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The Third Level
Jack Finney’s story "The Third Level" (Vistas, Chapter 1), in six stops. Charley tells his own story: looking for the subway in Grand Central Station, he loses his way and ends up on a third level where the year is 1894. Every stop has lines from the story, something to do, and a short check at the end.
1The claim of three levels
The question for this stop
Charley says that Grand Central Station has three levels. How do the other people explain his claim, and what does Charley himself say in reply?
The story begins with Charley’s claim. According to the presidents of the railroads, Grand Central Station has only two levels; Charley says there are three, because he has been on the third level (p. 1).
The first lines of the story (p. 1)
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.
Charley’s reply (p. 1)
- The psychiatrist friend says that Charley wants to escape. Charley agrees that everybody wants to escape, but says that this does not take anyone to a third level.
- The friends call Charley’s stamp collecting a "temporary refuge from reality". Charley says "Well, maybe", but reminds them that the collection was started by his grandfather, who had no need to escape from reality.
Charley’s stamp collection (pp. 1–2)
- Charley’s grandfather started this collection, and in Charley’s words, "It’s a nice collection too".
- It holds "blocks of four of practically every U.S. issue, first-day covers, and so on".
- Charley adds: "President Roosevelt collected stamps too, you know."
- Later, among the old first-day covers of this same collection, Charley finds the envelope that he takes as "proof" of the third level.
Words from this part · p. 1
Tap a word to open its meaning.
swear on a stack of timetables
to promise very firmly that something is true; the railroad presidents are sure there are only two levels
psychiatrist
a doctor who treats problems of the mind
waking-dream wish fulfillment
getting in a daydream what one wishes for in real life; the psychiatrist friend’s name for the third level
insecurity
a feeling of not being safe or sure about life
wander
to walk about with no clear aim or direction
refuge
a place of safety or escape
kind of / sort of
a little, somewhat (spoken English): "kind of mad" is a little angry, "sort of flickering" is somewhat flickering
Question from the book: Read and find out · p. 1
What does the third level refer to?
See the answer
The third level refers to a level of Grand Central Station below the two known levels, where Charley says he has been.
- What it is: Charley reaches it by chance through a corridor, and there it is still 1894.
- What the psychiatrist says: It is "a waking-dream wish fulfillment", a way of escaping the worries of the modern world.
So it can be read as Charley’s wish to escape into a peaceful past. (p. 1, 3–4)
Checkpoint✓ Stop complete
1According to the railroad presidents, how many levels does Grand Central Station have?
The presidents "will swear on a stack of timetables that there are only two"; it is Charley who says three (p. 1).
2What does Charley’s psychiatrist friend call the third level?
"he said it was a waking-dream wish fulfillment" (p. 1). "Temporary refuge from reality" is what Charley’s friends call his stamp collecting.
3The psychiatrist friend said that Charley was "unhappy". Who got a little angry on hearing this?
"He said I was unhappy. That made my wife kind of mad" (p. 1).
4Who started Charley’s stamp collection?
Charley says that his grandfather did not need any refuge from reality, "and he started my collection" (p. 1).
2The Grand Central corridor
The question for this stop
How did Charley reach the third level on that night last summer, and had he gone there to escape?
Charley about himself (p. 2)
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.
The psychiatrist friend says that Charley wants to escape. About that night, though, Charley says plainly that he was not running away from anything; he only wanted to get home to his wife, Louisa (p. 2).
Why was Charley in a hurry that night? (p. 2)
- On a night last summer, Charley worked late at the office.
- Charley had to get uptown to his apartment quickly, so he decided to take the subway from Grand Central, because the subway is faster than the bus.
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.
Charley had lost his way before (p. 2)
- Charley has been in and out of Grand Central hundreds of times, yet he keeps finding new doorways, stairs and corridors there.
- Once Charley came out through a tunnel about a mile long into the lobby of the Roosevelt Hotel.
- Once Charley found himself in an office building on Forty-sixth Street, three blocks away.
