THE INVISIBLE MAN ( Chapte1-10) Chapter 1 Q1. Describe the arrival of the stranger in “Coach and Horses”.
Ans. The stranger arrived on a snowy winter day at the inn “Coaches and Horse” in the village of Iping. He came carrying a briefcase and almost staggered into the inn crying for shelter and warmth of fire. He threw two sovereigns on the table as the rent without any haggling. His appearance somewhat startled the hostess Mrs Hall but she was extremely pleased because getting a visitor in harsh winter months was quite rare. What made her happier was the fact that he paid her a handsome amount without striking any bargain. She tried her best to please the visitor by providing him food and comfort she also tried to make some polite conversation but the visitor did not want to interact much with anyone. In fact he seemed to be quite rude, curt and reserved. Ultimately Mrs hall took the hint and left him on his own. Q2 Describe the appearance of Mr Griffin and how did Mrs Hall take to his awkward and somewhat scary look? Ans. Mrs Hall is quite confused by the appearance of the stranger. He is covered from head to toe, wearing a large rim hat and huge goggles and a scarf covering the lower part of his face. The only part visible on his face is his shiny pink nose. Initially he refuses to remove his hat and the coat but later when he finally removes the hat, Mrs hall notices that his entire head is swathed in a bandage. She thinks he must have endured some accident. She tries to express her sympathy but the visitor does not want to prolong this conversation and cuts her short. She feels that may be he was sensitive about this topic of accident and does not pursue the topic. She certainly finds him rude but does not mind much because of the fair amount of money paid by him. According to Mrs Hall he resembles a driving helmet. Even while eating his food he keeps his face covered with the serviette. Q3. What impression does one form about Mrs Hall in the first two chapters? Q4. Describe the initial setting of the novel. How is it relevant to the tone and the theme? Ans . Most of the early events take place in the small town of Iping in England in the 1890's. The story begins on a desolate snowy winter day. The harsh weather combined with solitude of the place adds to the grim topic and the tone of the novel. The place being too small, people take note of any small event taking place in one another’s life, hence the arrival of the invisible man becomes a hot topic of conversation. In this small town of Iping and the surrounding area , there are a couple of pubs and an inn, which provide a natural opportunity for people to spread rumours, speculate on mysterious issues, and expand on each other’s stories. The residents of the area are simple, naïve and generally
uneducated so the concept of having an invisibility in the vicinity seems to be believable to them.
Chapter 2 Q5. Who is Teddy Henfry and how does he react to the presence of Mr Griffin in the inn? Ans. Teddy Henfry is a clock repairman who comes to visit the inn for a cup of tea. Mrs. Hall asks him to repair the clock in the stranger’s room. Teddy deliberately takes as long as he can with the clock, taking it apart and reassembling it for no reason as he wanted to get some information. The stranger finally gets angry and asks him to hurry up and leave. Offended, Teddy starts believing that the stranger must be a criminal wanted by the police and is wrapped up to conceal his identity. Teddy runs into Mr. Hall and warns him about the stranger, informing him that the stranger intends to stay for a long time as his has a lot of luggage coming. Teddy is a character typical of the other people of the town. He wants to know the man’s story, and when he is snubbed for his inquiries, he begins to imagine all sorts of things. Q6. Describe the meeting between Teddy Henfry and Mr. Hall. Why has the author included such minor incidents in the story? Ans. Teddy Henfry meets Mr. Hall while returning from the inn after mending Mrs. Hall’s parlour clock. He is visibly upset because of the rudeness and curtness shown by Griffin. He tells Mr Hall that his wife had made a mistake by keeping the strange looking man in the inn. He tries to convince Mr Hall that their guest was extremely weird and horrible looking and could spell trouble for them. Such minor characters as well as the incident have been included in the story to give a realistic picture of the society as well as the time. Iping being a small village, it was quite common that any major or minor news would spread like wild fire. People loved to talk and gossip; they had lot of time at their hand and took keen interest in everyone’s life. The conversation between Teddy and Mr. Hall also shows their background and lack of education. Q.7 Give a character sketch of Teddy Henfry. Q8. Give a character sketch of Mr. Hall.
