In the story “The Third Level”, Charlie lost his way in the Grand Central station. He worked hard on finding his way. Then, he reaches a place where at first he thinks it is the second level of the station. But he finds fewer tickets counters that usual and he finds a telephone booth. 

The man in the telephone booth seemed old fashioned with a long coat. He rolled his eyes to find the very old-type flooring of the station. He could see people so differently dressed, like the ones from the previous century. 

He doubts as to where he is. He finds a paperboy passing and he draws close to him to check the paper. The paper was ‘The World’ which haven’t been published for ages now. He checked the date and it read 1894. And then, he was sure that he is on a third level of the station.

Charley said it was easy to be lost at the Grand Central Station because it was very large and complex. It had two levels. At one level one could find inter-city trains (long distance trains plying between cities); and on the other level one could board intra-city trains (trains plying within the city).

Sam's letter from the third level-Galesburg, July 18, 1894-to Charley read that initially, he had only hoped that Charley was right about the third level but now, he believed It. He had found the third level and had been there for two weeks. The third level was peaceful, hospitable, and welcoming. He wanted Charley and Louisa to join him there and wanted them to keep looking till they found it.   The letter brought out the difference between the tranquil pre-World War era and the tension- ridden world of the present. Then there was warmth, hospitality, and simple pleasures. The clean carefree environment reflected the mood of the people. It was like paradise as compared to the insecure and worrisome life that one led later. Despite the material advantage, one would gladly exchange the current life for that life.

In the poem Stephen Spender describes the theme of social injustice and class inequalities of civilized and poor slum people. The civilized world is educated, progressive and developed. The other world belongs to the slum children of Tyrol valley who need education and they live in cramped holes. He wants then to fulfil this gap and requests the civilized people to educate and raise them.

Charley said it was easy to be lost at the Grand Central Station because it was very large and complex. It had two levels. At one level one could find inter-city trains (long distance trains plying between cities); and on the other level one could board intra-city trains (trains plying within the city).

The way Charley came across Sam’s letter was surrounded in mystery. Among his oldest first-day covers, he found an envelope. The envelope containing the letter bore the address of his grandfather. It was written on July 18, 1894. The postmark showed the Picture of President Garfield. Generally the first day covers have blank papers in them, but this one contained a letter. The letter was addressed to Charley. In the letter Sam had informed Charley that he was living on the third level. He had also told Charley and his wife to keep looking for the third level. Clearly, the letter was a product of Charley’s imagination.

In the story “The Third Level”, Charlie lost his way in the Grand Central station. He worked hard on finding his way. Then, he reaches a place where at first he thinks it is the second level of the station. But he finds fewer tickets counters that usual and he finds a telephone booth. 

The man in the telephone booth seemed old fashioned with a long coat. He rolled his eyes to find the very old-type flooring of the station. He could see people so differently dressed, like the ones from the previous century. 

He doubts as to where he is. He finds a paperboy passing and he draws close to him to check the paper. The paper was ‘The World’ which haven’t been published for ages now. He checked the date and it read 1894. And then, he was sure that he is on a third level of the station.

Grand Central Station, New York, has only two levels. One evening Charley reached this station and then walked down the second level to catch an early train to his home. While he was on the second level, he strangely happened to notice a doorway down. He followed the steps and reached the third level which was never heard or seen by anyone. In the third level Charley saw a hundred year old world and people

Charley describes Galesburg as a quiet, simple and peaceful place with big old frame houses, huge lawns and tremendous trees. The summer evenings were rather long and people sat out on their lawns in a peaceful world, men smoking cigars and women waving palm-leaf fans.

Charley’s psychiatrist friend had believed that Charley had got the whims of third level as waking dream wish fulfilment. He had been only day-dreaming. Side by side he revealed that the third level was still there. In reality Charley upset from his dull life and wanted to escape.

The psychiatrist said that Charlie was unhappy. The modern world, full of insecurity, fear, war and worry oppressed him, and he just wanted to escape.

Sam's letter to Charley is a blend of reality and fantasy, and thus, needs further exploring. There are two perspectives from which one can look at the letter. At one level, it shows that Sam has reached Galesburg of 1984. However, if we look at a deeper level, we can find that the letter is just another instance of his dreams of escapism or hallucination. It is possible that while Charley was looking at the old first-cover letter, he was carried away to a different world where the letter was sent to Charley by Sam. The letter reflects Sam’s undeterred urge that forces him to keep looking for the third level.

