THE INVISIBLE MAN QUESTION AND ANSWERS 1.
Dr. Kemp comes out a character with great grit and determination. Also bring out the qualities that make him different from Griffin. Kemp comes out as a man of grit and determination because he was the first person who analysed the existence of the Invisible Man without any trace of or apprehension. He was a well qualified scientist who was working on a project which he hoped would win him a fellowship of Royal Society. This tall and slender young man with flaxen hair and almost white moustache had a rational and logical approach to the happenings around him. Thus he scoffed at the idea of the invisible Man and those who believed in the existence of such an absurd being were looked upon by him with contempt. Mr. Kemp was a keen observer and a self confident scientist who examined the first traces of the Invisible Man’s presence in his house/ On coming face to face with him, Kemp did not get startled. He never lost his cool and in a very calm and composed manner, he heard Griffin’s entire story with patience and assured to respect his freedom. However when he came down to his study and read all the reports about the Invisible Man as printed by the newspapers, he sent a word to the police chief, Colonel Adye to come and arrest this criminal;. Kemp’s determination to check any potential threat to the society and his grot to contain the unchecked terror caused by the Invisible Man was thus fully established. However this breach of trust on the part of Kemp in no way be called a betrayal because he toolk this step in the larger interest of the welfare of the society. The manner in which he arranged and organized the arrest of Griffin also indicates the dominance of his moral strength over any other human weakness. Of course his chicken-heartedness’ is indicated a t one stage in the story when he leaves behind the two policemen and escapes quietly from his house, but this action later becomes part of his strategy to get the Invisible Man arrested. (In college Kemp was Grffin’s senior, but Kemp was not violent or given to fits of madness, he not impulsive and had a logical thinking. On the other had Griffin, because of his boundless ambition became anti-social and isolated himself from rest of the world. In his pursuit he loses his humanity and allows himself to become a slave of negative forces. Inspite of his negativity, Griffin emerges as the central, the pivotal character of the story, Dr. Kemp is sidelined. It so happens to some extent because of his escapist nature and lack of courage.) Thus Kemp earns the admiration of the readers for the qualities of grit and determination that employs to rescue everyone from the evil Invisible Man.
2.
Griffin was a brilliant scientist but a depraved human. Draw a pen-portrait of Griffin in this context. Griffin was a very intelligent and hard working scientist who put in all heart and soul into his research. He worked with a focused mind and stopped at nothing short in pursuit of his scientific goal to achieve invisibility. Unfortunately his passion warped into an obsession and he stooped to pits of depravity. Griffin was a student of medicine at the University College where he won a medal for excellence in chemistry. He was almost an albino, six feet high and broad with a pink and white face and red eyes. His keen interest in light drew him to physics. Fascinated by optical density, he moved to Chesilstowe after leaving London. At that time he was twenty two years old and full of enthusiasm. He worked as a lecturer in a provincial college with his superiors and his peers, he worked stealthily so that he wouldn’t have to share the credit of his work with anybody. He cut himself off from normal social life and withdrew into the dark interiors of selfishness.
His poverty drove him to the extent of robbing his own father, creating such a situation that that the old man had to commit suicide in order to escape humiliation. The lack of remorse at the death of his father was a firm point when this otherwise brilliant scientist turned into a self-centred, selfish and callous man. Throwing to winds all ethics and morality, Griffin grew short tempered, intolerant and vindictive. He finally succeeded in his ambition but the unforeseen problems that were generated because of his invisible condition compelled him to move to Iping, a remote village. Embittered by his pseudo success Griffin continued to fall morally. He made life miserable for the people of Iping, especially that of the Hall couple. He resorted to theft robbery, and terror to proclaim a false sense of superiority. The absence of humane sensitivity in Griffin became clear when he forced a vulnerable Marvel to be his accomplice. The brutal manner in which he killed Wicksteed and chased Kemp to avenge treachery marked the eventual destruction of goodness ,mercy and kindness that are trademark of an intelligent scientist. Therefore Griffin’s character comes out more as a wicked, crazy and heinous criminal than a responsible scientist. 3. What forced Griffin to become ‘a bandaged caricature of a man’ a wrapped up mystery? Due to his invisibility, Griffin could not go out in the cold. The falling snow would create an outline of his body thus detecting his presence. The cold would also make him sneeze and the imprints of his feet in the mud would also show. In this condition, being invisible he would get hit by people could also get run over by carriages. In order to get himself some clothes and a face mask he entered a costume shop. The owner suspecting his presence chased him all over the place. Griffin had to gag the owner and came out dressed like a theatrical character. As he could not eat in public without exposing his face, he had to leave his meal in a public restaurant untouched. He had to satiate his hunger at an ordinary place. Indeed he was wrapped up all over and looked quite a mystery to everyone. 4.
