Updated on 31/05/2026
1. The Third Level (Jack Finney)
Main Characters
Charley
Louisa (Charley’s wife)
Sam Weiner (Charley’s psychiatrist friend)
Main points
The Story is about man’s desire to escape from the realities, worries and tensions of life.
Charley is the main character of this story. He is a 31 year old ordinary clerk in New York. His hobby is stamp collecting.
One night, he got late at the office. In a hurry to reach his apartment, he decided to take the subway from Grand Central Station.
He walked down to the second level, but got lost in a wrong corridor.
There are two levels at Grand Central Station, New York, but he found a third one also.
The third level belonged to the year 1894. Everything there was old-fashioned: smaller rooms, fewer ticket windows, wooden information booths, dim gaslights, brass spittoons, and people wearing late 19th-century clothes.
To confirm his location, Charley looked at the newspaper 'The World' sold by a newsboy. It showed the date June 11, 1894.
Charley wanted to buy two tickets to Galesburg, Illinois—his peaceful childhood dream town. It was a wonderful town, with big houses, huge lawns & tremendous trees.
However, the clerk refused his modern currency, thought it was fake, and threatened to call the police. Charley immediately fled back to the present.
Charley shared this experience with his wife Louisa and his psychiatrist friend, Sam Weiner. Sam called it a "waking-dream wish fulfillment"—a temporary escape from modern fear and insecurity.
Later, Charley exchanged his savings ($300) for old currency, but could never find the third level again. Soon after, Sam disappeared mysteriously.
One evening, while looking through his stamp collection, Charley found a First Day Cover addressed to his grandfather in Galesburg. Inside, there was a letter from Sam dated July 18, 1894, confirming that Sam had found the Third Level and was happily living in Galesburg.
Very Short Type Q-Ans.
1. Who is the writer of the story ‘The Third Level’?
Ans. Jack Finney
2. Who is the central character of the story ‘The Third Level’?
Ans. Charley
3. How does Charley make sure that he has reached the past?
Ans. He sees the date on the newspaper 'The World' which was June 11, 1894.
4. When Charley knows that he has slipped into the past, where does he want to go?
Ans. To Galesburg, in Illinois
5. When did Charley live in Galesburg?
Ans. In his Childhood
6. What happened when one day Charley was in a hurry to catch the train?
Ans. He reached the third level
7. For which place does charley want to purchase tickets?
Ans. Galesburg
8. To whom does Charley talk about the third level?
Ans. To his psychiatrist friend, Sam Weiner
9. In which year of the past does Charley want to go?
Ans. In 1894
10. One of Charley’s friends disappears. What is his name?
Ans. Sam Weiner
11. Who is Sam Weiner?
Ans. Charley’s psychiatrist friend
12. Who is Louisa?
Ans. Charley’s wife
Q. 13 How many levels are there in reality at Grand Central Station?
Ans. There are only two levels.
Q. 14 What is 'The Third Level' according to Sam?
Ans. According to Sam, it is a "waking-dream wish fulfillment" or a way to escape from modern worries.
Q. 15 What was Charley's hobby?
Ans. Charley’s hobby was stamp collecting (Philately).
Q. 16 How much money did Charley withdraw from the bank to buy old currency?
Ans. He withdrew three hundred dollars.
Q. 17 Where did Sam Weiner finally go?
Ans. Sam went to Galesburg, Illinois in the year 1894.
Q. 18 What did Sam start in Galesburg in 1894?
Ans. He started a hay, feed, and grain business.
Q. 19 What is a 'First Day Cover'?
Ans. It is an envelope with a new stamp, mailed by collectors to themselves on the first day of sale to prove the date.
Q. 20 To whom was the letter in the 'First Day Cover' addressed?
Ans. It was addressed to Charley's grandfather.
Textual Questions
Q. 1 What does the third level refer to?
Ans. Charley is the main character of this story. There are two levels at Grand Central Station, New York. But he finds there is a third one also. In this story, the mystery of there being a third level has been dealt with. One day, by mistake he took a wrong turn and reached the third level.
Q. 2 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 was in worries and tensions of life. So the third level is the only way to escape from the worries and tensions of life. Going to the third level gave him satisfaction.
