THE THIRD LEVEL by Jack Finney: NOTES

About the Author: Jack Finney (October 2, 1911 – November 14, 1995) was an American
author. His best-known works are science fiction and thrillers, including The Body Snatchers and
Time and Again.

THEMES:

 Background: The story is written after both the World Wars have already occurred and
the people are battling grief, sorrow, anxiety and hurt in the post World War era. Charley
yearns to return to a time in his past, his Grandfather's reality to escape the modern
world.
 The narrator seems unreliable. We as readers are not sure whether we can trust what he
has written.

First day covers; are envelopes sent with blank letters only to preserve/collect a newly launched
stamp

 The Third Level is a story that weaves together the psychological journey of the
narrator's past, present and the future.

 Borrows from the genre of Science Fiction

 Waking dream wish fulfillment: wanting to return to a pleasant place that is here
Galesburg, Illinois- peaceful town before the World Wars had occurred
Moreover, dreams are a way of manifesting unconscious desires of leaving the modern
world with its madness behind.

 Charley seems to be hallucinating.

  The Grand Central Station turned into a medium of escape where both time and
space intersected for Charley.

Hallucination is a sensory experience of something that does not exist outside the mind,
caused by various physical and mental disorders,usually manifested as visual or auditory
images. Charley imagines a third level at the Grand Central Station that seems very real

 Reason according to his psychologist, Sam Weiner: Charley wants to escape from the
insecurities, chaos, anxieties and fear of the modern world and was undergoing treatment
for the same. Wanted a 'temporary refuge from reality'.

 Reasons/ Evidences that Charley provides that the Third Level really exists:
 His sense of confusion and anxiety at navigating the Grand Central Station makes him
feel as if it is a tree that is continuously growing
 Attempting to escape his negative thoughts
 The chapter employs a first person narrative to make it more credible
 His hobby of Philately- collecting stamps
 The atmosphere: brass spittoons, open flame gas lights, ticket counter
 Dress of the people: people dressed in the older fashion, pocket watch, man at the ticket
booth wearing green eyeshade and long black sleeve protectors
 Currency
 The World: newspaper that recounts the news of 1890's when President Cleveland was
alive dated June 11, 1894
 Sam's letter enclosed in the 'first day cover': His psychologist decided to believe that what
Charley said was actually true and ended up truly manifesting Charley's imagination.

Questions to Ponder over: Were Sam and Louisa only a figment of Charley's
imagination?

QUESTION BANK:

Pg 7: Q1,2,3,4

EXTRA QUESTIONS:

Q) "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 ".
a. Who is the speaker of these lines? (1)
b. What place is he referring to?(1)
c. Why does he want to escape to this place?(1)

Q) Highlight the importance of Sam Weiner's letter.(6)

Q) What devices does Jack Finney use to portray Charley's transition from reality to fantasy
seem probable and possible?/ Give a brief account of the various evidences that indicate that the
Third Level actually exists. (6)