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CBSE Class 12 English Novel The Invisible Man
ABOUT THE NOVELIST
Herbert George Wells was born on 21 September, 1866 in Bromley, Kent County, England. He was an English author best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He began his career as a novelist with a popular sequence of science fiction that remains the most familiar part of his work. He was also a prolific writer in many genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary. His middle period novels were less science fictional; they covered lower middle class life. In 1894, he published his first novel, ‘The Time Machine’ which was followed by a series of scientific fantasies, and ‘The Island of Dr. Morean’ (1896), ‘The Invisible Man’ (1897), ‘The War of the Worlds’ (1898), ‘When the Sleeper Awakes’ (1898), ‘The First Men in the Moon’ (1901) and ‘The War in the Air’ (1908). His works of non-science fiction include ‘Love and Mr. Lewisham’ (1900), ‘Kipps’ (1905) and ‘The History of Mr. Polly’ (1910). His works of science fiction have retained their popularity. They have also won academic regard for integrating the fantastic with the realistic. In addition to works of fiction, he has produced many discursive books, pamphlets, and articles. He wrote several dozen short stories and novels. He has been described as the most serious of the popular writers and most popular of the serious writers of his time. He died on 13 August, 1946.
ABOUT THE NOVEL
First published in 1952 and immediately hailed as a masterpiece, The Invisible Man is one of those rare novels that have changed the shape of American literature. For not only does Ralph Ellison’s nightmare journey across the racial divide tell unparalleled truths about the nature of bigotry and its effects on the minds of both victims and perpetrators, it gives us an entirely new model of what a novel can be.
As he journeys from the Deep South to the streets and basements of Harlem, from a horrifying “battle royal” where black men are reduced to fighting animals, to a Communist rally where they are elevated to the status of trophies, Ralph Ellison’s nameless protagonist ushers readers into a parallel universe that throws our own into harsh and even hilarious relief. Suspenseful and sardonic, narrated in a voice that takes in the symphonic range of the American language, black and white, The Invisible Man is one of the most audacious and dazzling novels of our century.
MAJOR CHARACTERS
Dr. Kemp: Dr. Kemp is a scientist living in the town of Port Burdock. He is an old friend of Griffin, 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, who he had not seen for years, suddenly appears uninvited and invisible, but eventually he overcomes his shock, sits down and talks with Griffin.
Mr. Hall: Mr. Hall is the husband of Mrs. Hall and helps her run the Coach and Horses Inn. He is the first person in Iping to notice that the mysterious Griffin is invisible: when a dog bites him and tears his glove.
Mrs Hall: Mrs. Hall is the wife of Mr. Hall and the owner of the Coach and Horses Inn. A very friendly, down-to-earth woman who enjoys socialising with her guests, Mrs. Hall is continually frustrated by the mysterious Griffin’s refusal to talk with her, and his repeated tantrums.
Thoma – I a rvel : Thomas Marvel is a j oily old tramp unwittingly recruited to assist the Invisible Man as his first visible partner. He carries around the Invisible Man’s scientific notebooks for him, and, eventually, a large sum of money that Griffin had stolen.
Col. Adve: Col. Adye is the chief of police in the town of Port Burdock. He is called upon by Dr. Kemp when the Invisible Man turned up in Kemp’s house talking of taking over the world with his “terrible secret” of invisibility. A very able-bodied and reliable officer, Adye not only saves Kemp from the Invisible Man’s first attempt on his life but also spearheads the hunt for the unseen fugitive.
Dr Cuss: Dr. Cuss is a doctor living in the town of Iping. Intrigued by tales of a bandaged stranger staying at the Coach and Horses Inn, Dr. Cuss goes to see him under the pretence of asking for a donation to the nurse’s fund. The strange man, Griffin, scares Cuss away by pinching his nose with his invisible hand.
J. A. Jaffers: J. A. Jaffers is a constable in the town of Iping. He is called upon by Mr. and Mrs. Hall to arrest Griffin after they suspected him of robbing the Reverend Bunting.
The Rev. Mr. Bunting: The Rev. Mr. Bunting is a vicar in the town of Iping.
Griffin: Griffin is a gifted young university medical student with albinism, who studies optical density. He believes he is on the verge of a great scientific discovery. Working reclusively in his flat, he invents a formula to ‘bend light and reduce the refractive index of physical objects, making them invisible. He experiments on himself and makes himself invisible.
SUMMARY OF THE NOVEL
The Invisible Man starts with a stranger arriving at the town of Iping. He’s a private guy, which is a problem when you live in a town where the major export is gossip. The stranger doesn’t get along with the villagers, especially the people who own the inn where he’s staying. He spends most of his time trying to do something scientific in his room. But eventually – after the villagers (rightfully) accuse him of robbery – the stranger snaps. He takes off all his clothes and reveals that he’s – wait for it – invisible!
The Invisible Man fights the village and flees, leaving his important scientific notes behind. To get them back, he forces a homeless dude named Marvel to help him. They go back to Iping and get the Invisible Man’s stuff, but the villagers attack and craziness ensues. The Invisible Man beats them to a pulp and wreaks some major havoc.
At another town (Port Stowe), the Invisible Man steals money and drops it into Marvel’s pockets. Like the lousy sidekick he is, Marvel runs away to Burdock, money in hand (or in pocket, we guess). The IM tries to kill Marvel, but a bunch of people at a bar fight him off; one person even
shoots him, but it’s just a scratch. The Invisible Man takes shelter in a house that happens to be owned by an old college friend named Kemp, and this is where we learn that our not-so- hero’s name is Griffin.
