three men in a boat q.ans

CLASS-9
NOVEL-THREE MEN IN A BOAT
SUMMARY-Lesson-1to10

THREE MEN IN A BOAT

Chapter 1

The narrator, J., is smoking in his room with his friends, George and William SamuelHarris, and his dog Montmorency. The men, all hypochondriacs, are chatting about their latest illnesses, each man certain that he is in danger of death or serious disease.

In a flashback, J. recollects how he once went to the British Museum to research a treatment for his hay fever, and after reading about diseases, convinced himself that he was suffering from every illness known to man except for housemaid’s knee. J.’s doctor, clearly recognizing the man's paranoia, prescribed him beefsteak, beer, walking, and good sleep habits, and urged him not to “stuff up your head with things you don’t understand” (10).

J. still believes that he suffers from every disease, but he is especially concerned about his ‘liver condition’ – the main symptom of which is “a general disinclination to work of any kind” (10).

The friends decide that taking a vacation together would restore their health, and debate locations for a week-long excursion. J. suggests a rural, old-world spot, but Harris wishes to avoid remote locations and counters with the suggestion of a sea cruise. J. vetoes that idea because one week is not enough time to overcome seasickness and actually enjoy the trip. He notes to the reader that no one admits to being seasick on land, but that many people have trouble with it when actually on a ship. George suggests taking a boat trip down the Thames, an idea that everyone approves. Though J. worries that Montmorency will get bored in the boat, they decide to bring him along anyway.

Chapter 2

The men begin to make plans for their boat trip. George and J. want to camp along the river, believing that sleeping outside will offer a true escape from the city. J. writes sentimentally and poetically about the beauty and power of nature.

However, Harris points out that camping would be unpleasant if it rains, so they decide to camp on nights with good weather and sleep in inns when the weather is poor. J. believes Montmorency will prefer hotels because they offer more excitement and stables that the dog can run around in. J. explains to the reader that Montmorency’s adorable appearance endears him to everyone who meets him, but he is actually a hyperactive troublemaker.

The men leave for a pub, to further discuss arrangements for the trip.

Chapter 3

At the pub, they compile a list of what they need to pack. Harris volunteers to write out the list, and J. compares him for the reader to his Uncle Podger, who always volunteers to help others but bungles the job because he is so accident-prone. Further, Uncle Podger ends up causing more work for everyone else because of his general incompetence. To illustrate his point, J. tells a lengthy story about how Uncle Podger once caused chaos for his entire household when trying to complete the simple task of hammering a nail into the wall.

Because the men do not want to leave anything behind, the list soon becomes ridiculously long. George suggests that they bring only the things they cannot do without, and they agree to travel light, even deciding to bring a cover a sleep in the boat so that they do not need to pack a tent. George promises that it will be easy to wash their clothes in the river with a bit of soap, and J. and Harris trust him (although J. notes that they will later regret this).

Chapter 4

Continuing to plan, the friends discuss what they will need for cooking. Although paraffin oil stoves are more common, they decide to bring a methylated spirit stove, remembering how the paraffin oil had oozed everywhere on a previous boat trip.

For breakfast and lunch, they choose food that is easy to cook - but not cheese, because of its strong smell. J. launches into a long digression about when his friend Tom once asked him to transport some cheese on a train journey. Everyone sitting in J.’s car left because the smell was too strong. When J. delivered the cheese to Tom and his wife, Tom’s wife refused to stay in the house until the cheese was eaten. They could not escape the cheese's stench until they buried it miles away at the seaside.

Back at his house, J. volunteers to pack the clothes, believing himself an exceptionally efficient packer. However, he keeps forgetting items, and then has to unpack in order to fit them in. To the reader, he expounds briefly on his habit of losing his toothbrush when traveling.

