Analysis of the text
“Three men in a boat”.

I’d like to tell you an extract from the novel “Three men in a boat”, written by Jerome K. Jerome. He is a well-known English writer, whose novels have enjoyed great popularity. He is famous for his art of story-telling, his vivid style and his humour which is generally expressed in laughter-provoking situations often based on misunderstanding. With sparkling humour he criticized the weak sides of human nature. The action is set at Sonning, a picturesque village on the bank of the Thames. The author describes the scenery, namely, a fairy-like nook of Sonning, where the main characters got out. The plot is about that George suggested to cook an Irish stew. The men agreed with George and said that it was a fascinating idea. George gathered wood and made a fire, Harris and the narrator started to peel the potatoes. The narrator had never thought it to be difficult. When the first potato was finished, George came and had a look at it. Then he told Harris and the narrator to scrape them since the potato was about the size of pea-nut. So, they did four potatoes. But George thought that it was absurd, so they washed half a dozen or so more and put them in without peeling. Then the author goes on to say that toward the end Montmorency brought a dead water-rat in his mouth, which he evidently wished to present as his contribution to the dinner. That rat rose up a discussion between George and Harris. After all Irish stew turned out to be a great success. There was something so fresh and piquant about it. And it was nourishing, too. In this story we can dearly distinguish three main characters: the narrator, Harris and George. The text consists of two parts: the descriptions of Sonning and the events, which are happened with the characters. Also, the author’s humour and vivid style are best represented in the process of the narrator. The plot of the story is full of humour and comic situations, bright words, because the author used some stylistic devices such as irony, metaphor, hyperbole, etc. These stylistic devices help readers to understand the main idea of the text. Also, the devices make the text more interesting to read. But sometimes these devices are boring and tame.

The main idea is given through the characters’ actions, events, speech, etc. The characters do their best with the help of each other. Two heads better than one head. The author’s style is vivid and emotional. He beautifully visualizes scenes, makes them clear for our eyes, using several stylistic devices. Bright and emotional narration and description use not only styles devices and comic details, but the language itself.