While staying in his digs, Griffin tells Kemp his back story, story which is several chapters long. Here’s the gist: he was poor and he wanted to study invisibility (as most young people do), so he stole money from his father, who then committed suicide (we’re not entirely sure why). Finally Griffin figured out the invisibility thing and proceeded to do a few things:
- burn down his landlord’s building;
- wander around London;
- steal from a department store;
- put on a ridiculous outfit from a theatrical costume shop and go to Iping to work.
Turns out Kemp had alerted the police to Griffin’s whereabouts when he arrived, but when they come to arrest him, he escapes. (Remember, he’s invisible, so it’s not too tough.) Kemp works with the police to catch Griffin, who in turn, tries to catch Kemp. In the end, a bunch of people in Burdock gang up on the Invisible Man and kill him. As he dies, Griffin loses his invisibility and we get our first glimpse of the Visible Man.
Finally, in the epilogue, we learn that Marvel still has Griffin’s scientific notes, which probably have all sorts of cool inventions in them.
CHAPTERWISE SUMMARY & QUESTIONS
Chapter-1
The story starts with a stranger arriving in a snowstorm at the Coach and Horses, an inn/bar in Iping. (If you’ve read War of the Worlds, you know that Wells often likes to set his stories in real places, Iping is a real town in England.)
The stranger is totally covered, with only his shiny nose showing. He’s also wearing spectacles with sidelights, which basically look like goggles. At least one person says he looks like he’s wearing a diving helmet (the old-fashioned kind, of course.)
The stranger looks, well, strange, but he’s got money, so Mrs. Hall, the innkeeper, gives him a room.
Still, Mrs. Hall is surprised by his appearance when she sees him in his room without his hat.
His forehead above his blue glasses was covered by a white bandage, and another covered his ears, leaving not a scrap of his face exposed excepting only his pink, peaked nose. The thick black hair, escaping as it could below and between the cross bandages, projected in curious tails and horns, giving him the strangest appearance conceivable.
Luckily, he’s covered the lower part of his face with a serviette (a napkin), so she doesn’t have to deal with what’s there.
Mrs. Hall assumes that this guy was in an accident. She tries to get him to talk about what happened, but he doesn’t want to talk about his “accident” with a gossipy innkeeper.
Instead, he asks her about getting his luggage from the railroad station. Not quite as good for gossip. Sorry, Mrs. Hall.
I. PLOT/THEME-BASED
Question 1:
Why was Mrs. Hall shocked to see the visitor when she came to him with a mustard pot?
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.
II. CHARACTER-BASED
Question 1:
Describe the way the strange visitor was dressed.
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 high collar turned up about his neck. He tied a silk white muffler round his neck to put the mouthpiece to his lips.
Question 2:
Describe the character-sketch of Mrs. Hall.
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.
Chapter-2
Teddy Henfrey is a villager and clock mender, which might sound awesome, but it just means that he fixes clocks. Henfrey makes his way to the Coach and Horses Inn that afternoon.
Mrs. Hall wants Henfrey to fix a clock in the stranger’s room. They enter his room without knocking, which is a bad idea whether your guest is a mad scientist or not. For a moment, Mrs. Hall thinks the stranger has a giant mouth, but he covers his face again.
The stranger tells Mrs. Hall that he would like to be left alone. See, he’s an “experimental investigator” – which means scientist – and he’s got some research that could be messed up by people entering whenever they want.
Also, he was in an accident, and his eyes are sensitive, that is why he’s always covered and wearing his dark glasses.
Mrs. Hall leaves Henfrey to fix the clock. Henfrey takes a long time with the clock on purpose, so that he can see more of the stranger. The stranger catches him wasting time, though, and tells him to finish up quickly and get out.
Henfrey wonders what the man’s secret is – maybe he’s wanted by the police? On his way through the village, Henfrey runs into Mr. Hall and tells him, “there’s a weird guy staying at your place.”
This gets Mr. Hall a little suspicious. But he’s also a little drunk (that’s his hobby), so his wife tells him to mind his own business. Although, truth be told, Mrs. Hall is herself a little ” suspicious of the stranger.
I. PLOT/THEME-BASED
Question 1:
What two reasons did the stranger give to Mrs. Hall for not being interrupted by anyone?
Answer:
The stranger told Mrs. Hall that he was an experimental investigator. He was really too cold and fatigued and needs complete rest. He told that his reason for coming to Iping was a desire for solitude. He also told that he did not want to be disturbed in his work. The second reason for not been disturbed by anyone is the accident that needs a certain rest. His eyes sometimes got so weak and painful that he has to shut himself up in the dark for hours together. At such times the slightest disturbance, the entry of a stranger into the room, is a source of excruciating annoyance to him. He wanted that Mrs. Hall should understand his situation.
Question 2:
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.
Question 3:
What information did Henfrey share with Mr. Hall?
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.
Chapter-3
The next day, the stranger’s luggage is brought from the station by a man named Fearenside, who has a dog which makes Fearenside our favourite character so far.
The stranger has lots of luggage, including boxes of glass bottles cushioned by straw.
He would probably love to yell at people to be careful with his boxes, but Fearenside’s dog attacks him and rips his glove and trousers.
The stranger runs back to his room to change his clothes.
Mr. Hall, nice guy that he is, checks on the stranger to make sure he wasn’t hurt. But when he enters the room without knocking, he sees something strange. Unfortunately, Mr. Hall gets pushed out of the room before he can figure out what he saw.
The villagers are now hanging around the luggage, gossiping and saying what they would do if a dog bit them. These people clearly don’t have TVs.
When the unhurt stranger gets the boxes, he starts unpacking all of his bottles and gets to work immediately.