Charley, the main character of Jack Finney's 'The Third Level' gave up hope of ever finding the third level again. He resumed his stamp collecting to pass his time. It was then that he noticed a first day cover which he had not seen before and should not have been there. It bore the stamp of July 18, 1894 and had been posted from Galesburg, Illinois. As Charley read the contents of the letter, he was shocked and surprised to read that it was Sam, his friend who had posted it to him. Earlier he had only hoped that Charley was right about the third level but now he actually believed in it. He had found it and had been there for two weeks. He admired the place as it was peaceful, people were warm and friendly. He urged Charley and Louisa to continue their search for the place and not to give up.The letter brought out the difference between the two worlds -the peaceful one of the pre-world war era and the modern world full of stress, worry and insecurities. People led a life of fun, enjoyment and little pleasures meant a lot to them in 1894.

In reality the Third Level is the creation of Charley's own mind, fantasy and whim. He is inhabiting in the modern world which is full of insecurity, fear, war, worries, stress and tension. He has to confront with them round the clock. The harsh realities of life are making our stay unpleasant and unbearable. There is a mental tension which is transforming our lives burdensome and heavy. Charley has an escapist mind. Even stamps collecting is a temporary refuge from reality. So he talks to his psychiatrist friend Sam about the third level at the Grand Central Station. He terms it as a “ waking-dream wish fulfilment.”
In this lesson even the writer Jack Finney interweaves Charley in the midst of fantasy and reality. The compulsions and realities of modern life make Charley escape into a world of fancy and romance. There is a refererence to his grand father's stamp collection of 1894 in the lesson. In those days there was peace as well as tranquility. So there was no need for escape. For Charley the Grand Central is an exit and he wanders down to the third level and finds himself into the world of 1894 which used to be a romantic living. So the Third Level is indirectly a mode of escape for Charley.

The emotional pain and ache that the poet feels is due to the realization that her mother has gone old and has become frail and pale like a corpse. She is dependent on her children. The ache also refers to the old familiar ache of the childhood that revisits the poet due to the mother's old age and her approaching end.

After meeting the bangle makers of Firozabad and seeing how miserable their situation is, the writer realises that mukesh's dream of being a motor mechanic may not sound exciting to the readers but for him, even that appears to be out of reach. She sees that how the vicious circle of politicians, bureaucrats, sahukars and policemen has put the burden of an old lineage on the future generations. Most people are so tired that they dont even think about breaking out of it. This makes the city look soo old and rather backward that flying an aeroplane is something a child cant even dream of. The statement metaphorically points out to the centuries old tradtion of bangle making which was now actually hampering growth and development of the community.

In reality the world map, the dome and the Shakespeare bust are the marks of the path of progress through education in this world. But the poet opines adversely by saying that these things will have a negative effect on the children. They will be lured towards these shining and beautiful articles. They will steal them and thereby they will be pushing themselves to darkness.

The civilized world is the world of education, rich, prosperity, flowers, bells and domes. So these powerful people draw their own map. The dirty slums and cramped holes find no place in them. These are like

little hells. The rich do not want to blot their maps with

slums like that of the Tyrol Valley.

These children are compared to rootless weeds. Because weeds are some unwanted wild plants grown in our paddy fields. These weeds are called rootless because they are not welcomed by us. They don’t belong to the paddy fields which we grow. So, we try to pluck them out.  These children of slum are also like these weeds,unwelcomed and unwanted by the rich world outside their slum

There are several literary devices used in the poem "An Elementary School in the Slum" including alliteration, simile, metaphor, imagery, synecdoche, and irony.

Simile is the comparison of the two things using the words 'like' or 'as.' In the first stanza, "Like rootless weeds" is the example of a smile where the students are compared to the unwanted plants. "Sour cream walls," "like bottle bits on stones,"

Metaphor is the comparison of two very different things and here only one thing lies in common. The example of a metaphor is "paper seeming boy" when the poet compares one of the boys to resemble much like a paper. "Rat's eyes," "map," "sealed with a lead sky," "cramped holes," "endless night," and "white and green leaves."

Alliteration is the repetition of the same consonant sound. "From Fog" is an example of the use of alliteration.