Question

Three men in a boat chapter 3 brief summary

Answer 1

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).

Answer 2

One night, the three men smoke together in J.'s London apartment, discussing their anxiety over their sicknesses. The reader can discern that they are actually hypochondriacs. After researching diseases at the British Museum, J. has recently concluded that he suffers from every disease known to man except for housemaid’s knee. The men decide that a vacation will be good for their health, and after some deliberating, they decide to spend a week rowing up the Thames with their dog, Montmorency.

The men make arrangements for the trip. They decide to bring a cover for the boat so they can sleep in it, rather than bringing a tent or staying in inns. They compile a long list of items to bring, but quickly realize that they should only pack the essentials. Although they are friends, J. seems to dislike Harris, and compares him at length to J.’s incompetent Uncle Podger. They end up bringing a hamper of food, clothing, a cover for the boat, and a methylated spirit stove for cooking. Packing takes a long time because the men keep forgetting items they need, and prove somewhat ill-fit for the the task.

The men oversleep on the morning they are supposed to leave, and have trouble determining which train to board for Kingston, from which they intend to embark.

The men pass through their first lock – that is, a section of the river where the levels are lowered or raised between gates. Harris proposes visiting a cemetery to see an interesting tombstone, but J. rejects this idea, finding cemeteries depressing. Harris falls into the food hamper while trying to get some whiskey.

When J. and Harris stop to lunch on the riverbank, a man accuses them of trespassing and tries to blackmail them. Harris, a large man, physically intimidates the visitor and they journey on. J. warns readers not to be taken in by these thugs.
He then recounts some embarrassing stories, in which he and Harris both make fools of themselves at pretentious parties – Harris by singing a comic song, and J. by pretending to speak German. J. describes a few more local points of interest, and the two men reunite with George in Shepperton.

Harris and J. convince George to tow the boat from the shore; towing is an arduous task that can lead to problems if the tower becomes distracted. J. recalls various incidents when he was boating and the tow-line became tangled or detached entirely.

The men have a satisfying dinner and sleep in the boat. The next morning, they wake up early and George tells J. a story about accidentally starting his day at 3 a.m. because he forgot to wind his watch. Later that morning, J. falls in the water and Harris fails in attempting to make scrambled eggs. As they pass Magna Charta Island, J. describes what it would have been like to be a peasant when the Magna Carta was signed.

When the men pass Datchet, they reminisce about an earlier trip, when all the inns were full there and they had to sleep at a local's house. That night, they sleep at an inn in Marlow. Montmorency chases a large cat, but is too intimidated to attack it.

The next day, they pass more historical landmarks, including Bisham Abbey. They run out of drinking water, and are disgusted when a local lock-keeper suggests that they drink from the river. Harris falls off the edge of a gulch while trying to eat supper.

The next evening, they cook Irish stew, and George plays the banjo. However, he is a beginner and his music is so awful that Harris and J. persuade him not to play for the rest of the trip. George and J. go for drinks in the town of Henley that night, but get lost on their way back. When they eventually find Harris sleeping in the boat, he explains that he had to move it because he was attacked by a flock of aggressive swans.

J. describes some of the mishaps that he and George experienced when they first learned to row. The men pass through Reading without incident, although J. does offer a brief history of the town. As they approach Goring, they discover a woman’s corpse floating in the water. They later learn that she drowned herself after having a child out of wedlock and finding herself unable to support it.

The men attempt to wash their clothes in the Thames, but the clothes only come out dirtier than before. That night, they drink at a pub in Wallingford with a large fish hanging on the wall. All of the patrons claim to have caught the fish themselves, but George accidentally knocks it over, and the men realize that it was made of plaster of Paris.

On the way back from Oxford, it rains terribly, and the men find themselves cold, wet, and miserable. They soon decide to abandon the boat and spend the rest of the trip at an inn. That night, they enjoy a delicious supper and toast their decision to abandon the boat.

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