The Invisible Man (Novel) Q & A
The Invisible Man (Novel) Q & A
Answer: When Mrs. Hall put the mustard pot over the table in the strange visitor’s
room and asked his hat to let dry, the visitor turned round, face-to-face with Mrs.
Hall. The visitor had raised his head and was looking at her. For a moment, she
stood shocked and gaping wide at him. He held a white cloth over the lower part of
his face, so that his mouth and jaws were completely hidden, causing his muffled
voice. But what shocked Mrs. Hall the most was his forehead, above his blue
glasses, fully covered by a white bandage. Another covered his ears, not leaving an
inch of his face exposed except his pink nose. Mrs. Hall assumed that he might met
with an accident.
Question 2: Why did Mrs. Hall tolerate the strange visitor as long as she does?
Answer: Though Mrs. Hall was continually frustrated by the strange man’s refusal to
talk with her, still Mrs. Hall tolerated the stranger as she had got some gold coins
from this visitor without any condition from his side. Mrs. Hall was too excited to even
remember her guest’s name as it was unusual for a guest to stop by in the cold and
snowy month of February.
Question 3: What was the conversation made between the visitor and Mrs. Hall
when the visitor was smoking a pipe?
Answer: When Mrs. Hall went to clear away the strange visitor’s lunch, he was
smoking a pipe.He told Mrs. Hall that his luggage was at Bramblehurst station. He
enquired how soon he could have it collected. Mrs. Hall told him that it would be
possible only the next day which seemed quite disappointing for him. Answering his
questions about bringing the luggage, Mrs. Hall developed a conversation by
discussing steep roads and accidents.
But the visitor ended their conversation by abruptly asking for some matches as his
pipe was out.
Answer: The strange visitor was wrapped up from head to foot in bandages and
clothes, put on thick gloves. He was wearing a soft felt hat covering his forehead. His
face was covered with bandages with only his shiny nose visible. He is also wearing
spectacles with sidelights, which basically look like goggles. He had covered the
lower part of his face with a napkin, so that his mouth and jaws were completely
hidden, causing his muffled voice. He also wore a dark-brown velvet jacket with a
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high collar turned up about his neck. He tied a silk white muffler round his neck to put
the mouthpiece to his lips.
Answer: Mrs. Hall is the wife of Mr. Hall and the owner of Coach and Horses Inn at
Iping in Sussex. She is a very friendly and down-to-earth woman who enjoys
socialising with her guests. This she had proved by asking for the stranger’s coat to
let it dry in the kitchen.
She tried to get into conversation with her visitor and narrated her nephew’s injury by
a knife.
Question 6: What two reasons did the stranger give to Mrs. Hall for not being
interrupted by anyone?
Question 7: Why did the stranger get angry with Mr. Henfrey?
Answer: Mrs. Hall took Henfrey to the stranger’s room to mend the clock in that
room. They 4 entered his room without knocking which was a bad idea. The stranger
told Mrs.Hall that he had got some research work that could be messed up by people
entering whenever they want. Also, Henfrey took a long time with the clock on
purpose, so that he could see more of the stranger. The stranger caught him wasting
time and tells him , to finish up and leave.
Answer: On his way through the village, Henfrey met Mr. Hall and told him that there
was a weird guy staying at his place. This made Mr. Hall a little suspicious. But Mr.
Hall was also a little drunk as usual. His wife told him to mind his own business
without any questioning.
Answer: The next day, the stranger’s luggage was brought from the station by a
man named Fearenside, who had a dog. The stranger had a lot of luggage, including
boxes of glass bottles cushioned by straw, apparatus, books, tools etc. He would
probably love to yell at people to be careful with his boxes. Suddenly, Fearenside’s
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dog began to growl savagely at the stranger. The dog sprang straight at his hand.
Things happened in a flash. The dog’s teeth had slipped the stranger’s hand. It
received a hard kick. It jumped sideways and went for the stranger’s legs. His
trousers were torn. The stranger glanced at his tom glove and trousers, turned and
rushed up the steps into his bedroom.
Question 10: How was Mr. Hall greeted by the stranger in his room upstairs at
the Inn?
Answer: As the stranger was bit by the dog and he moved upstairs to his room, he
was followed by Mr. Hall to ask for any help. He went straight upstairs and entered
the room through the open door without knocking. He seemed to see a handless arm
waving towards him, and a face of three huge indeterminate spots in white. Then he
was struck violently in the chest, hurled out, and the door slammed in his face.
Question 11: What did Fearenside tell Henfrey about the strange man?
Answer: Down at a local bar in the evening, Fearnside told Henfrey that he had
seen through the tear in the strange man’s trousers. In place of the pink skin, he had
seen only blackness. He told that this man had a piebald. Black here and white there
in patches. He also said that the stranger might be ashamed of it and due to this
reason, he had covered his skin with bandages.
Question 12: What did Mrs. Hall tell the villagers about her guest, the strange
visitor, staying in her Inn?
Answer: The stranger did not have any social life. Mrs. Hall declared that her guest
was an ‘experimental investigator’. When pressed to explain what that meant, she
would remark with a touch of superiority that most educated people knew such
things. She explained that he discovered things. Her visitor had an accident, which
temporarily discoloured his face and hands. Being a sensitive and touchy person, he
was averse to public exposure.