Harris and George watch J. pack with great amusement, and volunteer to pack the food when J. finally finishes. They are no better at it – they constantly forget items, and Harris steps in the butter. Throughout it all, they keep tripping over Montmorency. After some bickering, they finish, and assign George to wake them up at 6:30 the next morning.

Chapter 5

However, they oversleep, only waking when Mrs. Poppets comes in at nine. Harris and J. are greatly irritated with George, and their mood grows worse when they learn that the day’s weather forecast is poor. J. digresses to complain about how often weather forecasts are inaccurate. He also concocts a hypothetical story about staying inside when the forecasts predict rain and missing a beautiful day, and then believing the forecast of sun the next day, but ending up wet.

When they finally depart, the greengrocer’s errand-boy mocks them for their immense amount of luggage. As the men wait for a taxi, passers-by speculate about where they are going. Eventually, they hail a taxi to the train station, but none of the conductors there know which train they should take. When one conductor tells them that nobody knows where the trains are supposed to go, they give him a half-crown bribe and luckily end up heading towards Kingston, disembarking when they reach the river.

Chapter 6

As the men row through Kingston, J. provides some background on the area. (Although Kingston is now a suburb and part of Greater London, it would have been an independent town when Jerome wrote Three Men in a Boat in 1889.) J. describes how many of the pubs in this area claim that Queen Elizabeth dined there. He also tells about a shop that boasts a beautiful carved oak staircase, which the present owner has covered in blue wallpaper.

J. uses this as an occasion to meditate on how people always want what they cannot have, and do not want the things they do have. He recalls a former classmate namedStivvings, who was dedicated to his studies but was often too sick to complete his work. Meanwhile, the other boys hoped to get sick to avoid schoolwork, and became sick only when vacation came around. Returning to the subject of the oak staircase, J. writes at length about how people in the future will consider quotidian objects like dinner-plates and cheap figurines as priceless works of art, much as his contemporaries consider the day-to-day objects of prior civilizations to be priceless.

In the boat, Harris and Montmorency accidentally spill the contents of the food hamper. As they row past Hampton Court, J. initially marvels at the building’s beauty, but then decides that it would be too dark and depressing to live in all the time.

Harris tells his friends about the time he attempted the hedge maze at Hampton Court. The map, given out in advance, seemed quite simple, so that Harris was confident he could easily best the maze. His confidence attracted a mob of 20 people who were lost in the maze, and they turned on him when he realized the maze was more complicated than he thought it was. They wandered for a long time, until a young groundskeeper came to fetch them, and got lost himself. An older groundskeeper eventually guided them out.

The men agree to send George through the maze on their return trip.

Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10

After passing Hampton Court, the men row through a lock — that is, a section of the river where the levels are lowered or raised between gates, to regulate traffic and water flow. This particular lock attracts many picnickers and pleasure-boaters, and J. remarks how nice it is to see people dressed up in their summer clothes. However, he criticizes his friends’ outfits – Harris has chosen to wear yellow, which does not suit him, and Georgehas bought an ugly new blazer for the trip.

J. digresses to consider how women’s boating clothes tend to be pretty but impractical. He recounts a time he and a friend took several women rowing. The women wore such delicate clothes that even a drop of water would stain them, and they were unable to have fun on the trip because they were concerned about ruining their outfits.

The boat nears Hampton Church, and Harris proposes stopping to visit the graveyard, where someone named Mrs. Thomas is rumored to have a funny tombstone. J. protests, as he finds cemeteries depressing. For the reader, he recounts a time that he visited one with his friends. He refused to enter, and insulted the groundskeeper rudely when the man offered to show him the graveyard’s points of interest.

However, Harris insists on visiting the tombstone. George has gone into town to run some errands for the bank where he works. J. and Harris bicker about whether to visit the cemetery, and Harris decides he needs a drink. While trying to find the whiskey bottle, he falls head-first into the food hamper.

