Q. How did the invisible man first become visible?
Ans. The invisible man swallowed certain rare drugs and his body became as transparent as a sheet of glass. The invisible man was a scientist. He carried out numerous experiments to prove that the human body could become invisible.
Q. Why was he wandering the streets?
Ans. Griffin was a brilliant scientist but a lawless person. His landlord disliked him and tried to eject him. In revenge Griffin set fire to the house. To get away without being seen he had to remove his clothes. Thus he became a homeless wanderer.
Q. Why does Mrs Hall find the scientist eccentric?
Ans. Mrs Hall tried her level best to befriend Griffin. But he had no desire to talk. He told her that he came to Iping for solitude. He did not wish to be disturbed in his work.
Q. What curious episode occurs in the study?
Ans. A clergyman and his wife were awakened by noises in the study very early in the morning. Creeping downstairs, they heard the chink of money being taken from the clergyman’s desk. He and his wife looked under the desk and behind the curtains, and even up the chimney. There wasn’t a sign of anybody. Yet the desk had been opened and the housekeeping money was missing.
Q. What other extraordinary things happen at the inn?
Ans. The landlord and his wife are surprised to see the scientist’s door open. Usually it is shut and locked and he becomes furious if anyone enters his room. The opportunity seems too good to be missed. They peep round the door, see nobody and decide to investigate. The bedclothes were cold, showing that the scientist must have been up for some time. All of a sudden Mrs Hall heard a sniff close to her ear. A moment later the hat on the bed post leapt up and dashed itself into her face. Then the bedroom chair became alive. Springing into the air it charged straight at her, legs foremost. As she and her husband turned away in terror, the extraordinary chair pushed them both out of the room and then appeared to slam and lock the door after them. Mrs Hall almost fell down the stairs in hysterics. She was convinced that the room was haunted by spirits and that the stranger had somehow caused these to enter into the furniture.
Q. ‘‘Griffin was rather a lawless person.’’ Comment.
Ans. It is rightly said that Griffin was a lawless person. He was not a law abiding citizen. A person who follows law and order of the country cannot think of damaging other’s property. But Griffin set fire to the house and became a homeless wanderer. He also robbed a shopkeeper of all the money he could find. He stole the housekeeping money from the clergyman’s desk. Griffin also attacked Mrs Hall when she entered his room. All these activities and instances prove that he was really a lawless person.
Q. How would you assess Griffin as a scientist?
Ans. Griffin had carried out experiment after experiment to prove that the human body could become invisible. He did not want to do it for the welfare of society but to satisfy his own ego and carry out satanic deeds. He was a brilliant scientist but not a law-abiding citizen. A scientist’s work is to invent those gadgets and devices which can make the earthly existence comfortable. But Griffin swallowed certain rare drugs and became invisible to torment the innocent people. He was a criminal scientist who had no respect for humanity.
Q. Would you like to become invisible? What advantages and disadvantages do you foresee, if you did?
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Q. Are there forces around us that are invisible, for example, magnetism? Are there aspects of matter that are ‘invisible’ or not visible to the naked eye? What would the world be like if you could see such forces or such aspects of matter? Ans.
Q. What makes glass or water transparent? (What is the scientific explanation for this?) Do you think it would be scientifically possible for a man to become invisible, or transparent? (Keep in mind that writers of science fiction have often turned out to be prophetic in their imagination!)
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