Answer: No one in Iping really liked the stranger and everyone had a theory about
why he was so weird. He did not go to church on Sundays and he goes for walks at
night. The stranger compensated for his messes by paying extra bills raised by Mrs.
Hall clearly. There was something wrong with this guy. Some people thought he was
a criminal or an anarchist or a lunatic or simply a freak who could make a fortune,
charging people at county fairs to check him out. Whatever his deal is, everyone
seems to agree that the stranger is too irritable for a village.
Question 14: Discuss the meeting of Dr. Cuss with the stranger.
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Answer: Dr. Cuss, the medical practitioner, was particularly curious for the stranger.
The bandages excited his professional interest. The reported thousand and one
bottles aroused his jealousy. He awaited an opportunity to talk to the stranger.
Towards Whitsun tide he hit upon the subscription- list for a village nurse as an
excuse. He was surprised to find that Mr. Hall did not know his guest’s name. Cuss
entered the room of the visitor. Mrs. Hall heard the murmurs of voices followed by a
cry of surprise, a stirring of feet, a chair flung aside, a bark of a laughter, quick steps
to the door, and Cuss appeared white-faced and eyes bulging. He left the door open
behind him and ran down and out with his hat in hand.
Question 15: What did Dr. Cuss tell Rev. Bunting, the vicar?
Answer: Cuss narrated how he tried to pry into the stranger’s work, how he offered
a prescription for the man’s sniffing and cold, how during their talk the man’s hand
came out of his pocket, how it was an empty moving sleeve with nothing inside, how
his remark about the sleeve being empty haunted the stranger, how the hand
extended towards Cuss and how what appeared like a finger and a thumb gripped
Cuss’s nose. When he hit the arm, it felt exactly like hitting an arm but there was not
an arm. There was not the ghost of an arm!
Question 16: Describe the robbery episode at dawn in the Buntings’ house.
Answer: It was four in the early morning before dawn, Mrs. Bunting woke up
suddenly on hearing the door of their bedroom open and close. The vicar (priest) and
his wife heard the noises in the house and went to investigate. They distinctly heard
a fumbling going on at his study desk down-stairs, and then a violent sneeze. Armed
with poker, he descended the staircase as noiselessly as possible. Everything was
still. Then something snapped, the drawer was opened, there was a rustle of papers.
A match was struck and the study room was flooded with yellow light. A candle was
lit on the desk, but there was no robber. They heard the sound of money, and
realised that the robber had found the housekeeping reserve of gold. The money
was gone from the drawer. As they rushed out in the passage, the kitchen door
slammed. They entered the kitchen. The place was empty. There was no one to be
found in the house.
Question 17: What did Mr. and Mrs. Hall experience when they entered the
room of the stranger? How do you explain this behaviour?
Answer: Mr. Hall knocked the door of the stranger’s room but got no response. He
opened the door and entered. It was as he expected. The bed and the room were
empty. The guest’s garments and bandages lay strewn on the bedroom chair and
along the rail of the bed. His big slouch hat was cocked over the bedpost. Mr. Hall
told it to his wife. When they both came up, they heard someone sneezed on the
staircase. She found the pillow and clothes very cold in the guest’s room as if the
guest was up for many hours. The bed¬clothes gathered together and jumped over
the bottom rail. The stranger’s hat hopped off the bed-post, whirled a circle in the air
and whacked Mrs. Hall in her face. The . bedroom chair, flinging the stranger’s coat
and trousers aside, turned itself up with its four legs charging at her. She screamed
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and the couple were pushed out of the room by the chair. The door slammed
violently and was locked. And then suddenly everything was still. Any person, who
believes in ghosts and spirits, may believe this act to be of spirits haunting the room.
Question 18: Describe the episode of the unveiling of the stranger at the Hall’s
Inn.
Answer: Mrs. Hall and the stranger started arguing about money because he had
not paid his bill recently. But he told that he found some more money recently which
made Mrs. Hall suspicious about his involvement in the burglary at the vicars. In
anger, Mrs. Halls wanted to know what he had been doing to her chair upstairs, and
how he entered the empty room again. This made the stranger so frustrated that he
revealed himself to the people at the Inn. He removed the cloth wrapped over his
face with his palm. His face became a black cavity. He stepped forward and handed
her his pink shining nose. Mrs. Hall took it in shock and dropped screaming and
staggering back. Then he removed his spectacles, his hat, his whiskers and
bandages. The stranger was a solid figure upto the coat-collar, but nothing above at
all. Those present at Hall’s establishment fell over each other fleeing in horror. In
came Mr. Hall, very red and determined, followed by Mr. Bobby Jaffers, the village
constable. They came armed with a warrant to arrest him in case of robbery last
night.
Question 19: Describe the escape of the stranger from Coach and Horses Inn.
Answer: Constable Mr. Jaffers told the stranger that even if you have no head,
warrant says ‘body’ and duty’s duty. Mr. Jaffer moved forward to arrest the stranger.
