# XII explained — Tarzan and the Ant Men > Chapter companion for Tarzan and the Ant Men by Edgar Rice Burroughs. ## What happens Tarzan, now reduced to Minunian size, is a slave in Veltopismakus. He quarrels with Caraftap, who is jealous of Talaskar's admiration for Tarzan. Kalfastoban intervenes, threatening Tarzan and expressing intent to purchase Talaskar. Komodoflorensal, disguised as Aoponato, reveals to Tarzan that he has been shrunk by the wizard Zoanthrohago. Meanwhile, in the forest, the Alalus men, now armed with spears and bows, successfully drive off a woman who attempted to capture them, marking a shift in the balance of power between the sexes. ## Themes in this chapter ### Power and Hierarchy The chapter explores power dynamics among slaves, between slaves and masters (Kalfastoban), and between Alalus men and women as the men assert dominance with new weapons. ### Scale and Perspective Tarzan discovers he has been reduced to Minunian size, challenging his perception of reality and the relative scale of the world around him. ### Survival and Adaptation Tarzan adapts to his new life as a slave, while the Alalus men adapt to using weapons to defend themselves and change their societal roles. ## Character check-ins ### Tarzan Reduced to Minunian size, he is a slave in Veltopismakus. He defeats Caraftap in a fight and learns from Komodoflorensal that he was shrunk by Zoanthrohago. ### Komodoflorensal Disguised as the slave Aoponato, he reveals to Tarzan that he has been reduced in size by the wizard Zoanthrohago. ### Kalfastoban The Vental who intervenes in the fight between Tarzan and Caraftap, threatening Tarzan and announcing his intention to purchase Talaskar. ### Talaskar A slave girl who admires Tarzan's strength and intercedes for him with Kalfastoban, drawing unwanted attention from the Vental. ### Caraftap A jealous slave who attacks Tarzan and is defeated. He is a favorite of Kalfastoban. ### Zoanthrohago The wizard of Veltopismakus who captured Tarzan and reduced him in size using scientific and miraculous means. ## Key lines > “But your stature! You are as large as I. It is beyond me. What has happened to swell the race of Minunians to such relatively gigantic proportions?” Komodoflorensal smiled. “Human egotism would not permit you to attribute this change to an opposite cause from that to which you have ascribed it,” he said. Tarzan knit his brows and gazed long and thoughtfully at his royal friend. An expression that was of mingled incredulity and amusement crept gradually over his countenance. “You mean,” he asked slowly, “that I have been reduced in size to the stature of a Minunian?” Tarzan is astonished to find Komodoflorensal his own size, and the prince explains that Tarzan has been shrunk to Minunian proportions rather than the Minunians having grown. _Reveals the key plot point of Tarzan's reduction in size and the shift in perspective._ > “It was Zoanthrohago who captured you,” continued Aoponato, “encompassing your fall by means at once scientific and miraculous. After you had fallen he caused you to lose consciousness and while you were in that condition you were dragged hither by a score of diadets hitched to a hastily improvised litter built of small trees tied securely one to the other, after their branches had been Komodoflorensal explains that Zoanthrohago used a combination of science and magic to capture Tarzan, rendering him unconscious and transporting him to Veltopismakus. _Provides background on how Tarzan was captured and reduced._ > “I shall see your master and purchase you,” he announced. “Take no mate.” Tarzan was looking at Talaskar and it seemed that he could see her wilt, as a flower wilts in noxious air Kalfastoban tells Talaskar he will buy her, causing her to visibly despair at the prospect. _Highlights the power imbalance and threat to Talaskar's autonomy._ > She recalled the corpses of women she had seen in the forest and the dearth of men for the past several moons, and though she was dull of wit yet she was not without reasoning faculties and so she compared these facts with the occurrences of the past few seconds with a resultant judgment that sent her lumbering away, in the direction from which she had come, as fast as her hairy legs could carry her An Alalus woman, wounded by the men's new weapons, realizes the danger and flees, connecting the recent deaths of women to the armed men. _Illustrates the shift in power as Alalus men use weapons to defend themselves._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/tarzan_and_the_ant_men_se/chapters/xii - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/tarzan_and_the_ant_men_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/tarzan_and_the_ant_men_se/chapters