Literary Analysis: The Chaser

"The Chaser" Analysis

Do we prefer to watch a television version of a short story or read its hard copy? In these days, most of us prefer to view the visual representation of a story than read it. “The Chaser” is a short story by John collier which was adapted also into a television episode of “The Twilight Zone”. Both versions, the text and the television, were amazing and each has its different strengths and weaknesses.

 “The Chaser” is the story of a young man, Alan Austen, who has been sent to an old man who has a solution for his problem. Alan is miserably in love with a young woman, Diane, who is not interested in him. The old man suggested on Alan a very effective and extremely expensive potion called “spot remover” which will solve all his problems. Allan, not interested in it, wants a “love potion” to make his woman fall in love with him. The old man, worrying Alan from the consequences of this potion, sells it to Allan for a very cheap price, a dollar.

At first, John Collier begins his story by defining his characters. Allan “as nervous as a kitten” is defined as nervous, timid, and uncertain character. And the old man is an informative and a confident man. He makes his characters interesting but he keeps them static; they don’t develop any change throughout the story. Collier uses a clear language and makes his story alive by using dialogue between his characters. He also uses metaphor that is by some means not completely clear for all his readers. For example, when the old man tells Alan about the poison, he describes it as ““colourless as water, almost tasteless, quite imperceptible in coffee, milk, wine, or any other beverage. It is also quite imperceptible to any known method of autopsy.” And this is a metaphor. The Story begins in the middle of the action and gets started quickly. The author foreshadows about Alan’s future in his story but misses some interesting details in it leaving it without an ending.

Comparatively, the television version of “The Chaser” shows a growing in the characters. A big change in Roger and Lila personalities occurs. The characters are dynamic in this version. In the first place, the story starts right at the beginning showing Roger’s love for Lila and how did he end up going to the old man. The plot is clear and more detailed. And later, there is an ending for the story that is clear but not very satisfying. The language used in the television is bland and sometimes uninteresting. Another weakness to the show is that it is in black and white which dates it and makes it less relevant or interesting for viewers.

In the final analyses, both versions of “The chaser” have their strengths and weaknesses. They are both amusing and adapted in an attractive way.