In a moment Jaffers gripped the handless wrist and caught the invisible throat. After
a small fight, the stranger surrendered, panting headless and handless. Jaffers
produced a pair of hand-cuffs to arrest him. The Stranger told that he had every body
part except that he is invisible. Abruptly the figure of the stranger sat down, and
before any one could realise what was being done, the slippers, socks, and trousers
had been kicked off under the table. Then he sprang up again and flung off his coat
in order that he became invisible. The invisible man started beating down on the
crow. Constable Jaffers fell pretty hard on his head, and it was not clear whether he
was dead or just unconscious.
Question 20: What did Gibbons experience while taking a nap in the open
fields of the village?
Answer: Gibbons was lying out,on the spacious open downs without any single
person within a couple of miles of him, taking a peaceful nap, as if dozing. Suddenly,
he heard close to him the sound of a man coughing, sneezing and then swearing
himself savagely. The sound grew to a climax, diminished again, and died away in
the distance, going as it seemed to him in the direction of Adderdean. It lifted to a
high and unexpected sneeze and ended. The whole phenomenon was so alarming
and disturbing that his peace vanished and he hurried down the steep hills towards
the village, as fast as he could go.
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Question 21: Narrate the episode of Mr. Thomas Marvel’s first meeting with the
invisible man.
Answer: Marvel was sitting with his feet in a ditch by the roadside on the way to
Adderdean. He was trying on a pair of boots given to him as charity. He put the four
shoes in a group and looked at them. It occurred to him that both pairs were
exceedingly ugly.
“They’re boots, any how,” said a voice behind him. Mr. Thomas Marvel replied with
no sign of surprise that they are charity boots. Then he realised that as he was
drunk, it might have been the echo. To prove that he was real and just invisible, the
voice started throwing rocks at Marvel. When Marvel was convinced that there might
be someone there, he was able to make out some bread and cheese in front of him.
The invisible man explained him that he needed Marvel’s help. He knew that Marvel
is an outcast, plus he promises to reward the homeless man for helping him as an
invisible man is a man of power to do wonders. Then he sneezes violently.
Answer: Mr. Thomas Marvel is a jolly old tramp with no home or job. He wanders
from place to place, usually asking people for food or money. The author has
unwittingly recruited him to assist the invisible man as his first visible partner. He
carries around the Invisible Man’s books for him. He wears a shabby high hat, and
we first meet him considering two pairs of boots, both probably given to him as
charity. There is an air of abandon and eccentricity about him. He was bearded,
plump and of short limbs. He wore a furry silk hat, twine and shoelaces are a
substitute for buttons at critical points of his costume. He drinks a lot and when he
heard the invisible man for the first time, he thought that it was his dizziness due to
drink that he sounded like this. He is a practical man as he acceded to the request of
the invisible man after knowing that an invisible man is a man of power and can help
him a lot.
Question 23: How were the villagers of Iping celebrating their Whit-Monday?
Answer: Iping was gay with decorations, and everybody was in gala dresses. Whit-
Monday had been looked forward to for a month or more. By the afternoon even
those who believed in the invisible man were beginning to join in little amusements.
Haysman’s meadow was gay with a tent, in which Mrs. Bunting and other ladies
were preparing tea, while, outside, the Sunday-school children ran races and played
games. Members of the county club, who had attended church in the morning, were
splendid in badges of pink and green.
Question 24: Discuss the entry of a new stranger in the village after the
invisible man’s escape from that place.
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Answer: A short, stout, shabbily dressed stranger entered the village from the
direction of the downs. He hurriedly entered the Coach and Horses, opened the door
of the parlour of the Inn. In the course of few minutes he reappeared, wiping his lips
with an air of satisfaction. He walked out of the Inn in a furitive way towards the
gates of the yard, upon which the parlour window opened. Mr. Huxter, the shop
owner, watching all his moves thought that the stranger was up to thieving ran out
into the road to intercept the thief. As he did so, Mr. Marvel, the stranger,
reappeared, carrying a big bundle in one hand and three books in another. Seeing
Huxter he turned sharply to the left and began to run. Mr. Huxter ran after him,
yelling “Thief1, but before he could catch the man, something tripped Huxter and
knocked him out.
Question 25: Give a brief account of the investigations made by Dr. Cuss and
Rev. Mr. Bunting in the room of the invisible man at Coach and Horses.
Answer: Doctor Cuss and the vicar Mr. Bunting were going through the invisible
man’s papers . including his diaries. But they could’t understand the diaries as they
had no pictures or diagrams and were written in Greek. Honestly, they were not even
sure that they were written in English. Marvel lets the invisible man into the room for
his clothes and papers. Cuss and Bunting could not see the invisible man, but they
asked Marvel to leave. Once he did Cuss and Bunting locked the door so that no one
will interrupt them. In the closed room, the invisible man threatened them for prying
into his room in his absence. He threatens to kill the two men.
Question 26: Describe the episode of Mr. Marvel vanishing by the corner of the
church wall.
