Charley has a strange experience where he discovers a "third level" in Grand Central Station that appears to be stuck in the year 1894. When he tries to return, he is unable to find it. Later, Charley finds a letter from his friend Sam, who has disappeared, saying that he too found the third level and was enjoying life in 1894, encouraging Charley not to give up his search. The mysterious third level and Sam's letter suggest it may have been a passageway to the past that allowed Charley and Sam to escape the stresses of modern life.

1. THE THIRD LEVEL
BY: JACK FINNEY

2. The theme
• What are the factors that causes stress in this modern world?
• What are the consequences of extreme stress?
• Physically and mentally
• Everybody wants to have a normal and peaceful life which seems
impossible?
• What we do to divert from stress?
• Hobbies, sports, entertainments, watching movies , shows, theme
parks, parties etc.
• So everyone has a tendency to escape from his stressful world

3. The Third Level- a mixture of mythology and
science
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

4. PRE READING QUESTIONS (SILENT READING)
• 1. In reality how many levels are there in Grand Central Station?
• 2. What was the claim that charley made to his friends?
• 3. Who is Louisa?
• 4. Why did Charley choose train to go home on that day?
• 5. what was the strange habit that Charley had?
• 6. What was the striking difference that he felt when he reached the
third level?
• 7. Where did he want to go from the third level?
• 8. Why did the ticket clerk refuse to give the ticket to Charley?
• 9. Whose letter was found in the first day cover?
• 10. What had happened to Sam at the end of the story?

5. SOMETHING UNBELIEVABLE
• Charley is in confusion
• He had a strange experience recently
• When he shares his experience nobody was ready to believe him
• His close friend Sam says that it’s a kind of walking dream wish
fulfilment.
• The modern world is full of insecurity. There is fear, war, worry, stress
• It makes everyone feel insecure and unhappy
• This kind of imagination is a kind of escapism to divert from that
stress.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

6. Something about Charley
• Charley is a common cool guy
• Thirty one years old
• His wife is Louisa
• He was working in an office
• He is interested in stamp collection.
• He got this hobby from his grandfather
• He has excellent collection of stamps in his store
• When talking about the modern life, Charley points out the life in
those days of his grandfather was so peaceful.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC

7. The strange incident
• One night Charley was returning home from his office
• He had to travel a distance
• He chose train to travel so that he can reach home soon
• He says that he was not having any stress or worry
• Just he wanted to reach home quickly as possible
• He enters Grand Central Station
• Takes the steps to reach his platform
• It is a tunnel like
• Suddenly he realises that he lost his way
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

8. GRAND CENTRAL STATION – A VIEW
• It’s not new to charley to lose his way
• Grand Central is very huge
• Its normal to anyone to lose his way
• Charley is little bit absent minded
• Many times he has lost his way and entered in wrong direction.
• He fins a tunnel with arch gate which says third level
• He enters into that tunnel
• Charley has a crazy habit to try new ways whenever he finds them

9. THE THIRD LEVEL
• Charley comes out of the tunnel
• There is something strikes his attention
• Everything looks different
• The ticket counter was small,
• The information counter was made of wood and old looking
• The man in the counter was wearing an outdated uniform
• The lights were dim, because they were open flame gaslights
• There were spittoons on the floor
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

10. The men in the third level
• Men were having hand watch
• They were in old fashioned suits and hats
• They had long mustache, long beards, thick sideburns
• Women were in leg-of mutton sleeves, and skirts, and high buttoned
shoes
• Even the locomotive in the station was looked outdated.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC
BY-SA

11. A shock and surprise
• Charley is confused and had a doubt
• He went to the book stall nearby
• Had a glance at the books and newspapers
• All are out dated
• The newspaper ‘The World” hasn’t been published for years
• The cover story of the newspaper was about president Cleveland who
is no more
• Then checked the date of publication
• It says June, 11, 1894
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

12. A quick decision
• He understood that he is in the year 1894
• Remembers the life in 1800s what his grandfather used to tell him
• He wanted to go to his hometown Galesburg to see how the life is
there.
• So he decides to take two tickets to Galesburg for him and his wife.
• He goes to the ticket counter and asks for the tickets
• But when he pays the money, the clerk shouts at him
• Because he has modern currency which doesn’t have any value in
1980s

13. A disappointment
• Charley comes back from the third level
• But doesn’t want to give up
• Determined to go back to the third level and travel to his hometown
• Next day he goes to money broker and buy old currency worth of two
hundred dollars
• He says the life in 1894 would be inexpensive and peaceful
• But when he went back to the station he could not find the third level
• He tries a lot but he could not
• First his wife protests his meaningless search
• But one day she also joins the search. Why? What happened?

14. The mysterious letter
• Sam, Charley’s close friend disappears
• Nobody knows what happened to him
• One day Charley finds a first day cover in his collection box
• First day cover is when a new stamp is released by the government,
the stamp collectors buy that and past it in a empty cover and send to
themselves. When it reaches them with the postal mark it will be
considered as valuable.
• There was a letter inside
• Shockingly, it was written by Sam
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

15. The Letter
• The letter was written in 18, 1894
• It was sent to his grandfather
• Charley has said that , he found the third level and travelled to
Galesburg
• He is enjoying the life there, it was so pleasant and peaceful
• It’s worth trying
• He asks Charley, do not give up searching , one day they will find it.
• Charley is surprised because Sam is not only his friend but also his
psychiatrist.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

16. Long answer type questions
• 1. Do you think that the third level was a medium of escape for
Charley? Why?
• 2. What do you infer from Sam’s letter to Charley?
• 3. What strange things did the narrator see when he reached the
third level?