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Examples Of Irony In The Chaser

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The Chaser - Folly in the Pursuit of Love When you love someone, how far will you go in order to pursue them? In John Collier’s short story The Chaser, we witness a young man by the name of Alan Austen go to a mysterious old man in hopes of buying a strange love potion, desperate to win over a girl he likes. However, we soon find that this decision may go awry. The Chaser is a cautionary tale against impulsiveness, advising that you must think thoroughly before making any decision. This is demonstrated through Collier’s effective use of characterization, foreshadowing, and irony. In The Chaser, Alan Austen and the old man creates an interesting contrast between the recklessness of youth and jaded old age, further supporting the theme of …show more content…

One of the many examples of irony in The Chaser is the title itself. In alcoholic terms, a chaser typically refers to a drink taken after another drink. In this case it refers to the likelihood of Alan going back to the old man to buy the life-cleaning potion. Another is the incredibly disparity in prices between the two potions; “‘That is five thousand dollars, never a penny less. One has to be older than you are, to indulge in that sort of thing. One has to save up for it.’ ‘But the love potion?’ said Alan. ‘Oh, that,’ said the old man, opening the drawer in the kitchen table, and taking out a tiny, rather dirty looking phial. ‘That is just a dollar’”. Although Alan is quite glad to hear the love potion is cheap, made clear when he says “‘I can't tell you how grateful I am,’ said Alan”, the old man (and eventually reader) knows that Alan will end up being far from grateful in the near future, a prime example of dramatic irony. The old man also describes the effects of the love potion during the story, in which he mentions “How carefully she will look after you! She will never allow you to be tired, to sit in a draught, to neglect your food”. These effects initially sound very pleasant to Alan, but the old man is aware Alan will grow tired of this, just like many of his previous

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