Transcript Unit 7 - SHUPL

Unit 7
The Chaser
Contents
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Pre-reading questions
Background information
Structural analysis of the text
Comprehensive questions
Language points
Sentence highlights
Language appreciation
Grammar points
Comprehensive questions of Text II
Pre-reading questions
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1. Do you believe love can be fostered? How can you
lure one into love with you?
2. What is likely to happen when a couple no longer
love each other?
Background information
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About the author and the text
John Collier (1901-1980), British playwright, poet,
and novelist. He was famous for numerous fantasies
he had written in his lifetime. “The Chaser” was
originally published in The New Yorker in 1940.
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Siren（塞壬）
In Greek mythology, the Sirens were three dangerous birdwomen, portrayed as seductresses. Roman poets placed them
on an island called Sirenum scopuli. In some later, rationalized
traditions the literal geography of the "flowery" island of
Anthemoessa, or Anthemusa,[1] is fixed: sometimes on Cape
Pelorum and at others in the Sirenusian islands near Paestum
or in Capreae.[2] All such locations were surrounded by cliffs
and rocks. Sailors who sailed near were compelled by the
Sirens' enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky
coast. (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
Structure analysis of the Text
This short story, which combines elements of horror
and love, is built almost entirely through dialogue
between a young man, Alan Austen, who is deeply in
love and wants to possess his lover entirely, and an
unnamed old man who believes in a life free of
romantic involvement. As the dialogue develops,
Austen’s attitude towards the potion changes from
skeptical and hesitant to excited and overwhelmed.
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Part I
Paragraph 1
In this part, the protagonist, Alan Austen, has been
introduced.
Part II
Paragraphs 2-12
The old man is trying to sell his mixture.
Part III
Paragraphs 13-45
Dialogue between the old man and Alan Austen.
Questions for comprehension
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1. What is the implied meaning of the old man’s remark.
‘Young people who need a love potion very seldom have five
thousand dollars. Otherwise they would not need a love
potion”? (para. 13)
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What the old man means is that the young men who fall in love onesidedly are seldom rich enough to win a young girls heart. If they are
rich, it will be easier for them to gain girls’ hearts, and they don’t need
to buy love potions. The old man suggests that money is an important
factor for love.
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2. What are the effects of the love potion?
Describe them in detail .
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The love potion has a powerful, everlasting effect. It will make a gay
girl care nothing but her lover. She will feel jealous of him when her
lover is with other girls. She will want to be everything to him. She will
be only interested in her lover and take every concern of his. Even if he
slips a little, she will forgive him in the end. In a word, she will love
him deeply if she drinks the love potion.
3.Why is the love potion priced so low while the glove-cleaner so
high?
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The author seems to stress the great gap between the price of the love
potion and the glove-cleaner. It is easy for people to fall in love, but it
hard to keep it. That’s why he has to pay a colossal amount to get
himself out of it. The other reason for the low price of the love potion
may be that by doing so, the old man can attract more customers to his
primary commodity, the glove-cleaner.
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4. What moral lessons can be drawn from the story?
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One of the moral lessons we can draw from the story is that
anything precious, love included, is most likely to have an
end. A person can easily fall in love and get married, but
what awaits him/her could be endless remorse, and a wish
tha tit might end as soon as possible. So one should be
wise and keep their eyes open when they are in love though
love is said to be blind.
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5. How do the speeches of the young man and the old man
differ? How does that help to build up the theme?
 The young man’s speech is short and changing. At first, he
speaks in short sentences with hesitation, but later on his
speech changes into a succession of cries with excitement.
In contrast, the old man’s speech tends to be long, stable
and well-developed throughout the story. Their speeches
form a sharp contrast which helps to bring out the two
characters. The yound man is green, passionate, and
hopelessly in love, while the old man is calm, sensible, and
a bit satirical. It is by this contrast that the theme of the
story is brought out more effectively.
Language points
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Paragraph 1
1. peer: to look very carefully or with difficulty,
especially as if not able to see clearly
 She peered over my shoulder at the computer screen
and asked about the figures. C.f. peep
peep: to look at something quickly and secretly,
especially through a hole or other small openings
e.g. Now and then she peeped to see if he was
noticing her.
Paragraphs 2-12
2. make somebody’s acquaintance: to meet somebody
for the first time
e.g. He made her acquaintance at a dance.
3. imperceptible: that cannot be noticed or felt because
so small, slight or gradual
e.g. an imperceptible change in temerature
perceive v. , perception n. , perceptible a. ,
imperceptible a., imperceptibly ad.
4. Apprehensively: full of anxiety about the future
 They looked at each other apprehensively.
 apprehensive a., apprehension n.
e.g. She was apprehensive about/for her son’s safety
every tome he went out on his motorcycle.
Students are waiting with apprehension for their final
examination results.
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Paragraphs 13-45
5. oblige
(1) do something a favor; to fulfill the wishes of
e.g. She asked him to lend his car, and he
willingly obliged her.
I should/would be obliged if you could speak
louder.
