Yes, I think that the third level was a medium of escape for Charley. Life in modern world is full of insecurity, fear, war, worries and stress. Man has to confront them all the times. The harsh realities of life make living quite unpleasant and even unbearable. So he wants to escape into a wishful world. Charley talks to his psychiatrist friend about the third level at the Grand Central Station. His friend calls it “a walking-dream wish fulfillment”. Charley possesses an escapist tendency. Even his stamp collecting is a ‘temporary refuge from reality’.
