Footprints without Feet
Textual questions with their answers
1. How would you assess Griffin as Scientist?
Answer: Griffin was a brilliant scientist that was evident from his drug of invisibility. After repeated experiments, he had discovered how to make human body invisible. This was a big achievement. However, he misused his discovery to hurt others. He seemed to enjoy the feeling of power which he got out of his invisibility. The power to hurt anybody without getting noticed can give sadistic pleasure to somebody. A true scientist makes discovery for the larger benefit of the society but Griffin misused it for personal gains. Thus, though he can be termed as a brilliant Scientist, he was not a noble one.
2. The two boys in London were surprised and fascinated. Why?
Answer: The two boys saw muddy imprints of a pair of bare feet without man. As they gazed, a fresh footprint appeared again. Further, footprints followed, one after another and soon became fainter and fainter and at last disappeared completely. All this surprised and fascinated the boys.
3. What did Griffin do inside the shop (London store)?
Answer: Griffin had chosen mid-winter of the year to wander about London without clothes. The air was bitterly cold and it was not easy for him to wander naked about the streets of London. He entered a big London store for warmth and food. There he got the pleasure of clothing and feeding without expenses. He broke open boxes and wrappers and fitted himself with warm clothes,shoes,an overcoat and a hat. This way he made himself fully dressed and visible person. In the kitchen of restaurant, he got the pleasure of feeding with cold meat and coffee and followed up the meal with some sweets and wine. Finally, he laid down on a pile of quilts for rest.
4. How did Griffin escape from the London store?
Answer: Griffin didn’t wake up before the assistants of store arrived next morning. When he saw two of them approaching, he ran in fear. They chased him, but could not catch him as he quickly took off his clothes and became invisible, finally escaped from the store.
5. What did Griffin do inside the shop of a theatrical company?
Answer: Griffin found a suitable shop of the theatrical company to get not only clothes, but also to hide the empty space above his shoulders. There he wrapped bandages round his forehead, wore dark glasses, false nose, big whiskers and a large hat. To escape from shop, he attacked the shopkeeper from behind and robbed him off all the money.
6 Why was the arrival of the stranger in a village inn an unusual event? Write your answer by giving two reasons.
Answer: Griffin booked two rooms at a local inn of village Iping where his arrival was thought to be in any case an unusual event. He came there at the time of mid winter when nobody comes there. Secondly, his appearance was uncommon which surprised everyone there.
7. How did the scientist look when he came to the inn?
Answer: The scientist looked very strange in appearance when he came to the inn. He puzzled everyone with his uncommon look. He had bandages round his forehead and was wearing dark glasses. He had a false nose, big bushy side-whiskers and a large hat. He had worn all these things to hide his empty space above his shoulders as to become visible.
8. What made Mrs Hall to think Griffin as ‘an eccentric scientist’?
Answer: Griffin came to an inn at the time of winter which was an unusual event. Besides bearing an uncommon appearance, his arrival surprised everyone. Mrs hall wanted to be friendly with him but he didn’t respond in a cold manner. He had no desire to talk, and told her that his reason for coming Iping was to get solitude. He didn’t want to be disturbed in his work. All this made her to think that Griffin was an eccentric scientist.
9. What was the curious episode that took place in the clergyman’s study?
Answer: Early in the morning Clergyman and his wife were awakened by noises in the study. They heard the chink of money being taken from the clergyman’s desk who tried to catch the thief with a poker in his hand. He flung open the door but found the room empty. He and his wife looked under the desk and behind the curtains, and even up the chimney and could not find sign of anybody. Yet they were shocked to find the housekeeping money missing. It was a curious episode, and the clergyman kept saying the words “extraordinary affair” for the rest of the day.
10. Why were Landlord and his wife surprised to see the scientist’s door wide open? What were the extraordinary things that happened in the room of inn?
Answer: The landlord and his wife had woken early in the morning, and were surprised to see the scientist’s door wide open. It was a rare sight for them because usually it was shut and locked. However, he was furious if anyone entered his room. Therefore both of them were surprised on seeing the door open.
Many extraordinary things happened inside the room when landlord and his wife entered into. They saw the clothes and bandages that he always wore were lying about the room. Suddenly, Mrs hall heard a sniff close to her ear. A moment later the hat on the bedpost leapt up and dashed into her face. Then, the bedroom chair became alive. Springing into air it charged straight at her legs. As she and her husband turned away in terror, the chair pushed them away out of the room, and then appeared to slam and lock the door after them.
11. Mrs Hall almost fell down the stairs in hysterics. Pick out an example of humour from what follows this incident.
Answer: The chair inside the room pushed Mrs Hall and her husband out of the room and then appeared to slam and lock the door after them. She fell down the stairs in hysterics and thought that the room was haunted by spirits. She moaned that her mother used to sit on that chair which rose against her and pushed her out of the room. This example of humour makes the readers to have pearls of laughter.
12. The scientist was furious. What did he do in anger? Why were the people in the bar horrified?
Answer: The scientist was a quick-tempered person. Mrs Hall demanded him how he had entered the locked room. On hearing this, he lost his temper and became furious. In state of furry, he threw off bandages, whiskers, glasses, and even nose and became half-invisible. The people present in the bar were horrified because they found themselves staring at a headless man.
13. What happened to the constable?
Answer: The policeman tried to catch the scientist who threw off his clothes one after another and became invisible. The constable found struggling with the man he could not see at all. Some people present at scene, tried to help the constable, but found themselves hit by the blows. In the end, the policeman was knocked unconscious as he made a last attempt to catch the invisible scientist.
14. How will you prove that the scientist was a man of ‘irritable temper’?
Answer: The scientist was surely a man of irritable temper that describes his character in the text. When Mrs. Hall wanted to be friendly with him he showed no desire to talk and told her that his reason for coming Iping was to get solitude. At another occasion, Mrs. Hall demanded him his entry into the locked room. He lost his temper and became furious, there by created horror in the bar.