(2) to make it necessary for somebody to do
something
e.g. The heavy snow obliged me to abandon the
car and continued on foot.
Eric felt obliged to resign after such an
unpleasant quarrel with the vice president.
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6. substitute: to put something or somebody in
place of another.
They were expected to substitute violence for
dialogue.
to substitute A for B=to replace B with A
7. overwhelm
(1) to give somebody a particular feeling very
strongly.
e.g. The family of the victim was overwhelmed
by/with grief.
(2) to make powerless by using force
e.g. Government troops overwhelmed the rebels.
Overwhelming a.: very large or very great
e.g. The overwhelming majority of small
businesses went broke within the first twelve
months.
8. fervently (formal) with deep sincere feelings
e.g. It is a cause for which we have campaigned
fervently these past four years.
Fervent a., fervency n.
9. be better off: to have more money than one used to have or
most other people
e.g. Mr. Cooper was much better off when he got promoted,
and even could afford foreign travel.
She’ll be 50 pounds better off.
be better off doing/ to do something: to be wiser to do
something specified
e.g. If you’ve got you bags you are better off taking/to take a
taxi.
be better off with somebody/something: to be happier or more
at ease with somebody/something
e.g. You’d be better off with her as a roommate.
Sentence highlights
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1. Alan Austen, as nervous as a kitten, went up
certain dark and creaky stairs in the
neighborhood of Pell Street, … one of the
doors. (Para. 1)
Paraphrase:
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2. For indifference,… they substitute devotion.
For scorn, adoration. Give one tiney measure
of this to the young lady- its flavour is
imperceptible in orange juice, soup or
cocktails-and however gay and giddy she is,
she will change altogether. She will want
nothing bu tsolitude and you. (para.23)
Paraphrase:
Language Appreciation
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1. He pushed open this door, as he had been
told to do, and found himself in a tiny room,
which contained no furniture but a plain
kitchen table, a rocking chair, and an
ordinary chair. On one of the dirty, buffcoloured walls were a couple of shelves,
containing in all perhaps a dozen bottles and
jars. (Para.2)
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This short description of the house depicts a
gloomy atmosphere
2) a. “Do you mean it is a poison?” cried Alan, very much horrifed.
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“Call it a glove-cleaner if you like,” said the old man indifferently. “…
Lives need cleaning sometimes.”
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“ I hope all your mixtures are not as expensive,” said Alan
apprehensively.
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…(Paras. 8-17)
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“Wonderful!” cried Alan. (Para. 30)
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“That is love!” cried Alan. (Para. 32)
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“I can hardly imagine Diana like that!” cried Alan, overwhelmed with
joy. (Para.34)
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“That will not happen,” said Alan fervently.
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Note the italicized words. They all reveal the emotional change of Alan;
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b. “How carefully she will look after you! She
will never allow you to be tired, to sit in a
draught, to neglect your food. If you are an
hour late, she will be terrified. She will think
you are killed, or that some siren has caught
you.”
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The remark of the old man fully reveals the kind of
love longed for by Alan and many other young
people.
Grammar points
Nominal Clauses
Nominal clause are clauses that are used as
nouns in a sentence.
e.g. My failure to pass the exam has brought
an earthquake to my family.
What made her so angry is now still a mystery.
That she was chosen as the monitor made us
happy.
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Inversion
I. Inversion of predicative
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II. Inversion of object
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An expensive thing it was.
This conception of a hollow earth we know to be
false.
III. Inversion of adverbial
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At the corner stood a drug store, brilliant with
electric lights.
Comprehensive questions of Text II
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1. How was the hero vastly different from his
roommate Petey Burch?
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The hero was a highly intelligent man as his brain was
extremely powerful, precise and penetrating while Petey
Burch was a very dumb man as he was emotional, unstable,
impressionable and, worst of all, crazy about the fashion.
2. Why did the hero love Polly Espy?
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She was a beautiful and gracious girl, almost the right kind
of wife in promoting a lawyer’s career, which was what he
desired to pursue as his profession in the future, despite the
fact that she was not intelligent enough, but he was
determined that she would become smart under his
guidence.
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3. What happened and how did the hero feel when he wasw
working hard to get the girl’s mind up to the standard he
required?
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The girl constantly missed the point in his instructions and made a lot
of silly mistakes. He felt disappointed and vaguely felt that this project
had no hope of success. A wave of despair swept over him and he
almost concluded that he would not possible instill logic into her mind.
4. What happened when the hero believed that he should
proceed to shift the focus of smartening the girl up to fostering
the mutual love between them?
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When he tried various menas to suggest a knid of intimate relationship
between them, the girl refuted him by pointing out different fallacies in
his logic. He felt very much dismayed as very fallacy the girl pointed
out was what he had just tried to make the girl recognize while he was
teaching her how to be smart.
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5. What have you learnt from the text?
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One of the very important lessons contained in the
text is that one should not be too calculated in
everything, particularly in love which is th eresult
of natural affection developed over a long period
of time.