Harris and J. stop to eat lunch by the side of the river. A man appears and accuses them of trespassing, threatening to report them to the landowner. Harris – a large man – physically intimidates the visitor until he leaves. J. explains to the reader that the man was expecting a bribe, and most likely did not work for the landowner at all. He adds that these attempts at blackmail are common along the banks of the Thames, and that tourists should avoid paying people who do this.

J. then launches into a diatribe on the violence he would like to inflict on landowners who actually do enforce trespassing laws on tourists like himself, since their claim at owning the river is specious in his mind.

J. shares his feelings with his friends, and Harris insists that he feels more anger towards the owners than J. does. J. chides Harris for his intolerance, and tries to convince him to be more Christian.

During their conversation, Harris mentions that he would sing a comic song while hunting the owners, so J. then digresses to explain how Harris believes himself a fine singer of comic songs, while he is actually quite terrible at it. He tells the reader of a party where Harris demanded he be allowed to sing, and then embarrassed himself and the piano players who tried to help him. Jerome relates part of this section in play-form.

J. then digresses to tell of a time he and others embarrassed themselves at a party. Two German guests, whom everyone was mostly ignoring, interjected to insist that a colleague of theirs could sing the funniest German songs they had ever heard. They offered to fetch him, and the man soon arrived to play. Though it turned out that his song was actually tragic, J. and the other guests laughed constantly, thinking it polite to do so. However, they actually angered the pianist, and the two German liars escaped before the song was finished, having played their practical joke.

The boat approaches Sunbury, where the backwaters flow in the opposite direction. J. recounts another boat trip on which he tried to row upstream in this area, but was only able to keep the boat in the same place. He lists a few points of interest around Sunbury and Reading, including a Roman encampment from the time of Caesar, a church that holds a torture instrument called a ‘scold’s bridle,’ and a dog cemetery.

When Harris and J. arrive at the village of Shepperton, they reunite with George, who surprises them by announcing that he has bought a banjo.

Since George has been away from the boat all day, Harris and J. assign him to untangle the tow-line while they make tea.

To the reader, J. explains how easily tow-lines become tangled. On long journeys like this, it is common for travelers to take a break from rowing while someone tows the boat from shore. However, J. observes that the towers, on the shore, tend to become distracted by their conversation and stop paying attention to the boat. Whoever is left on the boat is usually uncomfortable or responsible for whatever crisis emerges, but is ignored by the towers.

Over tea, George tells a story about seeing a couple distracted as they towed their boat from land. Sneakily, he tied his boat to their tow-line, thus tricking the couple into dragging the wrong boat for several miles. J. recounts a similar story, about a group of men whose boat ran aground because they were distracted. However, he argues that girls are the worst towers of all because they are so flighty and distractible.

After tea, George tows the boat from the shore. According to J., the last few hours of towing are always the most difficult. He remembers going boating with a female cousin. When towing the boat at the end of the day, they got lost, only to be saved by a group of working-class locals.

Although the friends intended to spend their first night on Magna Charta Island, they are too tired to travel all the way there, and decide to stop earlier. Because they did not bring a tent, they have to pitch the canvas cover over the boat before they can sleep. This task proves more difficult than it seems, and it takes them several attempts to successfully set it up.

They cook dinner, which is very satisfying because they have had such a long and exhausting day. They then prepare to sleep together in the boat's cramped quarters. J. tells his friends a story about two men who accidentally shared a bed in an inn; during the night, they stumbled into the same bed, and each thought his bed had been invaded by an intruder.

J. sleeps badly, and has a dream that doctors are trying to cut him open after he swallowed a sovereign. He begins a serious digression, discussing the beauty and melancholy of night. He concludes the chapter with a story about a knight who gets lost in the woods but manages to find joy in his suffering.