Mrs. Hall brings him dinner, but – surprise! – enters without knocking. So, of course, two things happen: firstly she catches a glimpse of something strange (he has very hollow eye sockets, but then he puts on his glasses); and second he complains about being interrupted.
Mrs. Hall fusses over the mess that he’s making, but the stranger just tells her to bill him.
Down at a local bar, Fearenside and Henfrey gossip about the stranger. Fearenside says the stranger has black legs – he apparently saw the leg when his dog ripped his pants. Since the stranger has a pink nose, says Fearenside, maybe he’s colored like a piebald horse.
I. PLOT/THEME-BASED
Question 1:
Describe how the stranger was attacked by a dog.
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 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 2:
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 3:
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.
Chapter-4
The narrator tells us that after the dog incident not much happens in Iping until the club festival (which is around the Christian holiday of Whit-Monday). Instead, the village settles into something of a routine.
This is the routine: when Mrs. Hall complains about his messes, the stranger tells her to bill him extra, which works fine until April, when he starts to run out of money.
No one in Iping really likes the stranger and everyone has a theory about why he’s so weird. (How strange is he? He doesn’t go to church on Sundays and he goes for walks at night. Clearly there’s something wrong with this guy. Where are the police when you need them?)
Some people think he’s 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, “though his irritability might have been comprehensible to an urban brain-worker”.
One villager who does want to talk to him is the town, doctor Cuss. On Whit Sunday, Cuss goes to talk to the stranger – partly because he’s curious, partly because he’s jealous of all his bottles. After the talk, Cuss runs out to see Bunting, the priest.
Cuss wanted gossip, but this is apparently what happened instead: while the stranger was telling him a story about why his research was taking so long (a scientific formula got burned in a fireplace), the stranger revealed that his sleeve was empty. Then he seemed to use an invisible hand to tweak Cuss’ nose. To be clear, if you’re trying to hide the fact that you’re invisible, tweaking people’s noses with your invisible hand is not a good strategy.
I. PLOT/THEME-BASED
Question 1:
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.
Question 2:
Describe the life of the stranger at the Inn.
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 3:
Discuss the meeting of Dr. Cuss with the stranger.
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 4:
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!
Chapter-5
It occurred in the small hours of Whit-Monday, the day devoted in Iping to the Club festivities. Mrs. Bunting woke up suddenly before dawn, hearing the door of their bedroom open and close. She sat up in bed listening. Then she heard the pad, pad, pad of bare feet coming out of the adjoining dressing room and walking along the passage towards the staircase. Now she aroused the Rev. Mr. Bunting as quietly as possible. Without striking a light he went out on the landing to listen. He distinctly heard a fumbling going on at his study desk down-stairs, and then a violent sneeze. Armed with a poker he descended the staircase as noiselessly as possible. Mrs. Bunting came out on the landing. The hour was about four. Everything was still. Then something snapped, the drawer was opened, and there was a rustle of papers. A match was struck and the study was flooded with yellow light. Mr. Bunting was now in the hall, and through the crack of the door he could see the desk and the open drawer and a candle burning on the desk. But there was no robber. They heard the chink of money, and realised that the robber had found the housekeeping reserve of gold-two pounds ten, all in half sovereigns. Gripping the poker firmly, Mr. Bunting rushed into the room. “Surrender!” cried he.
Mrs. Bunting was close at his heels all the while. They stood amazed in the study. There was nobody there to surrender.
“I could have sworn—” cried Mr. Bunting. “The candle!” said he. “Who lit the candle?”
“The drawer!” said Mrs. Bunting. “And the money’s gone!”
There was a violent sneeze in the passage. As they rushed out the kitchen door slammed. “Bring the candle,” called Mr. Bunting, and led the way. They both heard the sound of bolts being hastily shot back. As he opened the kitchen door he saw through the scullery that the back door was just opening. It opened, stood open for a moment, and then closed with a slam. He was certain that nothing went out of the door. They entered the kitchen. The place was empty. There was not a soul to be found in the house, search as they would.
I. PLOT/THEME-BASED
Question 1:
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.
Chapter-6
Back at the Coach and Horses inn, the Halls head down to the cellar to water down their beer.
Mr. Hall has to go back upstairs to get some sarsaparilla to cover the taste of the watered-down beer. On his way, he notices some strange things: the front door is unlocked and the stranger isn’t in his room.
The lady of the house, Mrs. Hall, comes to check in on the situation in the stranger’s room.
She peeks in and, after a few sneezes, the blankets and pillows start flying around the room, and the furniture starts banging around.
Mrs. Hall immediately assumes that the stranger has put ghosts into her furniture. (There’s a joke here about “spirits,” which can mean both ghosts and alcohol. Since alcohol goes into bottles, maybe ghosts could also, and maybe that’s what the stranger has in all of his bottles. At least, that seems to be what Mrs. Hall thinks.)
Some of the villagers – including Sandy Wadgers, the blacksmith, and Mr. Huxter, the general shop owner – get involved in the mystery of the stranger’s disappearance and the haunted furniture. With so many people, not much gets done.
Finally, the stranger comes out of his room and demands to be left alone.
I. PLOT/THEME-BASED
Question 1:
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 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.
Chapter-7
The Halls hear rumours about the burglary the night before.
Everyone at the bar is interested in the strange behaviour of the stranger, who strangely stranges the strange. He’s strange and the villagers don’t like him.
He remains in his room, but Mrs. Hall does not bring him any food.
Mrs. Hall and the stranger start arguing about money because he hasn’t paid his bill recently. But he says he found some more money recently and would be happy to pay.
This, of course, makes everyone think that he was behind the burglary at the vicar’s house.
