The Third Level (Intro & Theme)

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 the common man tends to escape reality by various means. 

The narrator interweaves fantasy with reality in the most futuristic projection of time travel. Charley, a young New York commuter loses his way. he finds himself in what he thinks is the third level of the Grand Central Station in New York. The Grand Central Station has subways on two levels from where the commuters take trains to different destinations. No third level was ever built. However, Charley believes in the existence of a third level, operating in a time frame of the 1890s. The period of the 1890s represents a peaceful life not possible in the present era. From this level, Charley wants to travel to Galesburg, Illinois, with his wife Louisa. For him, it is a part of reality while his psychiatrist friend calls it a "waking-dream wish fulfillment". 

Theme

The Third Level is the most concise and entertaining story about timetravel. Charley wishes to be transported to the third level, the world of 1894 which is supposedly a much happier and quieter place to be. the question of whether the third level exists in reality or only in Charley's mind can be inferred from Sam's letter. The story also dwells on the theme of escapism, not only from a psychological refuge from the grim realities of the present-day world but also as a desire to stay with the past or to keep the past alive in the complexities of the present.