Chapter 3 Q9. What happens after Griffin’s luggage is brought by Fearenside? Ans. As soon as the luggage arrives at the inn Griffin shows his impatience. People are really astonished to see the type and the amount of luggage. It includes boxes containing books, a large number of crates containing glass bottles and many other items. He is desperate to take them in his room and start his experiment. However, as soon as he comes down he is attacked by cart man Fearenside’s dog. The dog tears open
his trouser leg with his teeth and Griffin immediately runs to his room. Mr Hall follows him to his room and tries to offer help but Griffin pushes him out of his room vehemently which really shocks and surprises Mr Hall. He also gets a glimpse of Griffin’s strange white face and a handless arm. Griffin comes back after changing his trousers and directs Fearenside to carry the luggage to his room. Q10. Describe the desperation and frustration in the behaviour of Griffin? What does it show? Ans. The moment his luggage arrives at the inn, Mr Griffin shows his impatience to take everything to his room and begin with his work. He does not bother to remove the straw from the carpet which really upsets Mrs Hall. He starts performing experiments without any delay and remains engrossed in his work for most of the day. He makes it very clear to her that he does not want to be interrupted and disturbed. Mrs Hall can at times hear his angry and frustrated voice, his frantic movements and pacing in the room. Once in a while he breaks into violent rage and throws glass bottles on the floor. Later when she points out the stain on the floor and the broken glass, he tells her to put in on his bill. This behavior shows that Griffin is unable to do what he is aiming for and thus gets violent and irritated.
Chapter 4 Q11 How did Mr Hall react to Griffin’s stay at the inn “Coach and Horses”? Ans. Mr Hall was extremely unhappy with his wife’s decision of keeping the stranger in the inn. He disliked Griffin’s arrogant attitude and his complete disregard for everyone present. The people around him including Teddy Henfry also tried to discourage him in this matter. They felt that Mrs Hall was being too trustworthy and stranger could not be trusted at all. Mr Hall tried to convince his wife but he was a weak person and his wife was quite forceful. Mrs Hall also told her husband that the stranger was paying all his bills on time, which was quite good. She also told him that it was quite difficult to get a paying guest during winter season so they should allow him to stay at the inn. Mr Hall had to accepts the arguments given by his wife in spite of his unwillingness. Q12.How did the people in the village react to Griffin’s presence? Ans. The villagers disliked Griffin’s appearance as well as his temperament. He rarely left his room during the daytime, continued to be frustrated and violent in his behaviour and did not interact at all with anyone. He usually went out at twilight and chose lonely paths and shady roads. People often felt scared when they saw his bandaged face and huge goggles. During the night when labourers or children came across this ghastly stranger, they were scared out of their wits. They started calling him ‘The Bogey Man’. At times they used to walk behind him imitating his strange mannerisms. Miss Statchell even sang the popular song of Bogey Man. What annoyed the villagers most was his complete
disregard for any interaction with them. Most of them considered his presence in the inn to be a danger to the community and they felt that Mrs Hall had made a grave mistake in allowing him to stay there without even knowing his real name. The whole village was abuzz with various rumours about the identity of Griffin. Q13. What were the speculations made about the invisible man by the residents of Iping? Ans. Despite Mrs Hall maintaining her view that Griffin was an experimental investigator, the villagers were of different views. Many of them thought that he was a criminal who had taken shelter in the inn to hide from the police. The very fact that he had remained completely hidden under a cover of bandages supported this view. Some of them thought that he was an Anarchist in disguise and was trying to prepare some explosives. There was another school of thought which believed that he was just a harmless lunatic trying to stay away from the public eye. Many including Mr Fearenside believed that the Griffin was trying his piebald appearance by using the bandages. The villagers could not assign any particular crime to him as no criminal activity had taken place since his arrival till the month of April. However, ther were extremely suspicious about his movements. On the whole they agreed on disliking him. His mannerisms and the nature of his work were quite puzzling to the quiet Sussex villagers. Q14. Describe Mr Cuss’s Interview with Griffin. Ans. Mr Cuss was the General Practitioner ans was quite curious about Griffin. He, being a doctor, felt that Griffin’s bandaged appearance might be of interest to him. He went to meet Griffin under the guise of raising a fund for appointing of a village nurse. Griffin, as expected was extremely upset by this untimely and unwanted visit. He was quite amazed when he saw that a large number of test tubes, glass bottles and various colourful chemicals in Griffin’s room. It seemed that Griffin was performing an experiment or doing some research. When Cuss asked him questions about the research Griffin got extremely angry and agitated. Cuss also saw a piece of paper lying on the table on which Griffin had written the names of some chemicals. A gust of air made the paper fly and as Griffin tried to catch the paper, Cuss could see that the sleeve of his shirt was empty. Cuss was quite stunned and asked Griffin that how could he raise his shirt sleeve in the air without anything inside it. Griffin got angry and tried to hit Cuss with his hand. Cuss could feel the blow but again could not see Griffin’s hand. The whole incident shook the doctor extremely and he narrated it to the vicar, Mr Bunting.
