The Third Level by Jack Finney

We all try to escape from reality that disrupts the peace and it provides comfort. The short story that we will discuss talks about one such escape from reality.

The story " The Third Level" by Jack Finney is about a man who finds a mysterious place that is similar to a portal that takes him to the past. We are all always curious about time travel, going back to the past, escaping this harsh modern life and finding peace in a simple life. Isn't it just amazing, and what if it actually becomes true? Since the author is an American writer, the plot revolves around the American context. Let's begin with the title, the title shows the location of a mysterious place where the entire story takes place. As the short story begins, we see the superiors of the station making an oath, claiming that there are only two levels, but Charley, the protagonist, claims that there are not only two but rather three levels to the station. Here's where the mystery starts: how did he see the mystery level, and what proof is there of his claim?

As the story goes forward, we meet his psychiatric friend who claims that Charley is having a ' waking wish fulfillment' which means that he is daydreaming because of his modern insecurities and worries, and he wants to escape from reality. As a way to escape from reality, he had a hobby of collecting stamps, but he justifies saying that having a hobby necessarily does not mean a way to escape from reality. 

Then he starts the story of his experience of how he discovered the mysterious third level and what he saw there. The detailed description of the Grant central station draws up a picture in our mind, leading us to stand at the very same station, walking along with Charley. He walks along various tunnels, finally leading to an exit towards the third level, and he sees a totally different world, somewhat similar to his past life. The description of the place and the year 1894 indicates him travelling to the past. He wanted to take his wife along and stay there, but the currency he had was not the same as the past, which led him to go back to the present and exchange it for the currency from the past. Later, when he tries to go find the Third level, he cannot find it, leading to his disappointment and disregarding it as an illusion.

One day he finds a letter among his grandfather's letter collection and when he opens it he find the letter addressed to him by his friend Sam, who was a psychiatrist initially called his discovery of the third level but later he started searching for it leading him to go to the past and start a small business of his own and leading a peaceful life.

The characters Charley and Sam are a reflection of individuals who are tired from the rat race and the monotonous life that they live. This repetition leads to the search for something exciting and adventurous. We all live in an illusion, convincing ourselves that people in past lived a very peaceful time, but if it's true, wouldn't they want to pass down their same livelihood to the younger generation rather than finding various technologies to make life better? As I understand that every era had its own struggles, and changes were only made to overcome these struggles. Instead of running away, we need to try to find something interesting to do along with our daily activities.