Highlighting the facts from the novel, how can you say that the Invisible man is against traditional moral values? Griffin stands for science without humanity. Substantiate. In the novel, the writer seems to highlight the modern man going astray, digressing from the path of righteousness against traditional moral values. Griffin symbolises the careless youngsters of today who can go to any extent to satisfy their desires and ambition. Griffin was I college when he became so involved with his extraordinary experiments, he kept them a secret. Griffin had initially robbed his own father to further his project. His father committed suicide, but Griffin remained unaffected and unrepentant over the folly. He was after his dream of becoming invisible without visualizing the consequences of his obsession. Initially he had not planned to try the experiments on himself. The Jewish landlord and the neighbor lady forced him to hide his work. Griffin comes out in the novel as a wayward irresponsible character who does not care about anyone and destroys the peaceful harmony of a village community. He is an antisocial being devoid of human values. almost goes to the extent of madness and just takes advantage of anyone and of any situation. He becomes a scheming mind devoid of any scruples just reason without any religion at all. He never goes to church on Sunday, this quite upsets the villages. Without trace of humanity he al logic and nothing else. The writer Wells directly attacks the fast life of London City. Every individual seems to be lost. The unfeeling uncaring character of the big city leaves Griffin also hurt. He feels he has no one to call his own, with whom he could open his heart and share his feelings.
5. Ambition if not checked can cloud the judgement of the person and bring his doom. Justify in the light of the novel the Invisible Man. The central character of the story Griffin is a psychopathic scientist. He had this ambition to become powerful and rule the world. He works day and night on the theory of invisibility. In his desperation to e, he robbed his own father, who commits suicide. He is immersed in himself that he loses all sense of right and wrong. He cut himself off from everyone else, whom he felt was not need or was useless to him. Once in order to hide his work he even set fire to the house where he was working. He became violent when he felt he was being suspected. He tends to misuse his indivisibility and all his activities lead him nowhere and finally he meets his end in tragic circumstances. 6. Write about Mr and Mrs Hall. Mr. George Hall is the hen-pecked husband of Mrs. Hall and assist in running the inn ‘Coaches and Horses’. He is a drunkard who cannot be entrusted with responsibilities. However he is not careless or casual. He rushes to the inn when Teddy Henfrey tells him about the strange guest that his wife has taken in. Similarly he rushes to check in the well-being of the invisible Man whe he is bitten by Ferenside’s dog. In Iping, he was the first one to notice that Griffin, the mysterious man was invisible. The incident when a dog bites Griffin and his glove is torn happened in front of Mr. Hall. He followed Griffin to his room to discover the handless man as it appears to Hall. Mrs. Janny Hall is the owner of the inn ‘Coaches and Horses’. She is friendly, simple, down to earth kind of lady. The first impression that she creates presents her in an unpleasant light. She rents the inn parlour to a stranger without bothering about his credentials simply because he projects himself as a rich customer. At this point she appears to be an opportunist and money-minded woman. She loves and enjoys talking to her guests. However the manner in which she puts up with the rude behavior of Griffin shows that she was actually a very polite hostess who took her duty seriously.She goes out her way to make her guests comfortable. Her courteous behavior and her hospitality win the appreciation of the readers. Mrs. Hall is quite perturbed by the behavior of the stranger. She also does not know what to do with his ill temper. But her polite temperament does not make her weak in any way. When the Invisible Man crosses all limits of etiquettes, Mrs. Hall firmly puts her foot down. She does take a strong hand when she refuses to offer any food, till she had received her dues. She stands up courageously against the arrogant Griffin. She charts her way without letting even her husband to influence her. Mrs. Hall can thus be considered as an independent businesswoman eho is capable of taking her decisions without any support or assistance from others. 7. The title of the novel The Invisible Man ’. The Invisible Man’ is a celebrated story by H.G.Wells about a brilliant scientist whose overambition and lust for unchallengeable power led him to dissociate himself from his brethren and eventually caused his downfall . The story of the novel revolves around Griffin’s invention that helped him to disappear from the eyes of his fellowbeing and the consequences of invisibility. The entire plot is woven with episodes that describe the uncompromising efforts made by Griffin to accomplish his dream and his failure to handle the subsequent situations. The novel opens with the appearance of the Invisible Man in the ‘Coach and Horses’which is followed by the curiosity and commotion that he created in Iping. His encounter with Marvel, the burglary and thefts that he commits, his plan to unleash a reign of terror and his unrelenting motives to destroy peace and harmony are the various developments through which the story establishes its title – ‘The Invisible Man’. Every episode and each event point towards the Invisible Man and his doings and misdoings. His eccentric obsession with invisibility and his pleasure at terrorizing the vulnerable villagers points out to the reader that the story is all about an invisible man.
