# The Man Who Became Smaller explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by Fyodor Sologub.

## What happens

A man buys a very small house and plot of land, feels unhappy, and is advised by an old sparrow to take reducing drops from a German apothecary. He becomes tiny, finds everything fits, sublets the house and land for profit, grows rich, but is then snatched by a crow to feed its young, regretting his decision too late.

## Themes in this chapter

### Illusion vs. Reality

The man's belief that becoming smaller will solve his unhappiness proves illusory; his prosperity is shattered by the crow.

### Freedom and Confinement

The man's initial confinement by his tiny property is replaced by a new confinement of greed and ultimately literal captivity in the crow's nest.

## Key lines

> The man replied in a very reasonable way: “I should be indeed glad to do so, but unfortunately I was born such a giant.”

The man sensibly said he would like to shrink but couldn't because he was naturally large.

_Highlights the man's logical yet futile response to the sparrow's absurd suggestion._

> He divided up the house into sections, and let them out to other little men in order to gain a large profit out of his small fortune.

He partitioned the house and rented rooms to other tiny people to maximize his income.

_Illustrates the man's entrepreneurial turn and the theme of greed._

> But a huge crow happened to fly by, caught the little man by his collar, and took him off to its nest, to feed its tots with.

A large crow snatched the little man by his collar and carried him away to feed its young.

_The ironic and grim conclusion where the man's success is undone by a predator._

## Links

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