Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog Themes

Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog Themes

The Relativity of Humor

In many of the humorous passages in "Three Men in a Boat," Jerome points out that one's point of view determines what one thinks is funny. This may seem obvious in itself, but he goes a step further and recognizes that acknowledging this human trait leads to a new level of humor.

The story of George's wet shirt in Chapter 11 demonstrates this basic observation in a simple form. George thinks that J has dropped his shirt in the river, getting it wet. He laughs, and J is angry. Then J realizes it is not his own shirt but George's that has fallen in the river. The tables have turned and now George is angry and J is amused. "I tried to make him see the fun of the thing, but he could not. George is very dense at seeing a joke sometimes," J says (p. 115).

However, J is...
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