Answer: Mr. Marvel was seen vanishing by the comer of the church wall. Mr. Hall
and two labourers ran after him. Mr. Hall had hardly run a dozen yards before he
gave a loud cry and went flying headlong sideways taking one labourer with him to
the ground. A second man in pursuit was tripped by the ankle just as Huxter had
been. Then, as the first labourer struggled to stand on his feet, he was kicked
sideways by a blow that might have felled an ox.
Question 27: Why was Mr. Cuss shouting to hold Mr. Marvel and not to drop
the parcel that he was carrying?
Answer: The people in the inn came out to see what Huxter was yelling about. They
saw Marvel running off and thought that he was the invisible man. They all went
running after Marvel and all get tripped. At this point, Cuss came out of the stranger’s
room in the inn, revealing that the invisible man stole his and Bunting’s clothes.
Bunting was trying to cover himself in a newspaper. Cuss ran out and joined the
chase, but was kicked and thrown on the ground. He rose again and was hit severely
behind the ear. He staggered and set off back to the Coach and Horses Inn. In
another moment, Mr. Cuss was back in the parlour. He told Mr. Bunting that the
invisible man has gone mad and is coming back to kill them.
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Question 28: What attempts were made by Mr. Marvel to resign from the post
of assistant of the invisible man which the invisible man declined quickly?
Answer: On the way to Bramblehurst, Mr. Marvel tried to convince the invisible man
that he was not fit for the job assigned to him. His reddish face expressed anxiety
and tiredness. He told the invisible man that he was a weak miserable tool, his heart
was weak, that he could have dropped any time, he had no strength for the sort of
thing the invisible man want from him to do. He would, out of sheer panic and
misery, mess up his plans. He wished he were dead.
Question 29: What reaction did the invisible man give to Mr. Marvel on his
pleading for resignation?
Answer: The invisible man pointed out to Mr. Marvel that all his efforts to get
resignation were quite ineffectual on him. He shut him up and told to do what he was
supposed to do. If he insisted on the same thing again and again, he would twist the
wrist of Mr. Marvel again. He finally told Mr. Marvel that he would keep his hand on
his shoulder all through the village and warned not to try any foolery. It would be the
worse for him if he tried it. Mr. Marvel sighed painfully.
Question 30: Why did the old mariner get annoyed with Mr. Marvel after the
conversation on the topic of the invisible man?
Answer: In Port Stowe Marvel nervously waits on a bench outside a small inn, and
ends up chatting with an old mariner. The mariner thinks he hears coins jingling in
Marvel’s pockets, though Marvel is clearly a moneyless tramp. The old man tells
Marvel all about this amazing invisible man that he read about in the newspaper. The
sailor thinks the story is believable because it comes supported by names and
details. Marvel takes the opportunity to reveal the truth of the invisible man but
immediately gets hurt by the invisible man secretly. Marvel quickly covers his track,
saying that the invisible man is just a hoax. Then he runs away quickly. The sailor is
annoyed at Marvel for letting him go on about this invisible man.
Question 31: What unusual things were happening around Iping as heard by
the old mariner?
Answer: The old mariner heard about “fist full of money” travelling by itself along St.
Michael’s Lane. A brother mariner had tried to snatch it but was knocked down by an
unknown object. Then there were reports of money disappearing from homes and
business places and floating along by walls and shady places. All these, undetected,
were safely deposited in the pockets of that agitated Mr. Marvel, sitting outside the
little inn on the outskirts of Port Stowe.
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Question 32: What did Dr. Kemp see from the window of his study?
Answer: Dr. Kemp was in his study overlooking the town of Burdock. Kemp’s study
was full of science stuff, which explained why he was looking out of the window. He
saw a man with a shabby high hat running down the hills into the town. Kemp
thought he might just be another fool who was afraid of the invisible man. Kemp was
too scientific to believe in the story of an invisible man. But outside, the running man
looked terrified. Everyone around freaked out. It was shouted that the invisible man
was chasing after the running man.
Question 33: How did Mr. Marvel escape from the grip of the invisible man
inside the kitchen of the Jolly Cricketers bar?
Answer: As the man with the beard put his revolver back in its place, people present
in the bar heard Mr. Marvel squeal like a small animal. Marvel was dragged by the
neck into the kitchen. There was a scream and a clatter of pans. Marvel, head down
and lugging back, was being forced to the kitchen door. Then the policeman rushed
in and gripped the wrist of the invisible hand that collared Marvel. He was hit in the
face and went reeling back. Soon the kitchen door opened and Marvel made a
frantic effort to lodge behind it. Then the cabman collared the invisible man. The
barman’s red hands came clawing at the unseen. In this way Mr. Marvel, released,
suddenly drooped to the ground and made an attempt to crawl behind the legs of the
fighting men and got escaped.
Question 34: Who was sure that he killed the invisible man?
Answer: The struggle between policeman, cabman and the invisible man inside the
kitchen blundered round the edge of the door opening to the yard. The cabman
suddenly whooped and got kicked under the diaphragm. Soon the others were
shaken off and lost their grips which freed the invisible man. A piece of tile whizzed
by the head of the policeman into the yard. At that very moment, the man with the
black beard fired five bullets one after the other into the yard and a silence followed.
