# Harris — Three Men in a Boat character guide > Harris in Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome. **Role:** major **Also known as:** William Samuel Harris, William Harris, Mr. Harris **First appearance:** 0001-three-men-in-a-boat ## Snapshot Boastful, opinionated, and cheerfully incompetent, Harris is the friend who insists he knows exactly how everything should be done. ## Who they are Harris — William Samuel Harris to his mother — is the trio's resident expert on everything from camping to making Irish stew, and almost invariably wrong. His confidence collides with reality in set pieces of escalating mishap, from tangled tents to the famous swans. He matters because his grandiosity gives J. a target for affectionate mockery and because his failures dramatize the book's central joke: that the pleasure of a trip lies in its disasters, not its plans. ## In the story ### [Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_men_in_a_boat_se/chapters/three-men-in-a-boat) Another friend who joins the trip, known for his self-assuredness. ### [Chapter I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_men_in_a_boat_se/chapters/i) Harris jokes about George's sleepiness, shares anecdotes about his own immunity to seasickness, and initially suggests a sea trip before agreeing to the river. ### [Plans Discussed—Pleasures of Camping-out—Compromise Decided on—Montmorency, First Impressions of](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_men_in_a_boat_se/chapters/ii) Practical and unpoetic, objects to camping in rain, always knows where to get a drink. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_men_in_a_boat_se/chapters/iii) Harris takes charge of making the list and is compared to Uncle Podger for his chaotic method of doing work. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_men_in_a_boat_se/chapters/iv) Harris lounges and smokes while J. packs, points out the forgotten boots, and later co-packs the hampers, breaking a cup and sitting on the butter. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_men_in_a_boat_se/chapters/v) Argues with J. about waking up, then joins in waking George. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_men_in_a_boat_se/chapters/vi) Harris is rowing in a red and orange blazer, and later tells the story of getting lost in the Hampton Court Maze while trying to guide others. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_men_in_a_boat_se/chapters/vii) Harris is criticized for his poor taste in colors (orange/yellow) and wants to visit Mrs. Thomas's tomb. ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_men_in_a_boat_se/chapters/viii) Harris offers bread and jam to the blackmailer, expresses violent feelings about notice-boards, and is known for his terrible comic singing. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_men_in_a_boat_se/chapters/ix) Callous and unsympathetic, he insists George work and later asks about the fate of the old lady. ### [Our First Night Under Canvas](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_men_in_a_boat_se/chapters/x) Struggles with the tent canvas, gets rolled up in it, and later apologizes for stepping on George's corn. ### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_men_in_a_boat_se/chapters/xi) Hesitates to swim, proposes cooking scrambled eggs for breakfast, and boasts about his skill. ### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_men_in_a_boat_se/chapters/xii) Attempts to open the tin with a pocketknife, cuts himself, later flings the tin into the river, and curses the fishermen. ### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_men_in_a_boat_se/chapters/xiii) Harris is carving the beefsteak pie when he and the pie vanish, later found with only his head visible above the grass. ### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_men_in_a_boat_se/chapters/xiv) Left alone in the boat; claims to have fought off thirty-two swans; acts strangely and keeps the others awake searching for his clothes. ### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_men_in_a_boat_se/chapters/xv) Harris insists on a plain breakfast and argues that he has done the most work. He suggests he should steer while George and J. scull. ### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_men_in_a_boat_se/chapters/xvi) Shirks work and argues that it is J.'s turn to pull. ### [Washing Day and Fishy Stories](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_men_in_a_boat_se/chapters/xvii) Mentioned as having gone out for a shave and not seen for the rest of the chapter. ### [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_men_in_a_boat_se/chapters/xviii) Harris is referenced in the narrator's comments about how he reacts differently to his friends' mistakes on land versus on the river. ### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_men_in_a_boat_se/chapters/xix) Harris sculls with George, tries to be enthusiastic about the rain, and eventually agrees to abandon the boat. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_men_in_a_boat_se/characters/harris - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_men_in_a_boat_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_men_in_a_boat_se/characters