Since the novel vividly traces the invention, the advantages and the disadvantages of invisibility, the title ‘the Invisible Man’ becomes an apt title for the novel. 8. Describe the final chase where the hunter is Hunted’. What do you learn from it? The final chase begins with Kemp running in terror of the Invisible Man, to his neighbor Mr. Heelas’ house. Mr. Heelas who already heard about Mr. Kemp being chased by the Invisible Man refuses to give him refuge in his house. Forced to run again, Kemp ran wherever with all his might. All along he saw houses locked and barred by hi sown orders. He, in his terror, imagined footsteps behind him, he even thought of jumping into a passing tram. At that time he was hit under the car and went reeling towards his unseen antagonist, hit under the jaw again and sprawled on the ground. A couple of eager hands gripped his throat. Kemp grasped the wrists and heard a cry of pain from his assailants. The grip at his throat relaxed and with a tremendous effort, Kemp freed himself and grasped a shoulder and rolled over it. “I have got him”, Kemp screamed “Help,Help!-Hold! Hold his feet. In a second there was a rush and Kemp could hear only sounds of blows and heavy breathing. The Invisible Man threw him off a couple of his attackers but Kemp clung on to him. The tram conductor suddenly got the neck and shoulder and hit hard. A wild scream Mercy! Mercy!” was heard and Kemp shouted at men to ‘stand back’ as the men was hurt. Kemp examined the thing unseen on the ground. People were now coming out of the houses. Very little was said by anyone. Suddenly an old woman pointed at the outline of a hand limb and opaque. Slowly the strange change continued and along he limbs the vital centres of the Invisible Man appeared soon. They saw his crushed chest, his shoulders and the dim outline of his drawn and battered features. There lay naked and pitiful o the ground the bruised and broken body of a young man about thirty. His hair and brow were white- not grey with age because he was an albino and his eyes were like garnets. His hands were clenched, eyes wide open, his expression was one of anger and dismay. Someone brought a sheet from the ‘Jolly Cricketrs’ and having covered him, they carried him into that house. And there Griffin the worlds most gifted physicist that the world has ever seen, ended in disaster his strange and terrible career. At the end of the novel, though sorry for Griffin we do not feel any sympathy. He lived violently and died a violent death.He showed no mercy to people he met and the same fate waited him. It also makes one think that science if not used for the service of mankind is evil and is without humanity. Griffin paid a heavy price for using science without humanity for his own l and selfish ends. He becomes inhuman and loses all rights to our compassion. 9. What impression do you form about Colonel Adye after reading the novel? Colonel Adye was the Chief of Police in Burdock. He was a dutiful officer who worked conscientiously and according to the demands of the situations. He responded promptly and fearlessly to Dr. Kemp’s call to arrest the invisible man. Adye also had the will to take quick and wise decisions. He knew that it would not be an easy task to capture Griffin single-handedly, so he decided to get hounds that could sniff and locate the Invisible Man. This venture was indeed an act of bravery because he knew very well that Griffin was present in the compound of the house and could harm him. But a fearless person like Adye could not be intimidated by any threat. He turned around with alacrity to overpower the Invisible Man when the latter tried to move him back into Kemp’s house. Another quality of Adye was his simple and trusting nature which is revealed when he follows all the instructions given by Kemp to arrest the Invisible Man. At the same time, his moral uprightness does surface when he opposes Kemp’s suggestion to spread powdered glass along the path that was expected to be followed by the Invisible Man. But Adye believed that the idea was to injure, by treachery, was unsportsmanlike’. He was a
