Lit 10 4/17/18

Jerome K. Jerome (1859 - 1927)

• Jerome Klapka Jerome was born in Walsall, Staffordshire, England.
• Losing both his parents at a very young age, he left home at the age of 14 to earn a living.
• He was very much a jack of trades - he worked as a clerk, schoolmaster, reporter, actor, and secretary.
• In his spare time he wrote and he eventually was published.
• He achieved his goal of becoming an editor of a magazine.
• He edited the magazine, The Idle, a monthly magazine that had contributors like Mark Twain.
• He was a writer and humourist, best known for the comic travelogue Three Men in a Boat.
• While this book didn't receive much praise from literary critics, it was a very popular book that was translated into many languages.

Brief Summary w/Key Questions

• P. 422: As the story begins, we already understand that the most remarkable characteristic of the cheeses is that they have a very overpowering odor.
• We get a first sense of how smelly these cheeses are when even the horse Jerome takes to the station is shaken out of its tired shuffle and picks up speed at the scent of the cheeses.
• Notice that the porter at the station even lights a piece of paper at the station. Why do you think he does this?

• By burning a piece of paper, the porter at the station creates a smoky smell that temporarily camouflages the smell of the cheeses.
• We also see that fellow travelers make way "respectfully", not out of reverence, but because of self-interest - they do not wish to be near the cheeses.

Brief Summary w/Key Questions

• P. 423: We see that during his journey, Jerome has plenty of room in the carriage because the smell of the cheeses chase away fellow passengers.
• A particular funny portion is when the undertaker (the black gentleman, aka a funeral director), mentions that the smells "put him in mind of a dead baby" and three passengers basically run out of the carriage.
• It seems that the undertaker can withstand the cheese at first, but it turns out that the smells are even too much for him and he leaves as well.
• P. 424: Does Tom's wife feel the same way about the cheeses as the passengers?

• Tom's wife also finds the smell overwhelming and loathsome. She says "tell me the worst" because she believe there's a dead body in the room. She is also very conflicted because she doesn't want the cheeses, yet she wants to please her husband.
• In the end she decides to take herself and her children to a hotel to get away from the cheeses.

Brief Summary w/Key Questions

• P. 425: The hotel bill, as Tom find out, came to fifteen guineas (fifteen pounds) and he came to the conclusion that the cheeses weren't worth keeping if they were costing him so much.
• He first tried to get rid of them by throwing them in the canal, but he had to fish them out again. Why?

• Because the bargemen complained about the smell. This is ironic because bargemen are supposedly used to pungent odors, and yet they even complained about the cheeses.
• He finally buried them on the beach and even the beach stunk up and gained a reputation for being smelly

Homework

Quiz tomorrow on:

• The Handicapped
• How to Eat an Ice Cream Cone
• The "Splendid“ Cheeses
• know about the authors (10 questions)
• know main story plot points (8 questions)
• refer to the prezis, look for bold or italicized words or sentences

After the quiz you will have time to work on your video project, so bring whatever material you need.

Also your paper for Bible & Lit is due on 27th, the corrected papers by both Mrs. Beth & I will be emailed back to you on the 20th.