hallucinate about the existence of the Third Level.

Charlie succeeds in finding an evidence related to the Third Level’s existence. He discovers
a letter addressed to him by his psychiatrist friend Sam. The letter was dated July 18, 1894.
It seemed that Sam wasn’t as incredulous of the Third Level as he had appeared to be.

The Protagonist
Charlie’s a 31-year-old guy. He wore a Tan Gabardine suit (I remember Roger Moore
wearing Tan Gabardine suits when he portrayed James Bond on screen). He’s an ordinary
guy with a family. Peace and serenity happen to be the two things he wants rather
desperately. His decision to stay back in the year 1894 reiterates his desire to live a
peaceful and joyous life with his wife.

The Verdict
The story clearly explores the concept of time travel. Jack Finney explores the mentality of
a common man. He succeeds in exposing the vulnerable side of a common man. A myriad of
problems conspired to corrupt Charlie’s mind. It further robbed him of his senses, and in
his panic induced state, he hallucinated about the Third Level at the Grand Central Station.
Even though it was hard for Charlie to believe his eyes, he decided to stay there, in the
year 1894.

What stands out in the entire story is the extent of ease with which Jack Finney was able to
bring out a common man’s craving for peace and security. Like any common man, Charlie
too appreciated the so-called ‘pleasures’ of everyday life and the security of the familiar.
He wanted to stay in the past because 1894 was much more peaceful, secure, serene. The
world in 1894 hadn’t seen the repercussions of war. The insecurities that came with war,
terror, and disease had gotten the better of common folks like Charlie who wanted a
transient relief from the harsh realities of life.
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.

The Third Level – Summary


The Third Level is written by Jack Finney. There are two levels at the Grand Central Station,
New York. But Charley, the protagonist of the story, asserts that there is third level too. He
uses the third level to escape from the unpleasant life of New York to the pleasant life of
Galesburg, Illinois.

Summary

Charley was 31 years old man married to Louisa. Several times he had lost himself in the
Grand Central Station. He always found himself bumping into new doorways and new
corridors. Every time he had a new experience. He even had begun to believe that the
Grand Central was like a huge tree ever pushing new tunnels and new corridors like the
roots under the ground. Once he got into a mile long tunnel and came out in the lobby of a
hotel. At another time, he came up into the building of an office.
There were certainly only two levels at the Grand Central. But Charley asserted that there
were three levels. He talked about it to his friends. One of them was a psychiatrist. The
psychiatrist said that it was nothing but day-dreaming. He explained that it was only an
escape from his present life. The modern world was full of fear, tension and worries. The
third level provided him an exit from it.

His other friends agreed with the psychiatrist. They said that his stamp collecting was also a
temporary escape.

Charley did not agree with them. He said that his grandfather started the stamp collection.
And in his grandfather’s days, life was peaceful. He did not need an escape. Besides,
President Roosevelt also collected stamps.

One day, Charley got late from his office. He wanted to reach home soon. So he went to the
Grand Central to catch a train. He walked down to the first level, and then walked down
another flight of stairs. He thought he had reached the second level again. But he got lost.
He walked down a corridor. He thought it was wrong. But he walked on downward. He
walked down a short flight of stairs. He thought that he had reached the second level again.
But actually he had reached the third level.

The third level was entirely different and old-fashioned. There were fewer ticket windows.
The information booth was made of wood. The lights were open flame gas lights. There were
brass spittoons on the floor. Men had beards and sideburns. Women wore old-fashioned
dresses and high buttoned shoes. The railway engine was small with a funnel shaped stack.
Everything looked a century old. He walked to the newsboy. There he glanced at “The
World”. The lead story was about President Cleveland. Later Charley found out from the
library files that it was printed on June 11, 1894.

Charley wanted to go to Galesburg. He had been there in his childhood days. It was a
wonderful town with tremendous tress and frame houses. In 1894, it was a heaven of peace
and tranquility. People lived a carefree life. So he asked for two tickets to Galesburg. He paid
the fare in modern notes which were different from those in 1894. The clerk thought the
notes were fake and Charley was trying to cheat him. He threatened to get him arrested.
Charley immediately turned around and fled as fast as he could.