Chapter 5 Q15. Describe the burglary at the vicarage. Ans. On Whit Monday, Mrs. Bunting, the vicar’s wife woke up suddenly just before the dawn, with the strong impression that the door of their bedroom had opened and closed. She did not awaken her husband at first, but sat up in bed listening to footsteps and other movements. Later, she awakened the
Rev. Mr. Bunting who also heard a fumbling going on at his study desk downstairs, and then a violent sneeze. The two watched and listened as a candle was lit and papers were rustled in the study. They heard the clink of money, and realised that the robber had found the housekeeping reserve of gold. Rev. Bunting rushed into the study with a raised poker, but the room appeared to be empty. Their money disappeared and at one point they heard a sneeze in the hallway but were unable to locate or see the intruder. Both of them were extremely shaken and incredibly confused.
Chapter 6 Q16. Why were Mr and Mrs hall suspicious about Griffin when they found him missing from his room? Ans. The Halls arise very early in the morning on Whit-Monday in order to take care of some private business having something to do with their wine cellar. In passing by the guest’s room, Mr. Hall notices that the door is ajar. A few minutes later, he sees that the bolts on the front door of the house are unlocked although he remembers shutting them on the previous night. The guest is not in his room, but his clothes, shoes, and even his hat are scattered about. Both he and his wife try to investigate the matter when strange events take place which force them to believe in the presence of a super natural element in the room. Q17. What strange incidents made people believe in the presence of an evil spirit in the house and the furniture? Ans. After finding the room of the stranger unoccupied and his only set clothes and hat lying on the bed Mr and Mrs hall get suspicious. They decided ti investigate the matter. As they were inspecting the stranger’s room, most extraordinary things happened—the bed-clothes gathered themselves together, leapt up suddenly into a sort of peak, and then jumped over the bottom rail. It was exactly as if a hand had clutched them in the centre and flung them aside. Immediately after, the stranger’s hat hopped off the bed-post and then dashed straight at Mrs. Hall’s face and then came the sponge from the washstand. Later the chair turned itself up with its four legs at Mrs. Hall, and charged at her. She screamed and turned, and then the chair legs came gently but firmly against her back and impelled her and Hall out of the room. The door slammed violently and was locked. Mrs. Hall immediately assumed that the stranger had put ghosts into her furniture.