Finally, the stranger gets so fed up that he reveals himself to the people at the bar:
“You don’t understand,” he said, “who I am or what I am. I’ll show you. By Heaven! I’ll show you.” Then he put his open palm over his face and withdrew it. The centre of his face became a black cavity.
The people in the bar are terrified and run away.
The village people freak out, naturally. They were prepared for scars and ugliness, but what on earth is this?
All the villagers who aren’t in the Coach and Horses come running in to see what all the screaming is about. There are a bunch of people out in the town, since this is a festival day (Whit Monday).
Eventually, Constable Jaffers comes to arrest the stranger. But when he (and some other brave people) go to the inn, they find a headless figure eating some bread and cheese.
The stranger explains that he’s the invisible man. This isn’t much of an explanation, but it’s the first time “invisible man” has been used in the text. So from now on, that’s what we’ll call him.
The stranger – the invisible man – fights with the crowd and seems to be losing. Finally, he says he’ll surrender, but instead, he just takes off all his clothes. Of course, this makes him totally invisible and he starts winning the fight like whoa.
The invisible man starts to beat down on crowd and they all panic. Constable Jaffers falls pretty hard on his head, and it’s not clear whether he’s dead or just unconscious.
I. PLOT/THEME-BASED
Question 1:
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 2:
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.
Chapter-8
Gibbons, the amateur naturalist of the district, was lying out on the spacious open downs without a soul within a couple of miles of him. Almost dozing, he heard the sound of a man coughing, sneezing, and then swearing. Gibbons looked up, but saw no one at all. The voice continued to swear in the rich vocabulary of a cultivated man. It grew to a climax, diminished gradually, and died away in the distance, going in the direction of Adderdean. It finally ended with a chocked sneeze. Gibbons had heard nothing of the morning’s occurrences at Iping. Disturbed by the strange occurrence he got up hastily and hurried down the hill towards the village.
I. PLOT/THEME-BASED
Question 1:
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.
Chapter-9
Mr. Marvel is a tramp – a homeless, jobless guy who wanders around. Marvel wears a shabby high hat, and we first meet him considering two pairs of boots, both probably given to him as charity.
As he ponders the boots, Marvel hears a voice, but he can’t see who’s talking. So, of course, he wonders if he’s drunk or crazy.
To prove that he’s real and just invisible, the voice starts throwing rocks at Marvel.
When Marvel is finally convinced that there might actually be someone there, he is able to make out some bread and cheese in front of him.
The Invisible Man explains that he needs Marvel’s help. He knows Marvel is also an outcast, plus he promises to reward the homeless man for helping him. He explains, “An invisible man is a man of power.” Then he sneezes violently.
I. PLOT/THEME-BASED
Question 1:
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.
II. CHARACTER-BASED
Question 1:
Give a brief character-sketch of Mr. Thomas Marvel.
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.
Chapter-10
At first, the village people of Iping panicked after the invisible man showed himself, or, uh, didn’t show himself.
But after a while, people relaxed and went back to the festival. As the narrator notes, “Great and strange ideas transcending experience often have less effect upon men and women than smaller, more tangible considerations”.
Soon, though, another stranger comes to Iping. Stranger to the villagers, at least: we can recognise him as Marvel thanks to his shabby high hat. This new guy acts suspiciously around the Coach and Horses.
For instance, Huxter, the shop owner, sees this guy waiting outside a window of the inn, holding a bag. A bag! Well, this town hasn’t had a great track record with strangers recently.
So, Huxter runs after the guy, yelling “Thief!” But, before he can catch the man, something trips Huxter and knocks him out.
I. PLOT/THEME-BASED
Question 1:
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 2:
Discuss the entry of a new stranger in the village after the invisible man’s escape from that place.
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.
Chapter-11
Doctor Cuss and the vicar Mr. Bunting are going through the invisible man’s papers, including his diaries. But they can’t understand the diaries and, honestly, they’re not even sure that they’re written in English.
Marvel lets the Invisible Man into the room with Cuss and Bunting. They obviously don’t see the invisible man, but they ask Marvel to leave.
Once he does, Cuss and Bunting lock the door so that no one will interrupt them. Unfortunately for them, this also means that no one will interrupt the Invisible Man when he starts to beat the living daylights out of them.
The invisible man wants to know where his stuff is, including his clothes. He threatens to kill the two men.
I. PLOT/THEME-BASED
Question 1:
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.
Chapter-12
From the bar, Teddy Henfrey and Mr. Hall hear some weird goings-on in the room where the invisible man was staying.
They start to investigate, but Mrs. Hall interrupts them, thinking that Mr. Hall and Henfrey are just spying on Cuss and Bunting for fun. And as we know, that’s her job.
At that moment, Huxter yells out about a thief and goes running off after the man in the shabby high hat.
The people in the inn come out to see what Huxter is yelling about. They see Marvel running off and (for some reason) think that he’s the invisible man . They all go running after Marvel, but just like Huxter, they all get tripped. Kind of a hilarious image if you ask us.
At this point, Cuss comes out of the stranger’s room in the inn, revealing that the invisible man stole his and Bunting’s clothes. Bunting is actually trying to cover himself in a newspaper, which a hilarious little detail that we love to picture.
Once again, the invisible man starts beating people up and breaking things: “his temper, at no time very good, seems to have gone completely at some chance blow, and forthwith he set to smiting and overthrowing, for the mere satisfaction of hurting”. Everyone else, including Marvel, runs away.
Naturally, the invisible man breaks every window at the inn, cuts the telegraph cable, and does some other damage just for fun.
I. PLOT/THEME-BASED
Question 1:
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 2:
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.
