In Chapter 2 of "Three Men in a Boat," you learn a lot more about George. Why is he the butt of all jokes, however good natured?

In Three Men in a Boat, it appears as though George is the only one in the group who holds a “real” job. At the beginning of Chapter II, J., the narrator, brings this fact to light and makes fun of his friend at the same time:

(George goes to sleep at a bank from ten to four each day, except Saturdays, when they wake him up and put him outside at two.)

Here,...

In Three Men in a Boat, it appears as though George is the only one in the group who holds a “real” job. At the beginning of Chapter II, J., the narrator, brings this fact to light and makes fun of his friend at the same time:

(George goes to sleep at a bank from ten to four each day, except Saturdays, when they wake him up and put him outside at two.)

Here, J. implies that George doesn’t do anything worthwhile at the bank, either. But we learn more about George in other parts of the book, too. In Chapter IV, he packs the food hamper with Harris. In Chapter XI, we hear the story of what once happened when his watch stopped and he got up too early for work. He makes Irish stew in Chapter XIV. He also gets out his banjo for the first time in this chapter. George and J. get the boat caught in a lock in Chapter XVIII. And at the end, in Chapter XIX, George plays “Two Lovely Black Eyes” on his banjo. The others chide him most for working in a bank and for attempting to learn to play the banjo.