The plot
In John Colliers, “The Chaser,” we encounter a young man named Alan Austen, who has a problem, one that is all too common. He’s fallen truly, madly and deeply in love with a young lady named Diana. But he has a problem, which is two-fold, she isn’t aware of his feelings towards her, and as a consequence, she’s not in the slightest bit interested in him, The core of the story surrounds Alan’s struggles to deal with his unrequited love. Alan pursues a new solution to his problem. This comes from an old man who lives in his neighborhood.
Alan goes to meet the old man to ask for his help. The old man understands the problem having encountered it many times before, and he has just the answer to Alan’s questions. He possesses a love potion, that he promises will turn Diana into a loving and devoted wife. He explains that once he administers the potion, Diana will be able to think of nothing else but him.
Alan is so delighted with the prospect of Diana becoming infatuated with him, the idea of having her all to himself overpowers any rational thoughts. He completely ignores the old man’s warning that all that glitters is not gold. He tries to explain to Alan that complete and utter devotion can lead to obsession and jealousy He further explains that Diana will need to know how he spends every minute of every day. Alan is so wrapped up in his own fantasy that he takes no heed of the warnings and carries on regardless. Even the old man only asks for $1, this still doesn’t raise on the alarm Bells with Alan.
The old man is fully aware that this is not the last time you will miss her. Years of experience have let him do understand that his love potions create more problems than they are worth. He knows that the young men will come running back to him looking for another solution, one he described as a life cleaner, this is a poison that men used to rid themselves of troublesome girlfriends and wives.
The old man is fully aware this the vast majority of men cannot deal with being the center of their wives and girlfriends universes. I feel trapped and find that they have completely lost their independence. Fully confident that the but they will return to his in the room typical resolution trip album they called themselves. Put this solution cost a lot more than $1, he charges up to $5,000 a shot. The old man is absolutely confident of getting a return on his investment. I’m experiencing knows that young men like Island what do anything together enough money the Rhythm says the problem once and for all.
The Message
The message is apparent, love is but a transition state, a temporary illusion. When people fall in love they think it’s going to last forever, why did the people dissolution they’re capable of doing anything to possess the object of their passion. In the pale light of day, once this illusion has dissipated, left with the dawning realization of what they have created, the young men begin to understand that the object of his desires is more trouble than they are worth. He has attached himself to someone who was a complete stranger and is ultimately incompatible with him.
Once the young man has reached this realization, he is left with two choices, to either continue with the pretense and live a miserable life, are he has to obtain his freedom at all costs.
The Style
Collier’s work is exceptional, his technique is uniquely objective. After a brief introduction in the opening paragraphs, the entire story unfolds through their dialogue. Collier Siri doesn’t want to spell out the message of his story. Instead, he wants to message to reveal as the conversation continues, letting his readers come to their own conclusions. While the entire story unfolds but a few minutes and is confined to some simple settings, the shop contrast of two main characters makes it extremely easy to imagine and to visualize the setting uneven how their voices might sound. The difference between young and old, optimism, and pessimism. How the wisdom of old age has stemmed from years of experience has led the old man to become disillusioned with love. It is clear from the onset that the old man is only interested in profit why the young man is still caught in the idealism of love.
The Main Characters
Alan
the story is the young man named Alan. He finds himself desperately in love with the lady called Diana. This Love Has Gone completely unrequited, forcing a no desperate young man I’m looking for an alternative solution to his problem. Haven’t heard of an old man who offers love potions, the Island is initially nervous. Still, his desperation to gain the love of Diana eventually overcomes any of these nerves. While he is initially horrified by the concept of using poison, when is the juice to the love potion, you so delighted that he doesn’t even think about the consequences. Alan is young and naive, unable to see that the old man is dropping him into a vicious cycle. He actually believes Diana becoming obsessed with him is a good thing. Alan wants her to be jealous of him, to deny him associations with other women, to be the sole object of his attention. These feelings are so overpowering for him that he is unable to see the wood from the trees.
The old man
Is clearly a crafty salesman, he uses his years of experience to lull the gullible Allen into a false sense of security. Offering his love potion cheaply, fully aware that his generosity will be returning to him in the not-too-distant future. His craftiness is clear for all to see when he explains to Allen that is love potion is priced so low simply because those in need of a love potion rarely have money to spend. But it’s clear for everyone to see the love potion is a trap; experience tells the old man that young men will be back to him willing to spend vast amounts of money to correct the problem they created. Many may view the old man as wrong or even evil, but he is just a refection of the society we live in today. Most companies will explain the dangers of the products they peddle, cigarettes are addictive, a fast food meal contains 2000 calories. Consumers are well aware of the risks, but they choose to ignore the long term consequence of their actions, all in pursuit of short term gratification as Alan did in this story.