Presentation of Chapter XIX of the Book; Three men in a boat

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION• This is a humorous novel with comical characters adding

colour to the story.• It is a story about how three men, fed up of their busy and

hectic life, take a break by going on a boating vacation.• The author tried to serve this book as a guide to those who

are planning to go on a boat journey. He was successful in doing so.

• The three have created chaos and humor in order to catch the interest of the readers.

PLOT OF THE STORY

PLOT• The story is based on three men who plan to go

on a boat journey.• They face many problems which reminds them

of nostalgic incidents.• The three men enjoy the journey and finally

reach homeWe are going to concentrate on Chapter 19 of novel which we have entitled as ‘Waving goodbye to the journey’

CHARACTER SKETCH

JEROME

He is the one who has authored the book. His great knowledge about the culture and history can be proven by the descriptive narrations of places with regard to their culture , history , food are extremely amiable and praiseworthy which compensates his dumb acts.

HARRIS

Harris is just another guy who is perplexed all the time. The author once described him as a person with no emotions as he suggests that Harris can never understand emotions but always thinks of a nice place to have the finest of all drinks. He is perfect at creating chaos and has made the novel interesting. He is regarded as a great chef.

GEORGE

He is the clinomaniac of the story who would be glad and jolly if given an opportunity to have a sound sleep for a day. Readers are made cognizant with his indolence when the author tells how Harris would wake him up at 2:00 pm on Saturdays while on other days he tends to sleep till 4.

SUMMARY

The friends reached the city, after spending two days in Oxford, to find the city full of dogs. Montmorency has a wonderful time fighting with the dogs and feels like he has reached heaven. J. explains that most of the feeble ones vacationing on the Thames start in Oxford and row downriver to London, flowing with the current whereas the energetic ones like to challenge the river by rowing upstream. He recommends bringing one’s own boat rather than renting in Oxford, despite their strength and durability. He suggests so citing one of his memorable journeys. He remembers once hiring a boat in Oxford and mistaking it for an archeological artifact. It looked somewhat like a carelessly dug out coffin, a wreck. On the journey back from Oxford, it rains persistently. The men, miserable, pass the time by playing a card game where George steals the show, after which they listen to George play the banjo. He plays a mournful song that plunges the men further into depression. Though they swore to complete the trip, the men decide to abandon the boat and spend the rest of the trip in an inn in Pangbourne. They enjoy a delicious supper there and tell the other guests about their travels. As the story culminates, they toast their decision to end the trip when they did, and Montmorency barks in agreement. That’s how the Narrator finishes the story.

QUESTION BANK

Fill in the BlanksThe friends reached the city, after spending two days in _______, to find the city full of _______. Montmorency has a wonderful time fighting with the dogs and feels like he has reached _______. J. explains that most of the _______ ones vacationing on the Thames start in Oxford and row downriver to _______, flowing with the current whereas the energetic ones like to challenge the river by rowing _______. He recommends bringing one’s own boat rather than renting in Oxford, despite their _______ and durability. He suggests so citing one of his memorable journeys. He remembers once hiring a boat in Oxford and mistaking it for an archeological _______. It looked somewhat like a carelessly dug out _______, a wreck. On the journey back from _______, it rains persistently. The men, miserable, pass the time by playing a _______ game where George steals the show, after which they listen to George play the _______. He plays a _______song that plunges the men further into depression. Though they swore to complete the trip, the men decide to abandon the boat and spend the rest of the trip at _______. They enjoy a delicious _______ there and tell the other guests about their travels. As the story culminates, they toast their decision to _______ the trip when they did, and _______ barks in agreement. That’s how the Narrator finishes the story.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why were the three men praying when the captain showed them the Pride of Thames?

2. Why did Montmorency think he had reached heaven?

3. How much did they pay for the double sculling boat?

4. Why did the narrator and Harris decide to give up Gambling?

Answers

1. The Pride of Thames was in a very bad condition. They prayed to God for their survival.

2. Oxford was full of dogs and Montmorency defeated 25 dogs in dog-fights. So, he thought he had reached heaven.

3. They paid 35 shillings for the double-sculling.4. Narrator and Harris had lost twopence in penny

nap. Fearing they would lose more, they gave up gambling.

QUESTIONS

Long Answer Questions

1. Explain why the narrator called Mother Earth a widow.

Answer

The narrator called Mother Earth a widow. According to him, sunlight is her husband. When the sunlight dies away, Mother Earth becomes all dark and depressed. She becomes a widow, as her husband passes away. We, her children, reach out to her so as to console her, but all we receive is a dark face and no smile, unless the sunlight springs back to life. ‘Sunlight is the life-blood of Nature,’ says the narrator.

QUESTIONS

Long Answer Questions

2. When George won the two gambles, the rest two decided to stop. George didn’t argue. What values does George reflect? (Value Based)

Answer

When George won the two gambles, the rest two decided to stop. George didn’t argue. George reflects his love for his friends in this incident. He knew he would be winning the next round too, but he showed mercy for his friends and did not argue. We even see that George is not greedy. He was happy with what he won and did not aspire for more.

QUESTIONS