He was sure that the invisible man was shot. He asked for a lantern to search for the
dead body of the invisible man.
Question 35: Describe the meeting of the invisible man with Dr. Kemp in
Kemp’s bedroom.
Answer: Dr. Kemp heard a voice of a man — “Good Heavens! – Kemp!” The voice
asked Kemp to control his nerve, and not to panic. The voice introduced itself as an
invisible man. To confirm the presence, Dr. Kemp stepped forward and his hand
extended towards the bandage, met invisible fingers and recoiled in fear. The hand
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gripped his arm and struck at it. The invisible man told Kemp that he knew him from
school – he is really a guy named Griffin, almost an albino. He was a little younger
than Kemp, and he won a medal for chemistry at University College. Kemp calms
down enough to give Griffin some whiskey, clothes and a cigar. It was just a
coincidence that Griffin broke into Kemp’s house to recover, but now he needs
Kemp’s help because his partner, Marvel had stolen his money.
Question 36: What unusual things did Dr. Kemp observe in his house when he
came out of his study?
Answer: Dr. Kemp, feeling thirsty, took a candle and went down to the dinning room.
As he crossed the hall, he noticed a dark spot on the floor covering near the mat at
the foot of the stairs. He touched the spot and found it sticky with the colour of dried
blood. Returning upstairs he noticed the door-handle of his own room was blood-
stained. He found a mess of blood on his bed also. On the furtherside the bed
clothes were depressed as if someone had been recently sitting there. Then he
distinctly heard a movement across the room, near the wash-hand stand. Suddenly
he saw a coiled and blood stained bandage of linen rag hanging in mid-air, between
him and the wash-hand stand. It was a bandage properly tied but quite empty.
Question 37: Draw the character-sketch of Dr. Kemp as shown in the Chapter-
17.
Answer: Doctor Kemp is a scientist living in the town of Port Burdock. His house is
situated near the Jolly Cricketers Pub. Dr. Kemp is cool and methodical in approach.
He does not easily believe in supernatural things. He is an old friend of Griffin, the
invisible man, who comes to his house to hide after Griffin’s transformation into the
invisible man. Kemp has a hard time accepting the fact that his friend, whom he had
not seen for years, suddenly appears uninvited and invisible, but eventually he
overcomes his shock, sits down and talks with the old friend of University College.
Question 38: How did Griffin assure his safety in Kemp’s house?
Answer: Griffin refused to take Dr. Kemp’s assurance for granted. Though
exhausted and wounded, he examined the two windows of the bedroom, drew up the
blinds, and opened the sashes to confirm that one could escape through them if
necessary. Then he took in his custody the keys of the bedroom and the two
dressing-room doors. Kemp closed the door softly behind him, and the key was
turned and the door locked from within.
Question 39: How did Dr. Kemp behave on reaching his little consulting-room?
Answer: As Dr. Kemp came to his little consulting-room, he picked up the morning’s
paper and came across the account of a “strange story from Iping” and read it swiftly.
Next, he picked up the St. James’ Gazette and read the heading “An Entire Village in
Sussex goes Mad.” He re-read the paper again to find out where does the tramp
come in? Why has he been chased? When dawn, came Kemp was still pacing up
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and down, trying to grasp the incredible. His servants thought that over-study had
affected their master. He instructed them to lay breakfast for two in the top floor
study and then to confine themselves to the basement and ground floor. Then Dr.
Kemp continued to pace the dining room until the morning’s paper came.
Question 40: What did Dr. Kemp decide to do about the invisible man?
Answer: Firstly, Dr. Kemp thought it would be a breach of faith if he would inform
the police about Griffin. Later, he went to a little desk and wrote a note. He took an
envelope and addressed it to “Colonel Adye, Port Burdock,” keeping that note in the
envelope.
Question 41: ‘The secret is out, I gather it was a secret”. What did Mr. Kemp
mean by this statement and what was the object behind it?
Answer: “The secret is out, I gather it was a secret, ” by this statment, Mr. Kemp
meant that the entire people residing in qpd around Iping had come to know about
the invisible man. His hiding at the parlour was no longer a secret and everyone has
come to know this. And sooner or later he would be caught. Though this statement
seems to be used to scare Griffin, but in reality it was meant to extract the truth from
him rather it was used as a threat. Mr. Kemp, being a scientist and an old friend of
Griffin really wanted to help him and for that he wanted to inquire about his
invisibility.
Question 42: Which subject fascinated that invisible man and why?
Question 43: What do you understand by the title “Certain first Principles”, the
invisible man and Mr. Kemp are discussing about?
Answer: The chapter “Certain first Principles” receives its title, because a
considerable part of the chapter covers a conversation on some principles about light
under the subject of Physics. Mr. Kemp and the Invisible man are involved in a deep
conversations on those scientific principles. As Griffin, (the Invisible man) shows with
Mr. Kemp how he was fascinated by light’, he states the principles of Refraction.
Refraction and absorption of light. Griffin gives Mr. Kemp a long and detailed talk on
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those principles, as to how and why those phenomena take place and how its
application can lead to visibility and invisibility of objects. There is also a detailed talk
given by the Griffin about various parts of human body made up of transparent
tissues.