Grand Central, like a tree (p. 2)
Sometimes I think Grand Central is growing like a tree, pushing out new corridors and staircases like roots.
Charley says "Sometimes I think" and tells us his own idea: new corridors and staircases keep pushing out of Grand Central like the roots of a tree. This is a simile, a comparison made with "like". From the same thought Charley goes on to say that there may be a long tunnel under the city that nobody knows about: "There’s probably a long tunnel that nobody knows about" (p. 2).
Read more More of Charley’s guesses
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.
These are Charley’s own guesses ("probably", "maybe"): perhaps some unknown tunnel is growing under the city, and perhaps Grand Central has been a way of escape for many people. Charley never told this idea to his psychiatrist friend (pp. 2–3).
Words from this part · pp. 2–3
Tap a word to open its meaning.
suburban trains
trains that run between a city and the towns around it
arched doorway
a door whose top is curved like an arch
corridor
a long, narrow passage in a building
bumping into
meeting something by chance
feeling its way
moving slowly and carefully, like a person who cannot see; Charley imagines a tunnel doing this under the city
slanting
sloping; going down at an angle, as in "angling left and slanting downward"
Checkpoint✓ Stop complete
1Why did Charley want to take the subway from Grand Central that night?
"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." (p. 2)
2Where in Grand Central did Charley lose his way?
On the second level Charley "ducked into an arched doorway heading for the subway — and got lost" (p. 2).
3As Charley walked along the corridor, what did he hear ahead that told him of open space and people?
"Then I heard that sort of hollow roar ahead that means open space and people talking." (p. 3)
4What comparison does Charley make for Grand Central?
"Sometimes I think Grand Central is growing like a tree, pushing out new corridors and staircases like roots." (p. 2)
31894 on the third level
The question for this stop
What did Charley see on the third level that told him the year, and how did he make sure of it?
For a moment Charley thought he was back on the second level. Then he saw that the room was small, with fewer ticket windows and train gates, and that the information booth in the middle was made of wood and looked old (p. 3).
The people around him (pp. 3–4)
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.
How Charley made sure of the year (p. 4)
- Right after the glimpse of the locomotive, Charley says "And then I knew." Then, "To make sure", he looks at the stack of papers lying at the feet of a newsboy.
- The paper was The World, which has not been published for years in Charley’s own time; its lead story said something about President Cleveland.
- Later Charley found the same front page in the Public Library files: "it was printed June 11, 1894".
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.
Words from this part · pp. 3–4
Tap a word to open its meaning.
flickering
shining unsteadily, going bright and dim again and again
open-flame gaslights
lamps that burn gas with an open flame
brass spittoons
metal pots made of brass, into which people spit
derby hat
a stiff, round hat with a narrow brim
handlebar mustache
a long mustache with both ends curving upward
eighteen-ninety-something
some year in the 1890s, not named exactly
leg-of-mutton sleeves
sleeves that are wide at the top and narrow near the wrist
lead story
the main news story of a newspaper, placed first
Checkpoint✓ Stop complete
1Why were the lights on the third level dim and flickering?
"The lights were dim and sort of flickering. Then I saw why; they were open-flame gaslights." (p. 3)
2People on the third level were dressed like those of which time?
"everyone in the station was dressed like eighteen-ninety-something" (p. 3)
3How did Charley make sure of the year on the third level?
"To make sure, I walked over to a newsboy and glanced at the stack of papers at his feet." (p. 4)
4According to Charley, when was the front page of The World that he saw on the third level printed?
"I’ve found that front page since, in the Public Library files, and it was printed June 11, 1894." July 18, 1894 is the date on the postmark of the first-day cover (p. 4).
4The Galesburg tickets
The question for this stop
Why does Charley ask for tickets to Galesburg on the third level, what happens at the ticket window, and what does Charley do the next day?
Towards the ticket windows (p. 4)
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.
Galesburg and the evenings of 1894 (p. 4)
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.
