Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome is a comedic novel about three men who believe that they are sick with almost every disease known to man. The men, Jerome(the narrator), Harris, and George, do not consult a doctor and instead are quick to assume that their diseases must stem from “overwork” and decide to go on a boating trip to take a break. The trio pass by many towns where they have humorous experiences. Jerome in particular, likes to tell the reader stories about boating and other related things. Because this novel is supposed to be humorous, many times, the characters encounter ironic or downright funny situations. For example, once Harris fell into the water while trying to cook. One of the biggest ironies was the dog that accompanied the three men, named Montmorency. They expected the dog to bring happiness and a light-hearted atmosphere to their boat trip, but as it turned out, the dog would be more of a burden and a trouble-maker. However, the greatest irony was the result of their trip, as they achieved the opposite of what they intended to.
One element that makes the whole trip ironic is how the three men lived. They were just going to live a simple rural life, but they ended up bringing a whole boatload of supplies, which reminded Jerome of Uncle Podger, who could quickly make simple things very difficult. Once, he had to nail a painting to the wall, but caused a lot of trouble and couldn’t even get the job done. He ended up hitting his own finger. Somehow, even with all of those supplies, they managed to exhaust their food and drinks before the journey ended and had to buy even more. They ate large, rich meals and drank a lot of alcohol. At the start of their trip, they ate so much that they actually became dizzy. This is ironic because the whole purpose of the trip was to get away from the extravagant city life, but the trio lived as if they were at a party every day. That would have counteracted any health benefits that the fresh air could have provided them.
The three men thought they had planned their trip well, but that proved to be false. The most notable example was when they tried to wash their clothes. George predicted they wouldn’t need much of those, but he was wrong and the men brought more than what they needed, even though they wanted to get rid of what was not necessary in life. They tried to wash their garments in the river Thames, only to make things worse before discovering that the river was dirty and contaminated. Another way their incompetence was demonstrated is how they propelled the boat. Instead of rowing, they had one person pull the boat for a considerable portion of the trip. A third and final example was how chaotically they packed. They did pack a lot, but most of them were unnecessary items and they left out some important things, which contradicted their goal of keeping only what was necessary. For example, they did not pack mustard, nor a tin opener for their canned pineapple, which led to Harris foolishly trying to open it with his pocket knife and cutting himself.
At the story's conclusion, the three men surprisingly found themselves preferring city life over the country. This was ironic because their initial goal was to embrace the simplicity of country living, away from unnecessary luxuries and renounce the gluttony that was associated with living in urban places. However, their experiences seemed to draw them closer to the city lifestyle. During their time in the country, they constantly indulged in excessive eating and drinking almost every day, which drew them closer to the city. Rather than enjoying the peace that they sought and initially achieved, they did just about the opposite. The irony lay in their transformation; instead of rejecting city life, they embraced it even more. This was possibly the biggest irony in the story, which showed the characters’ own hypocrisy as they encouraged the readers to dispose of unnecessary items but brought so many things with them on a simple boating trip. They wanted to grow farther away from the city but got closer instead.
Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome is a humorous story about three men that go on a boating trip. Jerome, Harris, and George were experiencing symptoms of diseases and diagnosed themselves as “having every illness” except for one called Maid’s Knee. Instead of consulting a doctor, they immediately assumed that their sickness must have resulted from overwork and went boating to relieve themselves from the city life. Throughout their journey, there is humor and irony involved. The biggest irony in the novel was the trip itself, and for a variety of reasons. First, one primary goal of the trip is to help the men get healthier. They thought their “illnesses” stemmed from overwork and over-indulgence. However, they actually ended up eating and drinking a lot every day, which would have negated any health benefits that they could have gotten. Second, the men thought they had planned their trip well, but actually they did so very poorly. They brought very many things but forgot about basic items like mustard and a can opener. They also did not know the local landscape, shown when they tried washing their clothes in the river Thames before finding out it was dirty. Third and finally, the trio grew closer to city life when their goal was to get away from it. Their gluttonous habits helped them accomplish the exact opposite of what they hoped for. However, if there was one thing good the trip did for them, it's that they grew closer over the course of their journey.
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