Meaning Of 'The Chaser' By John Collier

The Chaser by John Collier provides many meanings in the title that present clues as to what the story may be about. These meanings can vary from a chaser being someone who chases a person that chases after another person. It can also be a drink that is drunk after another different type of drink and it can be defined as a hunter. The word chaser can provide a sense of tone that can set the mood for the entire story. The title of this story was selected for not just one meaning but for multiple meanings throughout the story, which contributes both meanings as the story is unraveled, leaving the reader wondering what may happen next. The first meaning of the word chaser can be viewed at in two different ways. One way this meaning may be looked at is by the love that Alan has for Diana and the way he chases after her affection. Another way this may be viewed is after analyzing the story it can be predicted that after taking the love potion Diana will fall “in love” with Alan and chase after him obsessively. This statement is shown by the old man saying, "She will want to know
This is the same as a hunter would chase an animal, no matter how far it tries to run or how it may try to hide. This can be taken more extremely than just chasing her because Alan goes to the old man to see if he can fix Alan’s problem rather than just admitting defeat and leaving well enough alone. The old man knows this because he says, “young people who need a love potion very seldom have five thousand dollars. Otherwise they would not need a love potion (Collier).” The old man is basically saying that young people do not understand love and desire to have something that is a challenge. The old man hints to Alan time after time to get him to change his mind about the love potion, but young love is blind in the eyes of the old