Describe the contribution made by Montmorency to the degree of humor in the novel Three Men in a Boat.

Montmorency is the dog in the story. He is a small Fox Terrier, and he provides ample comic relief during the story. The question asks about the degree to which the dog provides humor to the story. This is a question aimed at the individual's reaction because it asks a reader to rate how effective the dog is at bringing humor into the story. It is possible that some readers will hate the dog or think that he is just completely extra fluff and essentially needless to the story's humor. Personally, I could agree with the latter part of that statement. J, George, and Harris are funny enough on their own.
The story doesn't need Montmorency to bring humor into the story; however, the dog brings so much more humor to the story. The dog is constantly getting into trouble and aggravating all three men. It's hilarious to listen to three grown men swear and curse over the actions of a small dog. There are too many instances to list as to when the dog provides great comic relief to an already hilarious story. One example comes from a very long-winded paragraph in chapter 2 that does a great job of letting readers know that Montmorency is going to be a complete troublemaker and handful for the men.

But, when I had paid for about a dozen chickens that he had killed; and had dragged him, growling and kicking, by the scruff of his neck, out of a hundred and fourteen street fights; and had had a dead cat brought round for my inspection by an irate female, who called me a murderer; and had been summoned by the man next door but one for having a ferocious dog at large, that had kept him pinned up in his own tool-shed, afraid to venture his nose outside the door for over two hours on a cold night; and had learned that the gardener, unknown to myself, had won thirty shillings by backing him to kill rats against time, then I began to think that maybe they’d let him remain on earth for a bit longer, after all.