Chapter-13
Next time we see them, the invisible man is threatening Marvel. Apparently, Marvel tried to run away (though he claims he didn’t). That would not have been cool, since Marvel is carrying all of the invisible man’s stuff, including his research notes.
The invisible man is also upset that the news of all this hub-bub will be in the paper. It’s too bad he didn’t think of that when he was beating the heck out of people.
Even though Marvel points out that he’s a bad sidekick, the invisible man won’t let him leave.
Marvel makes excuses like he is weak, he could make mess of his plans, he wants to die, etc. but all in vain.
This has no effect on the invisible man. The invisible man threatens him to do as is told and not to make excuses for resignation.
I. PLOT/THEME-BASED
Question 1:
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 2:
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.
Chapter-14
The next day, in Port Stowe, Marvel nervously waits on a bench, and ends up chatting with an elderly mariner (that is, a sailor).
The sailor thinks he hears coins jingling in Marvel’s pockets, though Marvel is clearly a money less tramp.
The old man tells Marvel all about this amazing Invisible Man that he read about in the newspaper. This isn’t some crazy hoax from America, but a story about something going on in England.
The sailor thinks the story is believable because it comes equipped with names and details.
He also thinks that an invisible man would make a great thief since no one could see or stop him.
Marvel takes the opportunity to prove that he’s kind of a dud: right before he tells the sailor that he knows the invisible man, he looks around. Does he expect to see the invisible man?
In any case, the invisible man is there and starts hurting Marvel secretly.
Marvel quickly covers his tracks, saying that the invisible man is just a hoax. Then he gets out of there quickly (or maybe he’s pulled by the invisible man).
The sailor is annoyed at Marvel for letting him go on about this invisible man. But later, the sailor hears stories about a bunch of robberies and how people saw money just floating away.
After that, he realises what had gone down on the bench in Port Stowe, and just how close he had been to the invisible man.
I. PLOT/THEME-BASED
Question 1:
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 2:
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.
Chapter-15
Dr. Kemp is in his study overlooking the town of Burdock. Kemp’s study is full of science stuff, which explains why he’s looking out the window: who wants to look at all that science stuff?
So, looking out of his window, Kemp sees a man with a shabby high hat running down into town. Kemp thinks this might just be another fool who is afraid of the invisible man. Kemp, of course, is too scientific to believe in an invisible man.
But outside, the running man looks terrified. Everyone around freaks out, and for good reason: the invisible man is chasing after the running man.
I. PLOT/THEME-BASED
Question 1:
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.
Chapter-16
In the town of Burdock, at a pub called The Jolly Cricketers, a bunch of people are chatting.
Suddenly, Marvel bursts into the pub, yelling for people to save him from the invisible man. The invisible man is definitely there, because someone is breaking windows (the invisible man’s favorite pastime.) The bartender hides Marvel in a backroom and an American with a gun gets ready to shoot the invisible man when he comes in the front door.
The invisible man, suddenly sneaky, goes in through the back door. He begins to attack Marvel, but the other men in the pub rescue him in time.
The guy with the gun fires it carefully and is sure he hits the invisible man. He tells everyone to go feel for his invisible body.
I. PLOT/THEME-BASED
Question 1:
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 2:
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.
Chapter-17
Back at Kemp’s house, Kemp is busying himself with some works of speculative philosophy.
Kemp gets interrupted by the shots and looks out to see a crowd at the Jolly Cricketers. Shortly after, he’s interrupted again when someone rings his doorbell. But his housemaid tells him that there was no one at the door.
On his way to bed, after a long day of speculative philosophy, Kemp notices some blood on the floor and on the handle of his bedroom door. When he opens the bedroom door, he sees some floating, bloody bandages, which makes him feel “eerie”.
The invisible man calls Kemp by his name and tells him not to panic. Of course, when an invisible man tells someone not to panic, that person panics.
So the invisible man wrestles Kemp down (which, in our experience, usually doesn’t help stop people from panicking). The invisible man tells Kemp that he knows him from school: he’s really a guy named Griffin. He then gives us a little more 4-1-1: he’s almost an albino, he’s 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. Griffin takes a glass of whiskey, which looks like it’s just suspended in mid-air. Then he puts on clothes, which look like they’re floating. And finally, he smokes a cigar, so the smoke outlines his mouth and throat.
It was just a coincidence that Griffin broke into Kemp’s house to recover, but now he needs Kemp’s help. Luckily, the bullet that got him just scratched his wrist, so he’s not going to die. Griffin needs help because his partner stole his (stolen) money.
He tells Kemp that he’s too tired to tell the full story now and he needs to sleep. He also adds that he doesn’t want people to capture him, which we’d say is an odd request for a guest. But that’s the kind of guy Griffin is: strange.
I. PLOT/THEME-BASED
Question 1:
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 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 2:
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.
II. CHARACTER-BASED
Question 1:
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.
Chapter-18
After Griffin makes sure the bedroom is secure and after Kemp promises not to turn him in, Griffin goes to sleep.
Kemp can’t sleep right now. For one thing, he’s worried briefly about his sanity (was that really an invisible Griffin?). For another thing, Griffin took his bedroom.
Instead, Kemp spends some time reading the newspapers from that day. The top news story is about a dangerous invisible man. Kemp wonders why Griffin was chasing that tramp. That didn’t look like innocent fun.
Kemp worries that Griffin may become more unstable and dangerous. He hesitates, but eventually decides to write a note to Colonel Adye.
Then he hears Griffin wake up. As usual, Griffin starts his day off with, an evil temper by tossing some furniture around. Kemp hurried upstairs and knocks eagerly.
I. PLOT/THEME-BASED
Question 1:
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 2:
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 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 3:
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.