courageous n and he had immense faith in his ability to capture the culprit solely by his power, this he did not wish to resort to any other ways. Towards the end, the shooting down of Adye by the Invisible Man, evokes both sympathy and admiration for his sincere, committed and brave officer. 10. Different traits of Mr. Heelas Mr. Heelas was Dr. Kemps next door neighbor. He declared that he could not believe what he could not see. Thus, he rubbished all the reports and rumours about the invisible man. To prove his stance on the existence of an invisible being, he purposely ventured outdoors thereby defying the proclaimed threat from the Invisible Man. However, after he was convinced about the presence of the invisible man, Heelas behaved in the most cowardly way. He who had always announced his boldness and bravery, was the first to run for his life. He dashed as fast as his legs could carry him into the safety of his house. He closed all the windows and doors seurely. At the same time he exhibited his moral weakness when he denied help to Kemp by resusing to let him in the house to escape from infuriated Griffin. Heelas slammed the doors in the face of Kemp and refused to render any help only to reveal his true character. Heelas was a mean, thoughtless and selfish man as opposed to his projection as a person who believed only what he saw. Heelas had no principles and ethical values, hence the reader develops a strong dislike for him. He comes put as the kind of man who just focused on saving his own skin and was devoid of any humane obligation.
11. Who Was Professor Oliver? How did he make Griffins’s life miserable? Oliver was a professor in the provincial College at Chesilstowe where Griffin started with his teaching career as well as research to find a formula for invisibility. Oliver was a man without principles. When he learnt that Griffin was working on an unusual protect, this u scrupulous man tried to grab credit for the research. His prying nature caused problems for Griffin and he made his life miserable by repeatedly asking him about the time when he would publish his work. Oliver, being a scientific bounder and a journalist by instinct, wanted to rob Griffin of his ideas. He harassed and victimized this young scientist by posing innumerable difficulties. He was a mean calculating and unscrupulous person who instead of helping out his junior attempted utmost to exploit him and drive him crazy by obstructing his work.
IMPORTANT QUESTIONS 1. What impression id Mrs. Hall form about the stranger’s appearance and behavior? Mrs. Hall was a very observant person. Hence, despite all her joy getting a client for her inn during the winter season, none of the oddities of his appearance and behavior escaped her notice. When he appeared at the inn, Mrs. Hall found her guest all wrapped up from head to foot in his coat, hat, muffler and gloves. The brim of his soft hat hid his face considerably. Only his shiny, pink nose stood out conspicuously on his non-descript face. Later, when he removed his hat, she found his head bandaged all over. His thick black strands of hair showed themselves her and there lending him a very shabby and strange appearance. His big blue spectacles with sidelights completely concealed his eyes. Apart from his strange appearance his behavior was also eccentric. He refused to part with his wet clothes, talked to the ‘lady from behind a table napkin, and displayed an utter reluctance to enter into any sort of conversation with her. Mrs. Hall formed a very negative impression about both the appearance and the behavior of the strange man.
2. Assess the character of Marvel, the tramp Or Do you consider Marvel to be a smart turncoat? Thomsd Marvel was a short, fat tramp who sported a shabby hat and thrived on charity. He was lazy and did not show any intention to work hard for improving his life. Griffin did not have a very h igh opinion about Marvel’s abilities, still he made him his accomplice because Marvel was an obvious weakling who could be easily intimidated. His cowardice did not let him defy Griffins commands. Surprisingly, this apparently good-for-nothing fellow managed to cheat a wicked and dangerously evil man like Griffin. But this act does not make him a turncoat in any way because he assisted Griffin much against his own wish. He was a simple person, ill-equipped in every sense, as compared to the all powerful Invisible Man. He had no choice but to obey each order coming from his self proclaimed master. Marvel was more of a slave than an accomplice in crime. When he succeeded in sneaking away, it was actually to save his life. Of course towards the end he does show smartness by hiding the entire money and the three books of Griffin. However, he exhibits his keen business acumen by wisely investing this money to open an inn. His decision to name this venture after the Invisible Man again shows that Marvel knew how to turn circumstances in his favour. He never revealed to anyone that the three books off Griffin were n his possession. He pondered over them in private trying to figure out the coded message. But once again this was done for survival than treachery. Rthus it would not be fair to consider Marvel a ‘turncoat’.