Next day, Charley bought old-style notes from a coin dealer. He got only two hundred old
dollars for three hundred new dollars. But he could never again find the corridor that led to
the third level.

Charley’s wife was worried when she heard that he had bought old-style notes. So, Charley
turned to his stamp collection. One day, among his grandfather’s collection of first day
covers, he discovered an envelope. The postmark showed that it had been there since July
18, 1894. He opened the envelope but the paper inside was not blank. It was a letter from
Sam, the psychiatrist friend whom Charley had often told about Galesburg. He had already
gone there. He urged Charley to continue to look for the third level and join him in the
Galesburg of 1894. It was a wonderful place.

Later Charley learnt that Sam had bought eight hundred dollars’ worth of old currency.
Charley hoped Sam would have set up hay and feed business in Galesburg. And that was
what he had always wished to do.

The Third Level is a psychological story which refers to the subway at the grand railway
station to which takes passengers to Galesburg. This subway also becomes an
interconnection between the narrator’s harsh reality and fantasy.
The third level was a way of escape for Charley, life in the modern world is full of insecurities
worries and stress, it takes Charley to a different world which his friend also call, “a walking
dream wish fulfillment”. This is a story about Charley’s escapist tendency. The third level
was started because of Sam’s letter written on July 18, 1984. The story depicts the
intersection of time and space.

Charlie: 31-year-old, office goer, claims to visit the third levels

Description of the Third level


 Small room, few ticket windows and train gates, wooden and old looking information
booth.
 Men had beards, sideburns, fancy moustaches
 Women wore skirts, high buttoned shoes and leg of muttons sleeves.
 A man looking at a pocket watch
 Old style locomotive with the funnel-shaped stack
 Open gaslights being used
 Brass spittoons on the floor
 Wants to visit his home town, Galesburg
 Past is quiet and peaceful
 Tries to buy two tickets to Galesburg (one ticket for his Wife Louisa)
 Clerk grows suspicious as Charlie doesn’t have old-style currency.
 Back to the present-day world

People’s reaction to Charlie’s


experience
 Presidents of NY railroads swear on the existence of two levels.
 Psychiatrist friend Sam refuses to believe
 Interprets it as an escape from insecurity fear, war and worry of the modern world.
 Louisa too disbelieves Charlie

Charlie’s determination to find


the Third Level
 Withdraws money buys old currency worth 300 dollars.
 Fails to find the Third Level
 Louisa and Psychiatrist worried

Unexpected Ending
 Sam disappears
 Charlie finds a first-day cover, never seen before
 Note from Sam dated 18th July 1894 from Galesburg
 Sam asks Charlie and Louisa to come to Galesburg and enjoy a quiet and peaceful life.
 Charlie discovers Sam had bought old currency worth 800 dollars.
 Enough to help him start hay and grain business in 1894 at Galesburg

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 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 Summary


The story revolves around a 31 year old man named Charley, who experienced
something weird. One day after work coming from the Subway, he reached the third
level of the Grand Central station (which doesn’t actually exist). He reminisces the
entire experience with his psychiatrist friend Sam. Charley thought he experienced time
travel and had reached somewhere in the eighteen-nineties, a time before the world
saw two of its most deadliest wars. As soon as he realised what time he is in, he
immediately decided to buy two tickets to Galesburg, Illinois; one for himself and the
other for his wife. Unfortunately, the currency used in that century was different. Thus,
the next day he withdrew all his savings and got them converted even if it meant
bearing losses. He went looking for the third level but failed to find it. It worried his wife
and the psychiatrist Sam who told him that he is hallucinating in order to take refuge
from reality and miseries of the modern world which is full of worry. Charley thus resorts
to his stamp collection in order to distract himself when suddenly one day he finds a
letter from his friend Sam who had gone missing recently. Sam wrote that he always
wanted to believe in the idea of third level and now that he is there himself, he
encourages Charley and Louisa to never stop looking for it.
The Third Level Lesson and Explanation
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.

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

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.Â

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.
Refuge- the state of being safe or sheltered from pursuit, danger or difficulty

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.
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.

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.

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.
Gabardine- a smooth, durable, twill-woven worsted or cotton cloth

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.

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.

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

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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.

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.

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.