Why Galesburg? (pp. 4–5)
- For Charley, Galesburg in 1894 is "a peaceful world": long summer evenings, people sitting out on their lawns, fire-flies, and both World Wars still far away.
- Charley went to school in Galesburg, and his grandfather’s house was there too.
At the ticket window (p. 4)
- The clerk noticed Charley’s fancy hatband, but still added up the fare; Charley had enough money for two coach tickets, one way.
- After counting out the money, Charley looked up and found the clerk staring at him; the clerk nodded towards the bills and looked towards the cash drawer.
- Charley turned at once and hurried away; in Charley’s words, "There’s nothing nice about jail, even in 1894."
“That ain’t money, mister,” he said, “and if you’re trying to skin me, you won’t get very far,”
Of course the money was old-style bills, half again as big as the money we use nowadays, and different-looking.
The clerk did not take Charley’s bills because the money of 1894 was old-style bills: half again as big as the money of Charley’s own time, and different-looking. So the clerk thought Charley was trying to cheat him (skin me).
How much money Charley had, and what he got
On the third level, for how many tickets was Charley’s money enough at the ticket window?
See the answer
Two coach tickets, one way (p. 4). But the clerk did not accept the money, so Charley could not buy the tickets.
The next day, in his lunch hour, how much money did Charley draw from the bank?
See the answer
Three hundred dollars, "nearly all we had": almost everything Charley and Louisa had (p. 5).
How much in old-style bills did Charley’s three hundred dollars buy, and why was it less?
See the answer
"less than two hundred in old-style bills": buying old money from a coin dealer means paying a premium (p. 5).
Why did Charley not care that he got less?
See the answer
Charley says: "eggs were thirteen cents a dozen in 1894" (p. 5).
The next day, and after that (p. 5)
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).
But I’ve never again found the corridor that leads to the third level at Grand Central Station, although I’ve tried often enough.
What this means (p. 5)
- According to Charley, he probably ("I suppose") left the same way he came.
- When Charley bought old-style currency, his psychiatrist friend was truly ("really") worried.
- Charley never found that corridor again, though he looked for it many times.
- Louisa was worried and did not want Charley to look for the third level; after some time Charley gave up looking and went back to his stamps.
Words from this part · pp. 4–5
Tap a word to open its meaning.
fire-flies
small flying insects that glow in the dark
trying to skin me
trying to cheat me of my money; nothing to do with real skin
half again as big
one and a half times as big, not half the size
old-style bills / currency
paper money of an earlier time, different from today’s; Charley also calls it "old money"
drew
took money out of a bank, not made a picture
nearly all we had
almost all the money Charley and Louisa had
premium
an extra amount paid over the usual price
Checkpoint✓ Stop complete
1Which tickets does Charley want at the ticket window on the third level?
"And I wanted two tickets to Galesburg, Illinois." (p. 4)
2Why did the ticket clerk on the third level not take Charley’s money?
"Of course the money was old-style bills, half again as big as the money we use nowadays, and different-looking." (p. 4)
3How much in old-style bills did Charley’s three hundred dollars buy?
"My three hundred dollars bought less than two hundred in old-style bills" (p. 5). It was Sam who bought eight hundred dollars’ worth of currency.
4What happened to Charley after he bought the old-style currency?
"But I’ve never again found the corridor that leads to the third level at Grand Central Station, although I’ve tried often enough." (p. 5)
5Sam and the first-day cover
The question for this stop
Where did Sam Weiner go, what is a first-day cover, and what did Charley find among his oldest first-day covers?
Sam Weiner disappears (p. 5)
- Charley’s friend Sam Weiner disappeared, and nobody knew where.
- Charley had a small suspicion ("I sort of suspected"): Sam is "a city boy"; Charley kept telling him about Galesburg, where Charley went to school, and Sam used to say he liked hearing about the place.
- Charley says: "And that’s where he is, all right. In 1894."
- Now Charley and Louisa both look for the third level every weekend, because, in Charley’s words, "now we have proof that the third level is still there".
What is a first-day cover? (p. 5)
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.
