The Chaser

Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1940

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Essay Topics

Describe Alan Austen as a character. What are his major flaws?

What are the ways in which the older man describes his products? Why won’t he describe them directly?

In some ways, the irony and brevity of Collier’s story recall the form of the joke. What makes a joke good? Conversely, what makes a joke bad? How is this contingent on the ending of the joke?