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 centre was wood and old looking. The
man in the booth was also different and the station was dim-lit for there were open-
flame gaslights.
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.
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

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.

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 hasn’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.

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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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.
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.

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.

Clerk- administrator

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 go to jail.

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.

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.

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.
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.

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 first-day cover. They’re never
opened; you just put blank paper in the envelope.
Fussing- show unnecessary or excessive concern about something

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.

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:

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:

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!

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.

The note is signed Sam.


At the stamp and coin store I go to, I found out that Sam bought eight hundred
dollars’ 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.

The letter had been signed off as Sam. 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.

See: My Mother at Sixty Six Class 12 English Explanation


The Third Level Question and Answers
Read and Find out
1. What does the third level refer to?
A. Third level refers to an additional floor at the Grand Central Station which originally
only had two levels. Charley was hallucinating one night while going home when he
reached the third level.

2. Would Charley ever go back to the ticket-counter on the third level to buy tickets to
Galesburg for himself and his wife?
A. Charley went looking back for the third level that could take him and his wife to
Galesburg because he wanted to go back to his past. He wanted to go back to the world
that has not seen two of its deadliest wars that changed everything.

Read with insight


1. Do you think that the third level was a medium of escape for Charley? Why?
A. Yes, the third level of the Grand Central Station was a medium of escape for Charley.
Modern world offers a lot of challenges and in order to take refuge from reality, one
might resort to day-dreaming or hallucination We all understand the miseries of the
modern world which is full of worry and pressure, thus, in order to take the burden away
from his shoulders and heap a sigh of relief, Charley resorted to escaping reality,
although unintentionally.

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


A. The way Charley discovered Sam's letter was rather peculiar. It was one of those
first-day covers people used to mail to themselves back in time with a blank page
inside. So to begin with, the cover had a letter in it and not a blank page in it. Secondly,
the letter dates back to 18 July, 1894 when Sam (the writer of the letter) didn't exist
because both Sam and Charley exist in the present times. Thus, it is sound to conclude
that it was just a product of Charley's 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?
A. One cannot count on fingers the negative aspects the modern lifestyle has to offer.
There is stress, pressure, fear, insecurity and worry. In order to relieve yourself of all
these miseries, one can indulge in creative activities from time to time. Making time for
yourself and what you love without worrying about a productive outcome is a crucial
thing many people tend to ignore in the hustle and bustle of daily lives. Secondly, one
can read a good book or even meditate. Long walks in the lap of nature are not to be
underestimated because nature has its own healing power. Apart from these, a short
weekend getaway, movie night with friends or even alone at home can be done in order
to dissociate oneself from the routine.

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


A. Yes, there are a lot of instances that tell us about the intersection of time and space
in the story. First intersection being the one between the first two levels of the Grand
Central Station and its third level which is based somewhere in the 1890s whereas the
former exists in the present times. Also when Charley went to buy tickets for Galesburg
which existed in 1894 while he and his wife exists in the present times. Not to ignore
the old fashioned architecture of the third level in contradiction to the modern interiors
of the first two levels. Lastly, the letter dated 18th July, 1982 that Charley found also
throws light upon the intersection of time and space as both the sender (Sam) and the
receiver (Charley) exist in the present times.

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


A. While a lot of the world's greatest inventions were made by people who were
criticised for their ideas. Audiences used to mock at them for being illogical. Sighting
the example of Thomas Edison who invented the light bulb, no one believed in him at
first but all he had was an idea and it's realistic projection in mind. The idea here tells us
how important it is to sometimes follow one's insight and have hope for it holds the
capacity to change the world through its futuristic projections.

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?
A. Philately does indeed help in keeping the treasures of past alive. It gives one a
chance to revisit and embrace the past of one's existence. Some of the other ways in
which it can be done is by keeping a record of all the letters, ancient manuscripts,
things that are discontinued but were a significant part of the past, images, videos and
written records of experiences.
Human beings are a collection of all the experiences they have been through. Their
tendency to connect with the past from time to time helps them stay connected to the
roots while helping them to face the present and future challenges with more strength.
Connecting with the future on the other hand, is just as important to know the outcome
of one's current actions and decisions. If one doesn't seem satisfied with the realistic
interpretation of future, it can certainly help in altering current actions to direct towards
a better future.

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