The document discusses Grand Central Terminal in New York, detailing its extensive underground platforms and ongoing expansion for east side access. It also explores the narrative of "The Third Level" by Jack Finney, centered on a character named Charley who hallucinates discovering a hidden third level of the terminal, leading to a fantastical experience of time travel to the 1890s. The story serves as a commentary on escapism and the harsh realities of modern life, illustrating a longing for simpler times amidst contemporary anxieties.

4. Grand Central Terminal- New York
Grand Central covers 48 acres (19 ha) and has
44 platforms, more than any other railroad
station in the world. Its platforms, all below
ground, serve 30 tracks on the upper level and
26 on the lower. In total, there are 67 tracks,
including a rail yard and sidings; of these, 43
tracks are in use for passenger service, while
the remaining two dozen are used to store
trains.Another eight tracks and four platforms
are being built on two new levels deep
underneath the existing station as part of East
Side Access.

5. The Third Level
About The Author
Mr. Finney specialized in thrillers and works of science fiction.
Two of his novels, The Body Snatchers and Good Neighbor
Sam became the basis of popular films, but it was
Time and Again (1970) that won him a devoted following.
The novel, about an advertising artist who travels back to the
New York of the 1880s, quickly became a cult favorite,
beloved especially by New Yorkers for its rich, painstakingly
researched descriptions of life in the city more than a century
ago.

8. 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.

9. 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 a 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.

10. Opening – Charley, an ordinary man
Charley was quite an ordinary man from New York. One
evening he reached the Grand Central Railway Station,
New York, after a long day’s work in the office. This was
what happened at the station:
 He was in a hurry to get home. His wife Louisa was
waiting for him.
 Having found no train from the first level of the station,
Charley went down to the second level.
 While waiting for a train on the second level, Charley
found a door and tunnel down.
 Curious as he always was, Charley suspected it was a
mysterious tunnel.
Following the tunnel, he took steps down and reached the
third level of the station

11. But, Grand Central has only two levels! How is this third level possible?
Charley remained wondering. Wondering at the old fashioned train engines,
at the hundred year old fashion, men with long mustache,
women dressed in the old French style,
a man pulling out his watch from pocket, gas lamps and spittoons…
 From a newspaper, he learnt the time – 1895!
 Charley knew one thing for sure – time traveling!
 He had got into similar tunnels in the past – under Roosevelt Hotel, under Times Square…
 In the past he had got into more such mysterious tunnels and caves but always a question remained
without answer – why was he not able to go back to those places once again!
 Anyway, now, in the third level of the Grand Central Station, he had not much time to ask questions –
Louisa was waiting at home.
 He went the ticket counter and asked for two tickets to Galesburg – the 1895 Galesburg or more
clearly, a hundred years old Galesburg – where he was born.
 When he paid the cash at the counter, the clerk suspected him for tendering fake currency.
Threatened, Charley ran out of the third level and reached home.

12. Next – 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.

13. Next – The Reality Side of Charley’s disappearance
This was what happened on the third level. Next day Charley first went a
shop that sold old currency, bought some old currency and went to the
station. He began searching for the tunnel that led to the third level but
could not locate it any more. For a week he came, searched for the tunnel
and went back disappointed. Finally he told the whole story to Louisa and
the good lady brought him to their friend Sam, a psychiatrist.
 Sam heard his friend’s story and termed it a slight deviation of the
mind.
 He explained it happened to Charley because he was always in search
of a place to escape from the burden and monotony of city life.
 Charley disagreed to this explanation but Louisa and other people
believed the psychiatrist.
 Slowly Charley stopped his search for the unknown.
 He was returning to a normal state when suddenly the most
unexpected happened – Sam reached the third level and sent him a
message.

14. 1. The Third Level1. ‘He said I was unhappy. 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...’ Many of us have a similar mindset to escape from reality. Do you
think escapism can resolve problems? –
No, it never does - Need for honest self-assessment - To know one’s strengths
and weaknesses - Set SMART goals, face reality rather than indulge in fantasy
- Develop the ability to conquer disappointments and forge a path ahead
undaunted by setbacks.
2. ‘That ought to set him up in a nice little hay feed grain business; he always
said that’s what he always wished he could do and he certainly can’t go back to
his old business.....’ Do modern day youth have the freedom to pursue a career
of their choise? –
Lack of self belief/confidence - Not often; yes/no - Peer pressure - Parental
pressure - Beaten path – safety - Insecurity
3. ‘I turned away and got our fast. There’s nothing nice about jail even in 1894.’
Do you think imprisonment in jail or strict punishment will undo wrong and is the
best sway to reform criminals or misguided youth?
- No, might harden them further - Society will treat them with a prejudiced eye -
Community service/vocational education – a more effective option - Confinement
in jail might bring them in contact with hardcore criminals – adverse effects - Jail
confinement will only enhance for criminal’s loved ones as well

18. Reality
Face
Escape