It is because of this fact that many scientific principles are discussed in this chapter,
it has been given an appropriate title.
Question 44: Did the study of medicine and knowledge about physiology, in
any way, help the invisible man in his discovery of invisibility? If yes, then
explain how.
Answer: Yes, it seems quite so. Knowledge about Physiology acquired through
study of medicine provided a lot of help in guiding Griffin, the invisible man in his
discovery of invisibility. By studying medicine, he acquired a lot of knowledge about
human physiology especially the fact that all the parts of human body, barring a
couple of things are made up of transparent tissues. It was this very knowledge that
encouraged him and helped him to propound the theory of human invisibility and
convert it into a reality along with the principles he learnt in Physics covering
reflection, refraction and absorption of light.
In this way, his invisibility was really an outcome of the combination of both these
knowledge acquired in medicine and Physics.
Question 46: Was the experiment on the cat a complete success? Describe.
Answer: The experiment of invisibility attempted on the cat by Griffin was a great
success. However, it may not be termed as a complete success. Previously, after
successfully making a piece of white wool completely invisible, which was a non-
living thing, Griffin tried to experiment with the cat, which was a living thing. After
administering the drug the entire body of the cat became invisible except for the two
eyes because the pigment Tapetum at the back of the cat’s eye did not budge.
Question 47: Describe how did Griffin manage to protect and secure his theory
of invisibility.
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Answer: In order to secure his theory of invisibility, he wrote the entire theory in
Cipher language in three note books so that no one else could decode it and come
to know about his note books along with a check book to a tramp and directed them
from the nearest Post office to a house of call for letters and parcels in Great
Portland Street.
Question 48: What did Griffin scare initially when he saw the landlord visiting
his house along with an old Polish Jew?
Answer: When the landlord first visited the house along with the old Polish Jew
Griffin was scared of exposure of his act that he had made this old woman’s cat
invisible. He presumed that the old lady had made the complaint with the landlord
about vanishing of the cat from his house and the landlord had come to enquire
about it. Griffin was aware that the law of that country against vivisection was very
severe and that he might be held liable for the missing cat. He was also scared that if
he is caught by the authorities, all his research and experiment would be exposed.
Question 49: Why did Griffin decide to destroy all the evidence at the house?
Answer: Griffin had used the house taken on rent, for his scientific experiments on
invisibility. He had converted the house into a laboratory with all kinds of equipment,
gadgets, apparatus required to realise his research. However, the landlord after the
brawl with Griffin, came up again with the eviction order. Griffin had neither time to
reestablish his laboratory nor money to move out of that place at a very short notice.
As a result, he decided to administer the drug of invisibility on him hurriedly and
became invisible. And to prevent exposure of his acts, research laboratory, he
decided to and destroy all the evidence.
Question 50: Describe what did Griffin experience while getting downstairs.
Question 51: Why was the invisible man, Griffin fearful of dogs?
Answer: While running Griffin had an event with dogs. Though no men were able to
detect him because of his invisibility, yet the dogs were able to detect him by virtue
of their olfactory (smelling) sense of nose. Even though they were not able to see
him, they barked at him and leapt over him. He was, therefore, afraid of dogs that he
might be detected by them by their smelling sense.
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Question 52: How did Griffin manage to stop six to seven persons from
following him?
Answer: Griffin was barefoot when he left his lodging. While leaving he ran over
white steps of a house and stood there until the entire procession of salvation Army
passed by. As a result, his feet were creating footmarks and some people were able
to detect this and were astonished. They followed him using his footmarks.
As soon as he observed that these people were following him with the help of the
white foot marks created by his barefeet, twice he moved across the corners and
thrice he crossed the road and returned to mislead them and with the feet growing
hotter and drier, the damp impression gradually faded away and lastly he cleaned his
feet with hands to wipe it out completely.
Question 53: What left the people amazed and diverting their attention from
him?
Answer: Griffin had completely exhausted while running. All his energy had oozed
out. He had stiff back and sore on one foot. As a result he was limping also. While
moving ahead he saw a blind man approaching him. Because of the natural intuition
of the blind man, he feared that he might be defected by the blindman as a result,
even limping, he ran speedily and while doing so he collided with two or three
people. People were therefore amazed who collided with them as no one was
visible.
Question 54: How did Griffin plan to return to his normal self?
Answer: A snowstorm had been building up in the town. Griffin had no clothes, no
refuge, no appliances. He felt famished, cold, painful and wretched. Then he got an
idea. He reached a big departmental complex where he could get everything he
needed, to make himself an acceptable figure so that he could get a refuge
somewhere and recover his books. He succeeded in entering the complex
somehow. He walked down the shops and at last reached a section where he found
a resting place among a pile of mattresses. He remained there till the shop were
closed. After the shop closed, he got up and collected items like, gloves, trousers,
vests, socks, jacket, overcoat, hat etc. Then he went upstairs where he had coffee
and cold meat. In another section, he got an artificial nose and took spectacles. Then
he went to sleep in a heap of quilts.
In the morning, when shop opened, Griffin began looking for some way to get out.
