Read and Find Out
(Page 26)
Question 1.
How did the invisible man first become visible?
Answer:
The invisible man (Griffin) first became visible after he slipped into a big
London store for keeping warm and overslept there while wearing some clothes
taken from the store. The clothes made him visible to the shop assistants when
the shop opened in the morning. To escape from them, he had to shed all his
clothes to become invisible again.
Question 2.
Why was he wandering the streets?
Answer:
Though he was a brilliant scientist, he was a lawless person. His landlord
disliked him and wanted to evict Griffin. In revenge, he set fire to the house.
To escape, he removed his clothes, becoming invisible. Thus he became homeless
and was wandering the streets of London.
Page
28
Question 1.
Why does Mrs Hall find the scientist eccentric?
Answer:
Mrs Hall found the scientist eccentric
because of his strange appearance and also, when she tried to be friendly with
him, he rebuffed her by saying that he hacLcome there for solitude and did not
wish to be disturbed in his work.
Question 2.
What curious episode occurs in the study?
Answer:
Very early one morning, a clergyman and his wife were awakened by noises coming
from their study. Then they heard the sound of coins being taken from the desk
there. However, when they entered the study, they did not find anybody there,
which was curious.
Question 3.
What other extraordinary things happen at the inn?
Answer:
At the inn, Mrs Hall and her husband went into the scientist’s room on finding
its door open. However, he was not seen in the room, but Mrs Hall heard a sniff
and the hat on the bedpost leapt up and dashed into her face. Then the bedroom
chair sprang into the air and pushed them both out of the room. This made Mrs
Hall think that her furniture was haunted.
Think About It
(Page 31)
Question 1.
“Griffin was rather a lawless person.” Comment.
Answer:
Griffin was not bothered if he had harmed anybody in the fulfilment of what he
wanted. He set his landlord’s house on fire because the landlord tried to make
him leave. Then his robberies at shops and later in the village indicate that
he was a lawless person. When he encountered the landlady of the inn, he threw
a chair at her and her husband. Lawless persons like Griffin never think about
the safety and well-being of others. They are only concerned about themselves.
Question 2.
How would you assess Griffin as a scientist?
Answer:
Griffin is a brilliant scientist, as he discovers how to make himself
invisible. But he seems to enjoy the feeling of power which he gets out of his
invisibility. The power to hurt anybody without getting noticed can give
sadistic pleasure to some people. A true scientist should make discoveries for
the larger benefit of society, not just for his own benefit.
Talk About It
(Page 31)
Question 1.
Would you like to become invisible? What advantages and disadvantages do you foresee,
if you did?
Answer:
It can be an exciting idea for most people. Like two facets of a coin,
invisibility can have many advantages and disadvantages. For a child,
invisibility may mean a licence for all kinds of pranks without getting caught.
Like a Hindi movie, invisibility can help you beat all the villains black and
blue and get rid of them. Once you become invisible, nobody would notice you.
Within no time, the sadness of isolation will take over the excitement of being
invisible. You will have no friend. You will tend to behave like the eccentric
scientist in this story.
Question 2.
Are there forces around us that are invisible, for example, magnetism? Are
there aspects of matter that are ‘invisible1 or not visible to the naked eye?
What would the world be like if you could see such forces or such aspects of
matter? ‘
Answer:
Magnetic forces and electrostatic forces are examples of invisible forces. The
atoms and molecules in a matter are so small that they are not visible to the
naked eye. Similarly, heat energy is invisible. Similarly, sound is invisible
to us. While the idea of seeing invisible things can be very exciting, their
visibility would create too many problems. For example, if we are able to see
all the sound around us, that would be too irritating for us.
Question 3.
What makes glass or water transparent (what is the scientific explanation for
this)? Do you think it would be scientifically possible for a man to become
invisible, or transparent? (Keep in mind that writers of science fiction have
often turned out to be prophetic in their imagination)
Answer:
The fact that light can pass through glass or water makes them transparent.
When light falls on an object, the reflected light from that object makes it
visible to us. If some device can be made which can prevent reflection of light
from the human body then the human body can be made invisible.
Either way the teacher or student will get the solution to the problem within 24 hours.