Character Sketches from the Novel Three Men in a Boat SA-I| Class 9th

Jerome, The narrator (J)

Jim is the narrator of the story who is single and live the life in his own way. He is funny, lively and poetic man but hypochondriac. He thinks himself as a walking hospital. He has a dog named Montmorency. He is quite lazy and easy going though he sees himself as intelligent and hard-working. He is romantic and likes human beings. He loves to watch sunset and the beauty of stars at night. He loves to muse and comments on certain truths about life and human beings. He loves to eat, drink and hates work. He possesses a good sense of humour and appears dreamy. He hates sea-voyages. He is humourous by nature and can take joke on himself. He likes to work in group. He has deep interest in history as he told many ancient stories and loves artwork. He is vain about his dress sense and appearance. He is friendly and caring and is practical in his life.William Samuel Harris (Harris)

Harris is boastful person. He always creates a mess whenever he takes a job. He is fond of drinks. He also likes food and thinks that eating regularly keep the diseases in check. He is short-tempered and has bad manners. He thinks that he suffers from fits of giddiness. He loves to swim in the morning. He does not like to sleep outside at night. He has weak memory as he gets lost in maize and moody in nature. He loves to sing and think himself as a good singer but has a bad voice. He always makes fool of himself by doing something strange. He is lazy by nature and wants other people to do the job. He has good physique. He likes to argue with Jerome and hates to watch George snoring. He doesn't care about the people around, is keen at his own decisions.George

George is a bank clerk. He is mature and sanest person. He is practical and knowledgeable person. His friends think that he is lazy and and likes to sleep. He is a polite person and makes sensible suggestions sometimes. He is in the habit of snoring. He created mess a lot of time with Harris. He cooks well among his three friends. He likes to play banjo though he is not good at that. He avoids to do work as much as he can. He wonders why he could not be happy like that always, why he could not remain away from sins and temptations, why he could not do well to others, and why he could not lead a sober and peaceful life. He loves orders and discipline in his life. He does have mischievous nature.

Montmorency

Montmorency, the dog was the fourth member of the boating trip. He was a pet of Jerome. He is adventurous and is fond of doing some action. He doesn’t like to live alone. He hates cat as he got embarrassed by them once. He looks like a fox-terrier having a gentle look in his eyes. He looks like an angel. His ambition in life is to get in the way and be sworn at. He likes noise and is fond of doing some action. He had killed dozens chickens, had hundred and fourteen street fights, killed two cats and kept a man pinned in his own tool shed by making him afraid to come out. His idea of life was to march around the slums with the most disreputable dogs. He can squirm in anywhere where he particularly is not wanted. He is a perfect nuisance, makes people mad, and has things thrown at his head.

Uncle PodgerUncle Podger is uncle of Jerome. He is a leading member in his family. He always takes his job seriously. He is dedicated towards his job. Even for very small and less important work, he involves all the family members and makes a lot of mess. At the end, he thinks that the job is perfectly and easily done. He is a forgetful person as he forget his handkerchief which was in his coat. He is an impatient person and grunts over his family members. He is a clumsy person.

Herr Slosen Boschen Herr Slosen Boschen is a German Professor. He is good singer but he sings only in German language. He was once invited in a highly cultured party. Two students who returned from Germany asked him to sing a song. An announcement is made that he is going to sing a comic song but he starts singing a tragic song. The audience didn’t understand German and they laughed because they thought he is singing a comic song. He feels very insulted and leaves the party immediately. He is angry person as he cursed his audience.

Question: 1. Discuss the main plot of “Three Men in a Boat”.

Ans. The story is a travelogue which starts with three friends George, Harris and Jerome and their dog, Montmorency. They all were smoking in the room and suffering from health issues. They decided to go for a trip to River Thames between Kingston and Oxford on Saturday. The story is a humorous compilation of the incidents that occur to them on their trip. The story also includes the related incidents told by the author and his friends. They hired a boat for their journey. They decided to camp outside in fine weather and inside during bad weather. They did a lot of mishaps during their journey of the boat which was quite funny. The characters present their views on different aspects of life. We get to know of Uncle Podger, the Hampton Court Maze and the unreliability of barometers. Jerome also tells about how girls tow their boat and other related funny stories.