He had to cast away all his clothing to escape attention of anyone. He waited inside
the warehouse till the day grew warmer. Then he went out with further plans in his
mind.
Question 55: What did Griffin see in the dream at night at Departmental
Complex?
Answer: Griffin had a horrible dream at night. He found himself at the cemetery,
attending his father’s funeral. The clergyman was uttering indistinctly “Earth to earth,
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ashes to ashes, dust to dust” at his father’s open grave. He heard a voice, “you
also.” He was being forced towards the grave. He struggled and appealed to the
mourners but he was invisible and inaudible to them. As he fell upon it, the gravel
heaped over him. Nobody was aware of him. He made struggle and awoke.
Question 56: Describe the scene at the Departmental Complex at closing time.
Answer: As the closing time came, blinds of windows were drawn and customers
were marched doorwards. A number of young men started to tidy up the scattered
goods. All the goods displayed for sale were whipped down, folded up and slapped
into tidy receptacles. Then all the chairs were tumed up on the counter to clean the
floor. Then a number of youngsters, carrying pails and brooms came and scattered
sawdust. The floor was cleaned. At last, there was noise of locking doors and after
that silence came upon the place.
Question 57: How did Griffin dress himself to go out into the world as a
credible figure?
Answer: First of all, Griffin found some bread, cheese and brandy. After eating, he
collected useful things like handbag, some powder, sticking plaster, rouge, mask,
dark glasses, whiskers, a wig, calico dominoes, cashmere scarvers, boots and ten
pounds in gold and shillings. He dressed to his best and checked himself in the
mirror. Then he went out in the street and was not noticed by anyone.
Then he went to a restaurant and ordered lunch. But he realised that he could not
eat without exposing his face. So, he walked out and entered another restaurant.
There, he demanded a private room saying that he was disfigured. He ate a full
meal.
Question 58: Describe the thoughts of Griffin when he came out after dressing
at the Costumer’s shop.
Answer: Griffin had thought that his troubles were over and he had impunity to do
whatever he chose. He could vanish anywhere and no person could hold him. He
could take money where he found it. But he realised that an invisible man was a
helpless absurdity in a crowded civilised city. He had dreamt of a thousand
advantages. But it was all disappointment. Although invisibility made it possible to
get things, but it was impossible to enjoy them after getting them. He could not enjoy
a meal without exposing himself to the people. He had become a wrapped-up
mystery, a swathed and bandaged caricature of a man.
Question 59: Write the character sketch of the owner of Costumer shop.
Answer: The owner of the costumer shop had an uncanny sense of hearing and he
turned around at the slightest sound to see himself. When the invisible man entered
the costumer shop, the sound of door brought the owner to the entrance. Seeing no
one at the door, he cursed the street boys. The invisible man followed him about the
rooms. If he heard any sound, he blamed the rats or some ghost. While walking
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through the costumes in the room, things fell off from the shelves and made a noise.
This made the owner angry and he was there with a revolver. He started locking all
the rooms.
Question 60: What were the plans of Griffin before meeting Dr. Kemp? How did
they change after they both met?
Answer: Griffin had planned to visit some warm place like South America where he
would not have to wear clothes. His plan was to get aboard a steamer to France.
From there he could go by train to Spain or else get to Algiers. He was thinking of
using the tramp Marvel who could carry his money box and luggage. But since he
met Kemp, he had changed his plans. He realised that a person cannot do all on his
own. For him, invisibility is , especially useful for killing people. So, Griffin plans to
establish a new reign of terror with the assistance of Dr. Kemp. He found that now he
had a collaborator, a hideout, food and a resting place. They could join hands to
mutual advantage. They could terrorise the whole town and amass wealth. Anyone
who did not pay up or objected could be killed off easily.
Question 61: How did Griffin escape from Dr. Kemp’s house?
Answer: As Dr. Kemp was advising Griffin to publish his discovery and become the
hero to the world, Griffin heard the footsteps coming upstairs. The invisible man
advanced to the door with arms extended. And then things happened very swiftly. As
Kemp tried to block the way of Griffin, Griffin cried him a “traitor” and undressed his
gown. Kemp got out and tried to lock Griffin inside the study. However, as he closed
the door with force, he key fell off the keyhole. At that time three men were coming
upstairs. Griffin pulled _ open the door and gripped Kemp by his throat and threw
him down. The empty dressing gown was flung on top of Dr. Kemp. Colonel Adye,
the chief of Burdock police saw Kemp fall on stairs and he himself received a heavy
blow midstairs. He was hurled headlong . down the staircase. The front door of the
house slammed violently. The invisible man
was gone out of the house.
Question 62: What measures need to be taken to prevent the invisible man
from leaving the district of Burdock?
Answer:
1. He must be prevented from eating and sleeping; day and night.
2. Food must be locked up and secured so that he will have to break his way to it.
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Question 63: What inhuman things did Dr. Kemp advise Adye to do in order to
catch the invisible man in any case?
Answer:
1 .Kemp advised Adye to arrange for the dogs. They could not see him but can wind
him by his body smell. Adye told Kemp that the prison officials at Halstead knew a
man who has bloodhbunds.