3. Discuss the major thematic concern of the writer in the novel ‘The Invisible Man’ ‘The Invisible man’ is a celebrated story by H.G. Wells about a brilliant scientist whose overambition and lust for unchallengeable power led him to dissociate himself from his brethren and eventually caused his downfall. The story derives into the them of unregulated human aspirations and follies leading to wasted lives. Griffin was a young science student at the University College. He was a six feet albino ,, lacking pigment in skin, haaair and eyes. He won a medal for excellence in Chemistry but his fascination for light made him drop medicine and he then took up physics. He pursued an unrealistic ambition to find a formula that could make a living being invisible. He followed his target with insane persistence because of which he withdrew himself from everything that could associate him with a normal life. His selfish nature hindered him from sharing the credit of his work with anybody else. He worked singlehandedly and was therefore always alone in his great moments’. He worked in isolation for three long years with absolutely cramped means. Eventually he found it impossible to complete this research because of paucity of money. His obsession with invisibility stripped him of all human emotions and he stooped so low as to rob his own father driving him to commit suicide. An utterly selfish and self centred Griffin did not feel any remorse and slowly turned from bad to worse. His overambition hurled him from the summit of success to the abyss of total disaster and his lust for power and money stripped him of all ethics. More time passed and Griffin finally attained invisibility. This non-human form further cut him from his kind and he resorted to illicit means to provide himself with food and clothing. He robbed, he stole, he hit people, gagged them and terrorized with the intention of letting loose a reign of terror. His untamed ambition and desire and unlimited power made him absolutely inhuman and heartless. An intelligent scientist, who could have made the world a better place, instead became a menace. The downfall caused by his inappropriate desires eventually drove him to his death at the hands of the people. Thus the story of the Invisible Man poignantly elucidates te theme of selfishness, isolation and overambition leading to the irrevocable destruction of a capable life.
CHARACTER SKETCHES Vicar Bunting Mr Bunting was the esteemed vicar of Iping village. His religious position was revered by everyone. He was sincerely involved in thenwell-being of his congregation When Mr. Cuss narrated his strange encounter with the Invisible Man, Bunting did not brush him aside even though he found it to be an implausible story. He listened to Cuss very carefully and calmed him down. Bunting was also abrave man. At the time of burglary in the vicarage he exhibited courage in place of panic. He tried his best to locate and capture the trespassr which was in fact an impossible task owning to the invisible status of Griffin. He keenly involved himself in the investigations to arrest Griffin. He accompanied Cuss to the inn-parlour pondering over the coded books of Griddin The simplicity of Bunting can be seen when he sheepishly tried to hide the fact that he had forgotten the knowledge of Greek. Although a man of religion, Bunting comes out as a responsible member of society. Dr. Cuss Dr. Cuss was the medical practitioner at Iping. He was both a curious and a jealous man. When he heard about the arrival of a strange guest at the inn who possessed more vials and bottles than him, he sought excuse to explore this man. He tried to probe Griffin to make him reveal his purpose. However, when he was scared off by the invisible Man, he tried to think rationally regarding the strange phenomenon. He did not give up his curiosity and shared hi quaint experience with Bunting. Later he explored the belongings of Griffin to clarify his doubts which shows that he was not scared by his earlier experience and was determined to satisfy his curiosity. Therefore Cuss and curiosity appear almost synonymous. Mr. Bobby Jaffers He was the constable of Iping village. He emerges as aa man of serious intent. The devotion, commitment and sincerity with which he comes forth to arrest the headless Griffin, place Jaffers in the league of good men. He had absolute confidence in his ability to arrest any criminal, howeve powerful visible or not visible, as he may be. His sharp and quick reaction when the Invisible Man tried to escape once again showed Jaffers as a dutiful policeman. On his failure to capture Griffin he sinks in gloom which shows that he was upset at having failed to fulfill his duty. This simple man stands as a desired example of professional commitment.
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