Question: 2. Describe the packing incident before the trip.

Ans. They move the table up against the window, piled everything in a heap in the middle of the floor, and sat round and looked at it. Jerome asked to leave the packing to him. George and Harris started relaxing which hurt Jerome as he thought to supervise the packing. When he packed everything, Harris told him that he forgot the boot so he had to repack everything. Harris and George started packing rest of the hamper, they started with breaking a cup. They packed the strawberry jam on top of a tomato and squashed it and Harris sat on butter. Montmorency sat down on things, put his leg into the jam and pretended that the lemons were rats. Harris move him away with a frying pan.

Question: 3. What problem that three men discussed and what they decided? /Why three men went to the trip?

Answer

The three men were feeling seedy. Harris and George felt extraordinary fits of giddiness. Jerome liver was out of order. He thought that he is suffering from each diseases that pill-circular mention except housemaid’s knee. They thought that they wanted rest and change. They should go out for a week to some old world and a peaceful spot. George was in the favour of sea trip but Jerome opposed it. He thought that sea-trip will make them tired after the journey. Lastly, they decided to go for a boat trip. However, Montmorency was not happy with this idea but they didn’t care about his thought.

Question: 4. Describe the incident in the party where Herr Slossenn Boschen sang his song?

Ans. It was a highly cultured party. Two young men who just returned from Germany said that Herr Slossenn Boschen will sing a comic song for them. They said nobody could sing it like Herr Slossenn Boschen. Young men whispered that they all will laugh while passing through the room. As the song started, everyone in crowd including the narrator fixed their eyes on young men as they didn’t understand German. When they tittered, all tittered; when they roared, all roared. German Professor did not seem happy and the expression of his face was one of intense surprise. Actually, it was a sad song. The two young men disappeared. He told that he only knew to sing the song in German. He felt very insulted and the party was ended.

Question: 5. Describe any humourous incident from the novel./Describe the incident of two ladies who were beautifully dressed.

Ans. Once the narrator went on a boat trip with two ladies. They had put on silky stuff, ribbons, dainty shoes and light gloves and were beautifully dressed. But they didn’t dressed for a river picnic, they were going to a photographic studio. While stepping in boat, the first thing that they noticed was that the boat was not clean so the narrator and his friend dusted all the seats for them. They thought that a drop of water would destroy their dress. The narrator tried his best, but could not prevent a few drops of water falling on their clothes. The ladies felt relieved when he asked another man to row. But the man spread more than a pint of water on their dresses, they began to protect themselves with their umbrellas and drew rugs and coats over themselves.

Question: 6. What happened to Harry at Hampton Court Place?

Ans. Harris once went in to maze to show it to his country cousin. He studied the map thought that it is simple. He met some people who had been there for three-quarters of an hour and lost. Harris asked them to follow him. Harris kept on turning to the right but it seemed a long way and his cousin thought that it was a very big maze. After a long time, they passed the half of penny on the ground. The woman with the baby said that she had thrown it on the ground just before she met him and said he is an impostor. Harris thought they should go back to the entrance and try again but he failed. They called the young keeper who was new and not able to locate them and also got lost while entering the maze. The old keeper came after the lunch and rescued them.

Question: 7. What happened to George’s father and his friend in the inn called “The Pig and Whistle”?

Ans. George’s father and his friend got into the same bed in a dark hotel room unknowingly. When they got a room they were very happy and switched off the light and went to bed as they were tired. They got in the same bed the only difference was one lay with his feet next to the other's head. Each thought that there is another man in his bed. They both fought with each other not knowing that the other person was his friend. Each complained to the other that there was someone else in their bed then the other advised them to throw out the intruder. Finally they threw each other out and both landed on the floor. They thought that it was not a very naive hotel as strange things happened in it.