Chapter-19
Actually, Griffin threw some stuff around because he’s just kind of an angry guy, as Kemp notes.
Kemp tells Griffin that he wants to help, but first, he needs to know his story. So strap yourself in for Griffin’s story.
Griffin was a medical student at the same time as Kemp, but Griffin switched to physics because he was interested in light. He came up with a loose theory for how to make objects invisible, but needed to figure out a method to actually do it.
(There’s some pretty hilarious dialogue here, too. After Griffin gives a long comment on reflection, refraction, and absorption of light, Kemp remarks: “that is pretty plain sailing”. If it’s not plain sailing for you, you can always read up a little more on the concepts.)
Griffin left London (and University College) six years ago and went to Chesilstowe, where he was a teacher and a student. What he really wanted to do, though, was to continue his research into invisibility.
Still – and this is his big problem – his professor (Oliver) was “a scientific bounder, a journalist by instinct, a thief of ideas—he was always prying!”. Griffin didn’t want to publish his research because then Oliver would get a lot of credit for it.
Griffin had done all this work himself. As he notes, “In all my great moments I have been alone”.
One night, alone, Griffin figured out how to make a human invisible. Pretty soon he was thinking about making himself invisible, since it would get him out of his life as “a shabby, poverty-struck, hemmed-in demonstrator, teaching fools in a provincial college”. Harsh!
After three years of teaching and research, he didn’t have the money he needed to complete his research. So, he did the obvious thing i.e. he robbed his dad.
Unfortunately, the money he stole was not actually his dad’s, and so his dad shot himself.
I. PLOT/THEME-BASED
Question 1:
‘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 2:
Which subject fascinated that invisible man and why?
Answer:
The Invisible man was initially a student of medicine, However, subsequently he switched over to Physics because he was fascinated by light and its wonderful characteristics. He was attracted by the marvels and miracles of that were there in the subject of Physics. He also had curiosity and a desire to find out a method to change colours of substances without changing their fundamental properties. He also wanted to carry out a research on this topic using various principles and laws of Physics such as reflection, refraction. All this phenomena were concerned with light and its properties. He was also enchanted by the phenomena of visibility and invisibility of objects. He had a loose theory on invisibility and he wanted to find out methodology to figure it out. It was, therefore, he was fascinated by the subject of Physics.
Question 3:
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 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 4:
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.
II. CHARACTER-BASED
Question 1:
Draw a character sketch of Mr. Oliver, the professor.
Answer:
As illustrated in this chapter, Mr. Oliver is a Professor by profession but a journalist by instinct. Griffin was his student. Oliver was a scientific founder. As described by Griffin, Oliver was a thief of ideas. He was, as stated, a journalist by instinct, always in an attempt to steal idea, theory, thesis, fact and research conceived and developed by others and,to receive *11 the credit for some other’s work. As a result, he was always prying at every one whom he came into contact. It is therefore, evident, that he was not a trustworthy person even being into a holistic profession of teaching and do not form a good opinion of himself among his press and students. People would like to keep distance from him to prevent any kind of intellectual harm.
Chapter-20
Back at Kemp’s house, Kemp offers his chair to Griffin, mostly to get Griffin away from the window.
Griffin continues his story: after his dad died, he moved into a cheap boardinghouse in London to continue his research.
He did go to his dad’s funeral (which is awfully nice of him), but he didn’t really feel sorry for him. You may gather this if you’re a very careful reader and read the following sentence: “I did not feel a bit sorry for my father”.
In fact, except for his research, the whole world seemed distant and unimportant to Griffin.
His research, Griffin adds, is all written down in a code in his books, except for a few parts that he chose to remember himself. Just in case the code wasn’t enough.
Back at the boardinghouse, Griffin continued his experiments. He made some wool invisible and then he made a neighbourhood cat invisible. That cat experiment took a few tries, and the cat didn’t seem to like it so much.
Unfortunately for Griffin, the cat’s noise attracted an old woman who lived in the boardinghouse and who had always suspected Griffin of vivisecting animals. (Around this time, England was making some anti-vivisection laws. Check out The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896), for the story of a scientist who is doing research on animals.) Eventually, though, Griffin got annoyed by the cat and let it out.
Then, as usually happens when one gives away his only friend, Griffin had a little breakdown. He started to have nightmares and was no longer interested in his work. But he took some strychnine (a drug) and felt energised. He is really a terrible role model.
At one point, the old woman and the landlord came up to make sure that Griffin wasn’t experimenting on animals. They got into a little bit of a fight, which ended with Griffin pushing the landlord out of his room.
Realising that this would lead to trouble, Griffin decided to disappear.
He sent his books off by mail to some places where he could pick them up. Then he started the process of turning himself invisible, which really hurt. (It almost makes him feel bad for that cat that he experimented on.) During the process, the landlord tried to give Griffin an eviction notice, but Griffin already looked so strange that the landlord ran away.
At some point, Griffin became almost totally invisible, except that “an attenuated pigment still remained behind the retina of my eyes, fainter than mist”.
The landlord and his stepsons tried to break in, which angered Griffin so much that he planned to bum down the house. But he couldn’t find any matches. Dam.
When the landlord and company finally broke down the door, they couldn’t find Griffin. Turns out he was hiding outside the window, “quivering with anger”.
Griffin destroyed his equipment, found some matches, and set his room on fire because “it was the only way to cover my trail—and no doubt it was insured”.
Now that he was invisible, he started thinking about “the wild and wonderful” things he could do as an Invisible Man. Shmoop has some ideas, too, but we’ll let you use your imagination.
I. PLOT/THEME-BASED
Question 1:
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 2:
Describe how did Griffin manage to protect and secure his theory of invisibility.
