The Chameleon

[Thomas]

This short short story features a pair of policemen, like "The Swedish Match", and the back-and-forth banter that characterized that story is present here as well. The story opens with a wonderful image: "There is silence all around... Not a soul in the square... The wide open doors of the shops and taverns look out dolefully on the world, like hungry jaws..."

The silence is broken by a shout, and after the third or fourth paragraph the story is told almost exclusively through the voices of the characters.

A Chameleon is story #018 on the Eldritch Press website: http://www.eldritchpress.org/ac/jr/01...

[Sue]

Oh, yes, this is a delightful tale and quite true in how things do often play out! Were the General not to be mentioned, the poor dog's fate would have been sealed in a grim manner. But alas, new insight was provided by the connection to the General, new considerations to be made!

[Susan]

Chekhov makes comic the sort of special treatment that is no joke in real life. The chameleon is an interesting name for the story since the animal changes involuntarily depending on the background.

[Susan]

Sue wrote: "Oh, yes, this is a delightful tale and quite true in how things do often play out! Were the General not to be mentioned, the poor dog's fate would have been sealed in a grim manner. But alas, new i..."

I confess I was rooting for the dog here, especially once his motive for biting was revealed.

[Tamara]

Susan wrote: "Chekhov makes comic the sort of special treatment that is no joke in real life. The chameleon is an interesting name for the story since the animal changes involuntarily depending on the background."

I think you're right in that the animal changes depending on its perceived circumstances. But I think the police superintendent and the policeman are also chameleons because their attitude shifts depending on the changing circumstances of the dog's ownership. They also seem to feed off each other in that as soon as one says something, the other agrees with him.

[Bigollo]

Tamara wrote: "But I think the police superintendent and the policeman are also chameleons because their attitude shifts depending on the changing circumstances of the dog's ownership. They also seem to feed off each other in that as soon as one says something, the other agrees with him. "

As I see it, there is only one chameleon in the story though. And that is the superintendent.
The policeman is more like part of the environment. He's merely thinking out loud; it's just that his thought processing is sort of.. delayed.

[Genni]

Susan wrote: "Chekhov makes comic the sort of special treatment that is no joke in real life. The chameleon is an interesting name for the story since the animal changes involuntarily depending on the background."

Seeking clarification:
So you feel that the chameleon title doesn't quite fit because the superintendent is changing voluntarily rather than involuntarily? Or rather that the title is interesting because it is the perfect fit?

[Susan]

Genni wrote: Seeking clarification.

Yes, my initial thought was the chameleon title didn't fit exactly because the superintendent's switches in position were voluntary. But since reading The Darling and the discussion on that story, I wonder whether the superintendent's changes were under his control or just instinctive (or engrained behavior), which would make the title a perfect fit?