2. After eating, the food in the stomach shows until it is assimilated. So that he has to
hide after eating. You must keep on beating every thicket and every quiet corner.
3. He also advised Adye to spread powdered glass on roads, though it is inhuman
and unsportsmanlike.
Question 64: Why was it impossible for Griffin to have removed himself out of
the district after two o’clock in the afternoon?
Answer: After two o’clock, every passenger train along the lines on a great
parallelogram between Southampton, Manchester, Brighton and Horsham, travelled
with locked doors, and the goods traffic was almost suspended. And in a great circle
of twenty miles round Port Burdock, men armed with guns and buldgeons were
presently setting out in groups of three and four, with dogs, to beat the roads and
fields. Mounted policemen rode along the country lanes, stopping at every cottage
and warning the people to lock up their houses, and keep indoors unless they were
armed, and all the elementary school had broken up by three o’clock, and the
children were hurrying home. Kemp’s proclamation, signed by Adye, was posted
over the whole district by four or five o’clock in the evening. It gave the necessity of
keeping the invisible man from food and sleep, the necessity for continual
watchfulness.
Answer: There were still people who had not heard of the invisible man. Mr.
Wicksteed was brutally murdered within two hundred yards from Lord Burdock’s
lodge gate. He was an amiable man of forty-five and steward to Lord Burdock. He
lay crushed on the edge of the gravel pit. The weapon used was an iron rod pulled
up from a broken fence. Mr. Wicksteed was on his way home for his mid-day meal. A
schoolgirl reported seeing him walking towards the gravel pit, away from his direct
path home, bent forward and striking repeatedly at something in front of him with his
walking stick. An iron rod moving around by itself seems to have aroused his
curiosity and led to the tragedy.
Question 66: Describe the encounter that took place between Griffin and
Colonel Adye.
Answer: When Colonel Adye went to Dr. Kemp’s house, he was given the letter by
Kemp. Suddenly they heard the smashing of glass windows upstairs’ Adye borrowed
Kemp’s revolver and decided to go down to the station and get the bloodhounds put
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on. He had hardly reached the gate when a voice stopped him. The voice asked him
to go back to the house. Adye fired in the direction of the voice. He was struck in the
mouth and the revolver wrested from his grip. The revolver float in mid-air.
The voice told him to go back to the house. Adye turned towards the house. He
walked slowly with his hands behind him. Then quickly Adye leapt backwards, swung
around to clutch the revolver but he missed it. He fell forward on his face. A shot was
fired. Adye raised himself on one arm and fell forward. He lay still.
Question 67: How did the two policemen face the invisible man at Dr. Kemp’s
house?
Answer: As Kemp stood in the passage, a ringing was heard at the front door. A girl
and two policemen entered the house. They heard smashing in the kitchen. There
were axe blows on the kitchen door. Both the policemen carried a poker each and
went to the dining room. One policeman caught the axe on his poker. The second
policeman brought his poker down on the axe and it rattled to the floor.
The voice said, “I want that man Kemp.” The first policeman moved forward and
aimed his poker at the voice. The invisible man brought the axe down on the head of
the policeman. The blow sent the policeman spinning to the floor. The second
policeman aimed behind the axe with his poker which hit something soft that
snapped. There was a sharp cry of pain and the axe fell to the ground. He put his
foot on the axe and struck again. Suddenly the dining-room window opened and
there was a quick rush of feet.
Question 68: How did Mr. Heelas believe the existence of the invisible man in
the village?
Answer: Mr. Heelas was asleep in his villa when the siege of his nearest neighbour,
Kemp’s house began. He slept through the smashing of the windows, and then woke
up suddenly. He looked across at Kemp’s house. Every window was broken. As he
stood wondering, the shutters of the drawing-room, window were flung open
violently, and the housemaid appeared struggling in a frantic manner. Suddenly Dr.
Kemp appeared by her side. Mr. Heelas saw Kemp stand on the sill, spring from the
window, and stoop and run like a man who evades observation. In a second he was
running at a tremendous pace down the slope towards Heelas. It was there that Mr.
Heelas struck with an idea that it was the invisible man who was after the life of Dr.
Kemp. Mr. Heelas shouted like a bull to close all the doors and windows of his house
so that Dr. Kemp could not made an entry, along with the invisible man, to his house.
Question 69: How did the invisible man, Mr. Griffin, meet his end?
Answer: Kemp continued running towards Port Burdock. The road was long and
empty, and no one in the nearby houses would help him. “When kemp arrived in
Burdock, he found a couple of labourers on the road. When he yelled about the
invisible man, everyone nearby tried to find and hit the invisible man with shovels.
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When the invisible man grabbed Kemp, the labourers knocked the invisible man
down. It was a big fight between the crowd and the invisible man. There was some
savage kicking. Then suddenly a wild ; scream of ‘Mercy! Mercy!’ that died down
swiftly to a sound like choking. Kemp tried to get people off of Griffin. But the
invisible man was not breathing and possibly dead. Everyone around crowded to see
what had happened, and slowly the invisible man started becoming visible as a
naked man. One could see his crushed chest and broken shoulders, and the dim
outline of his drawn and battered features.
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