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 3:
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 4:
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.
Chapter-21
Griffin continues his story:
While he was still pretty excited to be invisible, he realised that invisibility had some drawbacks. For one thing, he couldn’t see his feet, which made walking down stairs a little strange.
The fact that people couldn’t see him had advantages and disadvantages.
Advantage: he got to pretend that a man’s bucket was crazy.
Disadvantage: a man running to catch the bucket jammed his fingers into Griffin’s neck.
Also, Griffin was always cold and started to get the sniffles. Oh, and a dog could totally find him.
Wandering around London, Griffin came across a Salvation Army march, which drew a crowd. Crowd are dangerous to Griffin, since he can’t slip through them – people can feel him even if they don’t see him.
He tried to get out of the way, but he had stepped in some mud and left muddy footprints. Some street urchins started to follow him, which is never good.
Then it started to snow and Griffin got tired of his adventure. Of course, he couldn’t go home since he had set his apartment on fire (he probably should have thought of that before).
Back in Kemp’s study, listening to this story, Kemp looks out the window. What is he looking for? What does he see? Kemp asks Griffin to go on.
I. PLOT/THEME-BASED
Question 1:
Describe what did Griffin experience while getting downstairs.
Answer:
While going downstairs Griffin experienced an unexpected difficulty. He, because of his invisibility was not able to see his feet, as a result he could not put his steps at right places on the staircase, as a result of which he stumbled not once but twice. He was also not able to hold the latch and hence, was not able to bolt the door with strength. He felt an unaccustomed clumsiness in gripping the bolt.
Question 2:
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.
Question 3:
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 4:
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.
Chapter-22
Griffin continues his story. This is one invisible man who needs to get some stuff off his chest, apparently.
With a January snowstorm blowing in to London, Griffin needed to find a place to stay. He couldn’t get into a house, so he decided to do the next best thing: go shopping.
Seriously, he went to a giant department store named Omniums. (Omniums isn’t a real place, but there were department stores in England in the 1890s, though they were pretty new.)
Griffin waited until the place closed, then he started searching around for things he could use. He stole some food and clothes. Over by toys, he saw some fake noses, which started him thinking about wigs and other costume stuff that could help him pretend to be normal. Like Halloween all year.
He slept in the department store, living out every child’s dream. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as fun as you’d think: he had nightmares about being forced into his father’s grave and buried because no one could see him.
Griffin woke up when the workers came back the next morning, and he almost got caught. The workers chased him around the store (they could see him because he was wearing clothes); but once again, Griffin took off his clothes to become invisible.
Since he couldn’t steal clothes, Griffin had to leave the store with nothing – the sort of sad experience we all can empathise with.
I. PLOT/THEME-BASED
Question 1:
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 2:
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, 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 3:
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.
Chapter-23
Griffin continues his story. Oh, when will it end?
Griffin was getting more and more upset about the whole invisible situation.
He made his way to a costume shop to find wigs, noses, and other stuff, so that he might appear “a grotesque but still a credible figure”.
When Griffin found his way to a store, the very alert shop owner almost caught him. The shop owner had a revolver, and he kept locking doors behind him.
This made Griffin angry, which seems to be his only emotion. So, he knocked out the shop owner and tied him up. (And that’s the last we hear of that guy. Kind of sad for him.)
Kemp interrupts Griffin’s story to tell him that he isn’t following “the common conventions of humanity” when he knocks people out in their own homes. Griffin points out, though, that he’s not a common person.
Back to the story: Griffin went ahead and stole money and clothes. At least now people will be able to see him.
Griffin stops his story for a minute in order to give Kemp a long speech about how being invisible isn’t so great. For one thing, he can’t eat in public because he can’t reveal his mouth. (This explains why he never ate in front of people at the Coach and Horses in the earlier chapters.)
Kemp wants to keep him talking, so he asks what happened after he got all dressed up.
Griffin continues his story:
He got his books and ordered the equipment he would need. All he wanted was to figure out how to reverse the invisibility treatment. Unfortunately, those gossipy people of Iping interfered with this plan. He asks, “Why couldn’t they leave me alone?”
Now that everyone has gotten in his way – especially Marvel – Griffin is even angrier than before and plans on killing people. We would be worried about that, but when was the last time one of Griffin’s plans went well?
I. PLOT/THEME-BASED
Question 1:
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 2:
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.
II. CHARACTER-BASED
Question 1:
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 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.
Chapter-24
Kemp sees some people coming up the hill to his house, so he tries to keep Griffin talking.
Griffin says he had planned to go someplace warm, like South America, where he wouldn’t have to wear clothes (at least not during spring break).
But since he met Kemp, he’s changed his plans. Griffin now realises how little one person can do on his own.
Invisibility is especially useful for killing people, so Griffin plans to establish a new Reign of Terror – with Kemp’s help, of course.
First, though, he needs to get his books back from Marvel, who is locked up at the jail for his own safety.
Suddenly, Griffin hears some people sneaking up in the house, and he realises that Kemp has betrayed him.
Sad and angry, Griffin takes off his clothes.
Kemp tries to capture Griffin with the help of the three men, including Colonel Adye, the police captain who got Kemp’s letter.
Griffin pushes past them with as much violence as he can and escapes.
I. PLOT/THEME-BASED
Question 1:
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 2:
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.
Chapter-25
Kemp explains to Adye that they have to take measures against Griffin because he’s insane, a person of “pure selfishness”.
They have some advantages, though. For one thing, they know that Griffin wants to get to Marvel and his stolen books.
Also, Griffin basically told Kemp his life story, so they have all that information. Kemp knows that they can keep him unstable by making sure he doesn’t get a moment to eat or sleep. And of course, he knows that they can use dogs against Griffin.
