Question

what does jerome tell about place reading

Answer 1

J., the narrator, was suffering from nearly every disease listed in this medical reference book. He searched the entries from A to Z, from “ague” to “zymosis”; and he realized that he had most of the symptoms that he saw. The only malady he couldn’t match up with was “housemaid’s knee.” Since he was a gentleman who probably never did housework of any kind, this makes sense.I sat and pondered. I thought what an interesting case I must be from a medical point of view, what an acquisition I should be to a class! Students would have no need to “walk the hospitals,” if they had me. I was a hospital to myself. All they need do would be to walk round me, and, after that, take their diploma.This is our first encounter with J., coming early in Chapter I. We quickly learn that he is prone to taking off on tangents away from the main story line. He also tends to use exaggeration and sarcasm. It’s impossible for him to have every ailment known to mankind. He’s either admitting that he’s a hypochondriac, or he’s poking fun at himself. He also quietly makes fun of us for believing his story.

Answer 2

According to J., the river is dirty and dismal at Reading. It is hard to find people in the neighbourhood of Reading. He narrates a lot of tragic incidents that have made Reading a gloomy place. He says that during the reign of King Ethelred, the Danes had anchored their warships in the Kennet, and started from Reading to ravage all the land of Wessex; and Ethelred and his brother Alfred had fought and defeated them at Reading. He feels that whenever people of London face a problem, they take refuge in Reading. He says that the Parliament generally used to rush off to Reading whenever there was a plague on at Westminster; and, in 1625, the Law followed suit, and all the courts were held at Reading. During the Parliamentary struggle, Reading was besieged by the Earl of Essex, and, a quarter of a century later, the Prince of Orange routed King Jamess troops there. Moreover, Henry I. lies buried at Reading, in the Benedictine abbey founded by him there, the ruins of which may still be seen; and, in this same abbey, great John of Gaunt was married to the Lady Blanche. J. feels that all these incidents makes Reading a 'famous old place.'.