In other words, on the very first day a new stamp is on sale, the collector sticks it on an envelope and posts it to their own address, and the postmark proves the date. Such an envelope is never opened; blank paper is put inside (p. 5).
The first-day cover Charley found (p. 5)
- One night Charley found, among his oldest first-day covers, one that should not have been there.
- Address: Charley’s grandfather, at his house in Galesburg.
- Postmark: July 18, 1894; and yet Charley had no memory of this cover at all.
- Stamp: a six-cent, dull brown one, with a picture of President Garfield.
- The moment the envelope reached Granddad by post, it went straight into his collection and stayed there until Charley took it out and opened it.
The stamp was a six-cent, dull brown, with a picture of President Garfield.
Inside the envelope (p. 6)
The paper inside wasn’t blank. It read:
941 Willard StreetGalesburg, IllinoisJuly 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!
What Sam’s letter tells us (p. 6)
- Sam first came to wish that Charley was right, then to believe that Charley is right ("got to wishing… got to believing").
- Sam has found the third level and has been in Galesburg for two weeks.
- Down Sam’s street, someone is playing a piano at the Daly’s, people are singing on the front porch, and Sam is invited over for lemonade.
- Sam asks Charley and Louisa to join him: "Come on back, Charley and Louisa."
Sam’s money and the last line (p. 6)
- At the stamp and coin store, Charley found out that Sam had bought eight hundred dollars’ worth of old-style currency.
- Charley’s guess ("That ought to…"): with that much money Sam can start a small hay, feed and grain business, which Sam always wanted to do.
- According to Charley, Sam cannot do his old work in Galesburg in 1894.
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 last line of the story, "Why, Sam was my psychiatrist.", tells us that Sam was Charley’s psychiatrist: the same man who explained the tangles of the mind has himself gone off to 1894. This is the twist ending of the story (p. 6).
Words from this part · pp. 5–6
Tap a word to open its meaning.
issue / issued
a stamp or set of stamps that the post office puts on sale, not a problem; issued means put on sale
first-day cover
an envelope with a new stamp that a collector mails to himself on the very first day of sale; the postmark proves the date
postmark
the post office’s mark on a letter that shows the date
got to wishing
came to wish; in the same way, got to believing is came to believe
front porch
a covered platform at the front of a house
set him up
to give someone what he needs to start something, here a business
hay, feed and grain business
a business that sells dry grass, food for farm animals and grain
Question from the book: Read and find out · p. 5
Would Charley ever go back to the ticket-counter on the third level to buy tickets to Galesburg for himself and his wife?
See the answer
Charley wants to go back, but he has never found the corridor again.
- He prepares: The next day he draws three hundred dollars and buys old-style currency.
- He fails: He never finds the corridor again, though he has "tried often enough".
- He keeps hoping: After Sam’s letter, he and Louisa look for it every weekend.
So he would go back if he found the third level again; the story leaves this open. (p. 5)
Checkpoint✓ Stop complete
1What is the job of the postmark on a first-day cover?
"the postmark proves the date" (p. 5)
2Whose picture was on the stamp of the first-day cover that Charley found?
"The stamp was a six-cent, dull brown, with a picture of President Garfield." (p. 5)
3What did Charley find out about Sam at the stamp and coin store?
"I found out that Sam bought eight hundred dollars’ worth of old-style currency." (p. 6)
4What does the last line of the story tell us about Sam Weiner?
"His old business? Why, Sam was my psychiatrist." (p. 6)
6Reading with Insight
The question for this stop
What are the main themes of the story, how is it told, and how are the answers to the book’s seven questions built?
How the story is told (pp. 1–6)
- A first-person narrator who talks to the reader: Charley tells the story as "I" and every now and then asks the reader a direct question, as if talking to a friend. This makes even a strange happening seem believable. "Well, do you know what a first-day cover is?"
- The question is left open: Is the third level real? The psychiatrist calls it wish fulfillment and Charley never finds the corridor again, but Sam’s letter says something else. The story leaves the final decision to the reader. "But I’ve never again found the corridor that leads to the third level at Grand Central Station, although I’ve tried often enough."
