quot;Three Men In A Boat" by Jerome K. Jerome

The extract under analysis is taken from the book “Three Men in a Boat” written by Jerome K. Jerome.

The extract begins with the description of the beautiful view and comfortable destination of the place where the action comes to pass. From the very beginning we see the narrator admiring Sonning: “It is the most fairylike little nook on the whole river. It is more like a stage village than one built of bricks and mortar. Every house is smothered in roses…” From those exact sentences we can guess that the narrator is a kind of a person who admires beauty and can give his own estimation.

Later this fact is easily proved when three men decided to prepare a supper for themselves. The scrupulous side of the narrator is marked everywhere: “I should never have thought that peeling potatoes was such an undertaking. The job turned out to be the biggest thing of its kind that I had ever been in.” If we look at the way how the friends prepare the potatoes we realize they may have never done it before. And the fact that those potatoes were about the size of a peanut makes us wonder and even smile: such an easy task sometimes turns out for men quite difficult. The next sentence: “Scrapping was even harder than peeling” makes us completely sure the author wanted to show the humor of the situation. And it comes as no surprise that the narrator says: “I never saw such a thing as potato scrapping for making a fellow in a mess”, which truly confirms our guesses. As well we can’t take for granted the fact of working steadily over the four potatoes for such a long time. What’s more, later the fellows added some more potatoes in their Irish stew without even peeling them, and lots of other odds and ends and the remnants.

The author doesn’t forget to outline the role of their dog in the story – Montmorency made his own contribution to the meal, it brought a dead water-rat which was added in the supper.

The most interesting fact concerning all this fuss is that their supper was a great success: “I don’t think I ever enjoyed a meal more. There was something so fresh and piquant about it. …here was a dish with a new flavor, with a taste like nothing else on earth.” So, we should admit their work wasn’t in vain, if they liked it so mush.

If to look at the extract from the other point, speaking about its general definition we should note the text is told in the 1st person narrative. The narration is interlaced with the descriptive passages and rare dialogues of the personages. The account of events is interwoven with a humorous portrayal of the young fellows. The prevailing mood of the extract is rather optimistic and cheerful, is seen in their admiration of the place and the meal. The author makes use of the long and complicated sentences as well as the short and simple ones.

All in all, the extract under the study can present enough food for thought for those who is able to think it over. What concerns me, the extract revised me the proverb “After the dinner comes the reckoning” which proves that before having something one should make it. The fellows must have forgotten that even preparing the meal needs time and effort, that’s why were so wondered. So, I guess Jerome K. Jerome gives a wise lesson to those who are lazy-bones and afraid of hard work.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 1243