14 Abr As the story begins, Scott Carey is a man of “above average” size with a wife and daughter
Subtext Here Matheson seems to be touching on the fear and angst that can accompany someone regarding the physical act of love when dealing with excessive shrinkage
While on the ocean, he is doused with “radioactive” water that causes him to immediately begin shrinking. From there the story is told through two interweaving plot lines. The “present” shows Scott when he is shudder 5/7 of an inch big, hiding in his basement and living a survivors existence trying to find food and water while battling a Black Widow spider and an oversized pussy cat (the obvious symbolic meaning of these two are discussed below). Meanwhile, the second plot thread is a series of “flashbacks” in which we see Scott dwindle from his above average size all the way down to the point where Scott is so small that he no longer even sees himself as a man.
It is during these flashbacks that I think Matheson's writing and story-telling is at its most poignant and compelling.