- The first-day cover as proof: Charley first explains what a first-day cover is and that the postmark proves the date; then that very postmark, July 18, 1894, ties Sam’s letter to 1894. "the postmark proves the date"
- The turn in the last line (twist ending): The last line tells us that Sam was Charley’s psychiatrist, and that this same Sam has himself gone off to 1894. This is irony: the opposite of what we expected happens. "His old business? Why, Sam was my psychiatrist."
Reading with Insight (pp. 6–7)
1Do you think that the third level was a medium of escape for Charley? Why?
See the answer
Yes, the third level was Charley’s medium of escape from the worries of modern life.
- The psychiatrist’s view: His psychiatrist friend calls it "a waking-dream wish fulfillment" and says Charley wants to escape a world "full of insecurity, fear, war, worry and all the rest of it".
- What he finds there: On the third level it is 1894. Galesburg, Illinois, in 1894 is "a peaceful world", with long summer evenings and the First World War still twenty years off.
- What he does: He tries to buy two tickets to Galesburg for himself and Louisa. Later he draws three hundred dollars, nearly all he and Louisa have, to buy old-style currency.
- His hobby: Even his stamp collecting is called a "temporary refuge from reality".
Charley says he was not trying to escape that night, but his longing to go back shows that the third level is his way out of the present. (p. 1–5)
2What do you infer from Sam’s letter to Charley?
See the answer
Sam’s letter tells us that Sam has found the third level and is living happily in Galesburg in 1894.
- Sam has escaped: The letter is dated July 18, 1894, and Sam writes that he has been there two weeks.
- He is happy: Someone is playing a piano at the Daly’s, people are singing on the front porch, and he is invited over for lemonade.
- He invites them: He asks Charley and Louisa to keep looking for the third level: "It’s worth it, believe me!"
- It is proof: The letter came in a first-day cover mailed to Charley’s grandfather in Galesburg, and its postmark proves the date.
- Irony: The last line reveals that Sam was Charley’s psychiatrist, most likely the friend who called the third level a wish fulfillment. Now he writes, "I got to wishing that you were right. Then I got to believing you were right."
So the letter suggests that even the psychiatrist wanted to escape the modern world. (p. 5–6)
3‘The modern world is full of insecurity, fear, war, worry and stress.’ What are the ways in which we attempt to overcome them?
See the answer
People try many ways to overcome the insecurity, fear and worry of modern life.
- Hobbies: Collecting stamps, gardening, painting or reading take the mind away from worry for a while. In the story, Charley’s stamp collecting is called a "temporary refuge from reality".
- Music, games and exercise: Singing, sports, walking, yoga and meditation relax the body and calm the mind.
- Family and friends: Talking to people we trust makes our worries lighter. Charley shares his strange experience with his wife Louisa and his friends.
- Travel and nature: A trip to a quiet place gives fresh energy.
- Dreams and fantasy: Some people, like Charley, escape into dreams of a peaceful past.
Escape gives only short relief. The lasting way is to face our problems and keep a balance between work and rest. (p. 1)
Note: if your answer quotes a line from the story, use the psychiatrist friend’s words (p. 1): "the modern world is full of insecurity, fear, war, worry and all the rest of it".
4Do you see an intersection of time and space in the story?
See the answer
Yes, in "The Third Level" time and space meet and cross each other.
- One place, two times: Grand Central Station is an ordinary station in Charley’s own time, but on its third level it is 1894, with gaslights, old-fashioned clothes and a newspaper printed June 11, 1894.
- Travel in both: From the ticket window there, Charley could buy tickets to any place in the United States, but in the year 1894.
- A letter across time: Sam’s letter, dated July 18, 1894, was mailed to Charley’s grandfather in Galesburg, yet Charley finds it in his own time in the collection his grandfather started.
- A person across time: Sam disappears from Charley’s world and lives in Galesburg in 1894.