Chapter 7 Q18. What forces the stranger to reveal his identity? Which aspect of his personality does this incident reveal?(Chapter 7) Ans. The stranger remains locked in the parlour all morning. He rings his bell for Mrs. Hall several times, but she does not answer it. About noon, he emerges and demands to know why his meals have not been brought to him. Mrs. Hall tells him that his bill has not been paid in five days. She refuses to accept the excuse that he is waiting for a remittance. When he produces some money, she refuses it, saying she first wants to know why he doesn’t enter by doorways and move about like normal people. The Halls
have also heard some rumours about the burglary the night before. They feel that the stranger was responsible for it. Everyone at the bar is interested in the strange behaviour of the stranger. They want answers. Finally, the stranger gets so fed up that he reveals himself to the people at the bar. He removes all his head wrappings, including his nose and moustache. He thus looks like a person with a missing head. This incident shows his desperate state and his frustration. This also highlights that he felt helpless dealing with the situation he had fallen into. Q19. Describe the reaction of the villagers after they come to know about his condition. What transpire later on?(Chapter7) Ans. As soon as the stranger revealed his condition there was commotion in the inn. The village people were horrified to see him. They were prepared for scars and ugliness, but not for invisibility. They started screaming. Everyone on the street, the sweet-stuff seller, cocoanut shy proprietor and his assistant, the swing man, little boys and girls, rustic dandies, smart wenches, elders and gipsies began running towards the inn. Eventually, Constable Jaffers came to arrest the stranger but when he got to the inn he found a headless figure eating some bread and cheese. He tried to arrest him but soon Griffin- the Invisible Man strated taking off his clothes in an attempt to escape. He tried to fight with the crowd and finally took off all his clothes making him totally invisible. It became impossible to chase him and he escaped. People stood amazed and then came panic. Q20. What does the reaction of the villagers to this disclosure of Griffin reflect of the society and the place? Ans. In Iping, everyone knows everyone else. It's a very sociable, tight community. This little community doesn't know what to do with the Invisible Man. After learning about Griffin’s invisibility they are amazed and shocked but for their own small reasons. They believe in rumours and love to spread them around. They are uneducated, coarse and outspoken. In spite of being vary of Griffin they are angry at him and want to get him punished for his actions. They consider him to be a misfit in their society. At this time they are unable to understand the seriousness of the situation. Constable Jaffers also keeps repeating that he has to arrest him whether visible or not. This episode shows their naivety and narrow vision.
Chapter 8 Q21. Who is Gibbins? Why does the author include him in the story? Gibbons is an amateur naturalist of the district. He is relaxing out on the downs and hears someone coughing, sneezing and swearing. He can’t see a soul within a couple of miles of him, According to him the voice is indisputable. Whoever it is, the person continues to swear the swearing is indicative of a cultivated man. It grew to a climax, diminished again, and died away in the distance. Gibbons has heard nothing of the morning's occurrences, but the phenomenon was so striking and disturbing that he out of fear and anxiety hurries towards the village. The incident though very small and inconsequential highlights the simple-mindedness of an Iping villager and the effect of Griffin’s presence in the place.
Chapter 9 Q21. What is the impression created by Thomas Marvel during his first appearance? Why and how Griffin did choose him to provide him help? Ans. Thomas Marvel is the local tramp. He is harmless, eccentric, fat, but not nearly as foolish as Griffin thinks he is. His appearance and mannerism suggest that he led a life of isolation. His unkempt and shabby clothes also suggest that he led a bachelor’s life. He wastes his time doing frivolous things. Griffin chose him for help as he was also an outcast like Griffin. Griffin considered him to be an easy target. Marvel also accepted Griffin’s invisibility without much ado as an invisible man. Griffin lured him into helping him by telling him about his enormous power as an invisible person. He told him that together they could do anything. Marvel accepted this offer because he was tempted as well as scared of saying no.
Chapter 10 Q22. How does the village of Iping cope with the incident of the Griffin’s true revelation? What happened in the late afternoon? Ans. After the panic created by Griffin the villagers were full of scepticism. For those who had seen him disappearing in front of their eyes, it was easy to believe so but for others it was still quite unimaginable. Some like Mr. Wadgers retired behind the bolts and bars of his own house for their safety, and some like Jaffers were still stunned and stayed in the parlour of the Coach and Horses. People still wanted to celebrate Whit-Monday and by the afternoon they were beginning to resume their little amusements. In the late afternoon, Mr. Marvel entered town as observed by Huxter. He made his way down the street almost reluctantly and stopped at the steps of the Coach & Horses. He seemed to undergo a great struggle before finally entering the inn. A few minutes later, he emerged, apparently having had a drink, and walked as if he was trying to act calm. Soon he disappeared into the yard and re-emerges with a bundle wrapped in a tablecloth. Huxter thought some robbery had taken place and tried to follow Marvel when he was tripped in a mysterious manner.
