Provide a character sketch of Harris from "Three Men in a Boat."

As the title suggests, Harris (also known as William Harris) is one of the three men in the boat. Readers receive commentary about Harris from J., who thinks that William Harris is completely dull and without any poetry or beauty to speak of in his person. J. compares William Harris to "Uncle Podger," who was known for carrying out elaborate procedures for simple projects. Although William Harris is a lot like George (in that they both schedule their activities around their next meal), Harris has much more pride in his musical ability, at least when it comes to comedy. Unfortunately, William Harris' memory does not serve him well in that he can never remember all of the words to his comic songs. William Harris' pride, then, doesn't match his ability. William Harris is known to J. mostly for the night of drunkenness (and rant about swans) when both George and J. go into the town alone. In fact, William Harris is always falling due to drunkenness (whether it be onto the grass, into the hamper, or into a bunch of swans). Of course, at the end of the story all three of the characters (including Harris) abandon the boat and board the train to London.

What are some positive traits of Harris in Three Men in a Boat?

It's fair to say that Harris's positive character traits aren't immediately obvious. He's portrayed by Jerome as being a vain, lazy, uncultivated man without much taste for adventure. But there's little doubt that he's the funniest character in the book, though most of the humor he generates is unintentional. For instance, he labors under the misapprehension that he can sing. His anecdotes that reveal his complete lack of self-awareness—such as his adventure at Hampton Court—provide an additional source of amusement. Harris is so insufferably pompous and self-absorbed that he has no idea of how utterly ridiculous he is. These may not seem positive character traits, but there's always more fun with Harris around—of one sort or another. When all's said and done he's incredibly good company, if not always for the reasons he'd like to be.