Kemp even suggests that they put powdered glass on the roads, but Adye objects that” it’s unsportsmanlike”. At least someone’s worried about that.
Kemp counters that Griffin is inhuman, that “he has cut himself off from his kind. His blood be upon his own head”.
I. PLOT/THEME-BASED
Question 1:
What measures need to be taken to prevent the invisible man from leaving the district of Burdock?
Answer:
- He must be prevented from eating and sleeping; day and night.
- Food must be locked up and secured so that he will have to break his way to it.
- The houses everywhere must be barred for him.
- The whole countryside must begin hunting and keep on hunting.
- Get Hopps and the railway managers on alert.
Question 2:
What inhuman things did Dr. Kemp advise Adye to do in order to catch the invisible man in any case?
Answer:
- 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.
- 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.
- He also advised Adye to spread powdered glass on roads, though it is inhuman and unsportsmanlike.
Chapter-26
The police swung into action. By two o’clock every passenger train travelled with locked doors, and goods traffic was suspended. Twenty miles around Port Burdock, men in groups of three or four armed with guns and accompanied by dogs were beating 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. A proclamation signed by Adye was posted over the whole district by four or five o’clock in the afternoon. Before nightfall an area of several hundred square miles was in a state of siege.
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. Mr. Wicksteed was an amiable man of forty-five or forty-six and steward to Lord Burdock. He lay crushed on the edge of a 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.
In spite of all the vigil, the invisible man seems to have eaten and rested that night. He was
back in action with renewed vigour the next day.
I. PLOT/THEME-BASED
Question 1:
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.
Question 2:
Give a brief account of the murder of Mr. Wicksteed.
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.
Chapter-27
In the worst letter ever, Griffin tells Kemp that he is taking charge: “Port Burdock is no longer under the Queen, tell your Colonel of Police, and the rest of them; it is under me—the Terror! This is day one of year one of the new epoch—the Epoch of the invisible man. I am invisible man the First” .
The letter also says that Griffin will kill Kemp that day.
What’s even better is that Griffin sent that letter without a stamp, so Kemp had to pay for it upon delivery. As we said, worst letter ever.
Kemp has his housekeeper lock up all the windows and gets his revolver ready. He writes a note for Adye, saying that Kemp will act as bait to catch Griffin.
Adye hows up later, saying that Griffin grabbed the note from Kemp’s servant. So now Griffin knows that Kemp wants to set a trap.
Then Griffin does what he does best: he breaks some windows. But there’s no way for him to get into Kemp’s house because they’ve anticipated his arrival. This is the siege of Kemp’s house. Adye borrows Kemp’s gun and tries to go for help, but Griffin trips him up and grabs the gun. At first, Adye refuses to help Griffin, but he changes his mind when he realises “that life was very sweet”.
The narrator switches point-of-view here, and goes from Adye to Kemp, who is watching all this from an upstairs window. Suddenly, he sees Adye attack Griffin and get shot. It sure looks like Adye is dead, but we’re not sure.
Kemp’s housemaid is coming up the hill with two policemen. At the same time, Griffin has found an axe and is using it to break through the shutters over a window.
Luckily for Kemp, the police get there in time, and he gives them some fireplace pokers to use as clubs. So it’s pokers vs. axe-and-revolver, though Griffin isn’t a great shot.
Griffin knocks out one of the cops, but the other cop hurts Griffin (by aiming near the axe). There’s a snapping sound, so may be his arm gets broken. Griffin drops his weapons and runs away. But when the cops look around, they find that Kemp and his housemaid have also run away. That probably doesn’t make them feel too great about the guy they just saved.
I. PLOT/THEME-BASED
Question 1:
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 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 2:
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.
Chapter-28
Before now, Kemp’s neighbour, Heelas, didn’t believe in the invisible man. But when he wakes up from a nap and sees Kemp’s house broken into and Kemp running toward him, Heelas does the only sensible thing: he locks himself inside his house and refuses to help his neighbour.
From Heelas’s point-of-view, we see Kemp run through the garden followed closely by the invisible man.
Kemp continues running towards Burdock. It sounds something like a nightmare: the road is long and empty, and no one in the nearby houses will help him.
Still, when Kemp arrives in Burdock, he finds a couple of workmen (navvies) on the road. When he yells about the invisible man, everyone nearby tries to find and hit the invisible man with
shovels and all.
When the invisible man grabs Kemp, the navvies knock the Invisible Man down. So, maybe these guys are the real heroes of the book?
The narrator notes that the next scene might have looked like a game of rugby, but it was actually a big fight between the crowd and the invisible man.
Spoiler alert: the invisible man loses. “There was, I am afraid, some savage kicking. Then suddenly a wild scream of ‘Mercy! Mercy!’ that died down swiftly to a sound like choking”.
Kemp tries to get people off of Griffin, but the invisible man is already not breathing and possibly dead.
Everyone crowds around to see what happened, and slowly, the invisible man starts to become visible (but still naked):
And so, slowly, beginning at his hands and feet and creeping along his limbs to the vital centres of his body, that strange change continued. It was like the slow spreading of a poison. First came the little white nerves, a hazy grey sketch of a limb, then the glassy bones and intricate arteries, then the flesh and skin, first a faint fogginess, and then growing rapidly dense and opaque. Presently, they could see his crushed chest and his shoulders, and the dim outline of his drawn and battered features. Cool, and horrible, That’s how Griffin’s experiment in invisibility ends, with people covering up his “naked and pitiful” body.
L PLOT/THEME-BASED
Question 1:
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 2:
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. 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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