- The station as a tree: Charley imagines Grand Central "growing like a tree", pushing out new corridors and staircases.
Thus the story joins the present and the past in one place. (p. 2–6)
5Apparent illogicality sometimes turns out to be a futuristic projection? Discuss.
See the answer
Yes, an idea that looks illogical today may later prove to be a picture of the future.
- Meaning: Many things that people once called impossible, like flying in the air or talking to someone in another country, are part of daily life today. They were first dreamt of and then made real.
- In the story: A third level that takes people back to 1894 seems illogical. The psychiatrist explains it away as a wish fulfillment, and Charley never finds the corridor again.
- The turn: Sam’s letter, in a first-day cover postmarked July 18, 1894, gives the impossible third level a proof that is hard to explain away.
- Time travel: Travelling through time is still a fantasy, but stories like this keep the idea alive.
So we should not reject an idea only because it looks illogical today. (p. 1, 5–6)
6Philately 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?
See the answer
Philately keeps the past alive, and so do many other habits and places.
- Philately in the story: Charley’s grandfather started his collection, and a first-day cover from 1894 brings back a date, a stamp with a picture of President Garfield and a letter from the past.
- Other ways: Old letters, diaries and family photographs; old coins and currency; museums, monuments and old buildings; folk songs, festivals and family stories told by grandparents; history books and old newspapers kept in libraries.
- The human tendency: We go back to the past for comfort and lessons, live in the present, and plan for the future with hope. This is natural.
- A caution: Charley longs for 1894 and spends nearly all that he and Louisa have on old money. Living only in the past, or only in dreams of the future, can make us neglect the present.
A balance between the three is the healthy way. (p. 1–5)
7You have read ‘Adventure’ by Jayant Narlikar in Hornbill Class XI. Compare the interweaving of fantasy and reality in the two stories.
See the answer
Both stories mix fantasy with reality, but they do it in different ways.
- The Third Level: The story begins in the real world. An ordinary office worker, a railway station and a stamp collection lead into the fantasy: a corridor takes Charley to a third level where it is 1894.
- The Adventure: The story opens with Professor Gaitonde, a historian, already in a different India, where the Marathas won the Battle of Panipat and the British hold only Bombay. He moves through familiar places like Pune, Bombay and the Azad Maidan, and only after the adventure is he "back in the world I am familiar with".
- Past or present: Charley reaches the past. Gaitonde stays in the present of another world: "You neither travelled to the past nor to the future. You were in the present but experiencing a different world."
- The explanation: Charley’s psychiatrist calls the third level "a waking-dream wish fulfillment". Rajendra Deshpande explains Gaitonde’s experience with two scientific theories, the catastrophe theory and quantum theory.
- The proof: Sam’s letter, in a first-day cover postmarked July 18, 1894, supports Charley. A page torn from the Bakhar that Gaitonde took from the library supports him.
In both stories the proof makes the fantasy feel real; as Rajendra says, "facts can be stranger than fantasies". (Vistas, p. 1–6; Hornbill, p. 43–52)
Note: Charley reaches the past, while Gaitonde stays in the present but in a different world; this is the biggest difference between the two stories.
Final check✓ Stop complete
1Question 3 of Reading with Insight reads: "The modern world is full of insecurity, fear, war, worry and stress." In the story, with which words does the psychiatrist friend end his list of the modern world’s troubles?
In the story: "the modern world is full of insecurity, fear, war, worry and all the rest of it" (p. 1); "stress" is the word in Question 3.
2Fantasy and reality: what becomes the proof of the third level in the story?
About Sam’s letter, Charley says: "now we have proof that the third level is still there" (p. 5).
3Who is the narrator of "The Third Level"?
Charley tells his own story as "I": "I’m just an ordinary guy named Charley" (p. 2).
4What is the irony at the end of the story?
Sam’s letter is from Galesburg, dated July 18, 1894, and the last line is "Why, Sam was my psychiatrist." (p. 6).
Well done! You have read the whole story and finished every check.