Q. 3 How does Charley reach the third level?
Ans. One day, when he was in a hurry to reach home, he decided to take the subway from the Grand Central Station to catch a train from the second level. But when he reached there, he got lost in a wrong corridor. He kept walking along the corridor and he found himself on the third level.
Q. 4 How is the atmosphere on the third level different?
Ans. The atmosphere was old-fashioned, like the year 1894. The rooms were smaller. Ticket windows and train gates were very few. The information booth was made of wood and looked very old. The lights were dim. There were brass spittoons also.
Q. 5 What does Charley do to make sure he has reached the past?
Ans. When Charley reached the third level, he saw that there were fewer ticket windows. The rooms were small. The lights were dim. There everything was old fashioned. A boy was selling a newspaper, ‘The World’ which had not been published for many years. He checked the date on it, which was June 11, 1894. This confirmed that he has slipped into the past.
Q. 6 What does Charley say about Galesburg?
Ans. He says Galesburg is a wonderful town. There were big houses, huge lawns and long trees. In summer evenings the people sat on these lawns and talked with one another. He thought this town was really a heaven of peace.
Q. 7 Who is Sam Weiner? What does Charley find out about him?
Ans. Sam Weiner is Charley’s friend. He is a psychiatrist. Charley talked about the third level to him. He said that it is only imaginary. Like his other friends, he does not believe in this.
Q. 8 What happens when Charley goes to the ticket counter to buy two tickets for Galesburg?
Ans. Charley goes to the ticket counter to buy two tickets for Galesburg. Then he gave modern currency to the booking clerk. The booking clerk looks at the currency and thinks, these are fakes & threatens to get Charley arrested, Charley rushes from there.
Q.9 Was Sam’s letter real or just a part of Charley’s imagination?
Ans. The letter was not real. It was a part of Charley's imagination. Charley was looking for a way to believe in the third level, so his own mind created that letter inside his grandfather's old first-day cover.
Q.10 Why did Sam start a 'hay, feed, and grain business' in Galesburg in 1894?
Ans. Because in 1894, Galesburg was a very peaceful and happy town. People did not have any mental stress or worries, so nobody needed a psychiatrist there.
Long-Answer
Q. 1 ‘The modern world is full of insecurity, fear, war, worry and stress.’ What are the ways in which we attempt to overcome them?
Ans. People adopt different ways to escape the painful realities of the modern world. At present some people spend their time playing games and reading books. Sometimes they do some creative work such as writing, painting, dancing, cooking etc. There are some other ways such as going for a picnic or movie. They can divert their mind to some hobbies like gardening, painting etc. There are some who resort themselves to drinking and to taking drugs to forget their worries. But this is an undesirable way to escape. These are temporary ways to escape from these realities.
Q. 2 How does Charley reach the third level?
Ans. Charley is the main character of this story. One day, Charley got late at his office. He was in a hurry to reach home. He decided to take the subway from the Grand Central Station. He was to catch his train from the second level. But when he reached there, he got lost in a wrong corridor. He kept walking along the corridor which went turning left and slanting downwards. At its end, he went down a short flight of stairs. When he came out, he found himself on the third level.
Q. 3 Describe Charley’s experience at the third level?
Ans. When Charley reached the third level, then he saw that there were fewer ticket windows. The rooms were also smaller. The lights were dim. There everything was old fashioned. There was a boy who was selling a newspaper, ‘The World’ which has not been published for many years. Charley turned towards the ticket windows. He wanted to go to Galesburg with his wife Louisa. He lived there in his childhood days. But he found that only old currency was accepted there. Charley had to come back from there because he had only new style currency.
Important Spellings
Psychiatrist
Curious
Experience
Believe
Presidents
Obvious
Fulfillment
Insecurity
Collection
Practically
· Gabardine
Corridor
· Twentieth
· Century
· Locomotives
· Tremendous
· Flickering
Premium
· Disappeared
lemonade
Word-meanings
Psychiatrist- mental disease expert
Uptown - residential area
Apartment- flat
Subway- underground way
Corridor- passage to a building
Gabardine – a kind of cloth
Slanting- sloping
Lemonade- lemon drink
Flickering- waving
Spittoon- vessel to spit into
Locomotives- railway engines
Stack – chimney
Worth- value
Flight – stairs between two landings
Tunnel - burrow