THREE MEN IN A BOAT BY JEROME K.

JEROME
CHAPTER 10
SUMMARY
The chapter begins with George handing over the command of the boat to Jerome and
Harris at Staines. They had originally planned to go to Magna Carter island having a nice
view and smooth waters. But, there desire for an enjoyable scenery was overcome by
the tiredness of rowing. Though they were tired they still rowed up to a point called
‘Picnic Point’ and parked their boat under an elm tree. Because they did not bring a
tent, they had to pitch the canvas cover over the boat before they can sleep. They
thought they would have supper but George suggested that they set up the hoops and
canvas over the boat first, so they will have their beds prepared before they start to eat.
This seem like a good idea to all and they expected that the job would take only a few
minutes. “That was an under-estimate,” says J.
SUMMARY
The hoops did not fit the slots properly, and George and Harris became hopelessly
wrapped in the canvas. But they finally got it set right and went about making supper.

The J explains how it is a good idea to put on the tea kettle on and then ignore it while
you do other things. If you are really desiring tea and watch the kettle, he says, it will
never boil. You have to fool it.

The men prepare a large supper and eat their fill in total silence. J notes the effect of the
full stomach on their outlook. Whereas before supper they fought with each other and
afterwards they were full of courtesy and kindness.
SUMMARY
George tells his friends a story about two men who accidently shared a bed at 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.

J. has trouble getting comfortable in the boat, and late at night crawls out to get some
fresh air. Observing such a glorious night , he is mesmerized by the sight and gets poetic.
He is stunned by the beauty of the stars and the darkness of the night. The story
concludes with J. narrating an enchanting story about a ‘sad’ forest named ‘sorrow’
wherein the suffering enlightens the knight.
ANALYSIS
In Chapter 10, Jerome returns to the theme of wanting – and often not being able to get
– the things that one does not have. He addresses this first in his comic description of the
men's attempt to make dinner. As J. observes, hot water seems to take longer to boil
when one most wants a cup of tea. The men comically try to work around this by talking
loudly about how much they do not want tea, and J. believes the strategy actually
works.
ANALYSIS
Jerome also explores this theme obliquely through the story of the knight in the woods.
This story (and the digression about night that precedes it) is told in the serious, Romantic
style that Jerome occasionally uses in the novel’s digressive passages. In it, the knight
finds a deeper, more meaningful happiness being lost in the woods than his comrades
do after weeks of feasting in the palace. Although the passage’s tone is dramatically
different from the novel's more humorous sections, both address the phenomenon of
wanting one does not have – be it physical comfort or emotional fulfilment.
ANALYSIS

The knight story also emphasizes the novel's common theme of the illusions men make for
themselves. Where the knights in the castle are distracted by the luxury they believe
defines them, the lonely night truly finds himself by stripping himself of such illusions. In this
way, the story does hearken to the Romantic belief that nature could bring
transcendence.
 Major Events
 The weary friends reach ‘Picnic Point’.

 They set up their canvas over the boat with ‘superhuman’ effort.

 They have supper.

 And talk about how man is ‘slave of stomach’.

 Jerome is unbale to sleep because of the cramped position and the sound of the
lapping water.

 Jerome describes the night in a poetic manner, personifying it as a loving mother.

 His profound advice is that pain and suffering lead us to spiritual and divine pleasure .
ABOUT THE BOOK
“People who have tried it, tell me that a clear conscience
makes you very happy and contented; but a full stomach does
the business quite as well, and is cheaper, and more easily
obtained. “
Seems like Oscar Wilde
No, it’s our very familiar author Jerome, K Jerome or simply J
The river journey from Kingston to Oxford he makes with his
friends George and Harris (and Montmorency) becomes the
narrative line on which he hangs a sequence of comic
anecdotes loosely associated with the journey upriver. Like the
Thames itself, the anecdotes and stories ebb and flow and go
off on tangents.
ABOUT THE BOOK
It is a period piece from a more leisurely and less sophisticated world than
that of the twenty first century, is an uneven book, both funny and silly, at
once but haphazardly well-observed always. Jerome's themes are airily
inconsequential and supremely English – boats, fishing, the weather, the
atrocities of English food and the vicissitudes of suburban life – perfectly
pitched in a light comic prose.

Ultimately, Three Men in a Boat is a study of friendship, human foibles and

forgiveness. Just a story, it makes no pretence at possessing message or
being anything other than the comedy it is. Just the musing of a wise tired
man and antics of his friends (differing attitudes and approaches to the
various problems) and of course “to say nothing of the dog’.
ABOUT THE BOOK
The trio of travellers are not only unique personalities in themselves, but the
character of the dog, Montmorency, is original with a sense of authenticity.
The dog Montmorency, a thoroughly unconventional figure , I would say
whose practical solution to their difficulties usually consists of getting out of
the way until all the fuss dies down.

My favourite Jerome set piece is the episode with the pitching of the
canvas cover over the boat before they can sleep-almost like Mark Twain
description of Tom Sawyer.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

HIMANK BANSAL
JASLEEN KAUR
YASH CHANGOTIYA
TANMAYA KATARIA
TANMAY SAXENA
VINAYAK KHANDELWAL

CLASS IXD GROUP 9