Footprints without feet

FOOTPRINTS WITHOUT FEET

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.

Question 3. 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 had come there for solitude and did not wish to be disturbed in his work.

Question 4. 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 5.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.

Question 6.“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 7.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.

Short Answer Type Questions [2 Marks each]

Question 1.
Why were the two boys in London surprised and fascinated?
Answer:
The two boys in London were surprised and fascinated when they saw fresh muddy footprints of a human being on the steps of a house, but no man was there making them! As they looked, a fresh footprint appeared from nowhere.

Question 2.
Why did Griffin decide to slip into a big London store? [CBSE 2011]
Answer:
Griffin decided to slip into a big London store, because the season was mid-winter, due to which it became difficult to wander around without clothes in London.

Question 3.
How was Griffin a lawless man?
Answer:
Griffin was lawless because he had committed many anti-social deeds for which he never felt guilty. He set fire to his landlord’s house and ran away, he stole ‘ foodstuffs and clothes from a London store, stole other goods from a theatrical company and also stole money from a clergyman’s house to pay his bills.

Question 4.
What did Griffin do in the shop of a theatrical company? [CBSE 2012]
Answer:
The second time Griffin tried the stock of a theatrical company in the hope of finding not only clothes but also something like side whiskers, glasses, false nose, bandages, hat etc that would hide the empty space above his shoulders.

Question 5.
How did Griffin find himself invisible but naked in the chill January air for the second time?
Answer:
As he had overslept in the big London store, when the store opened in the morning the store assistants came in. Griffin panicked and ran, chased by the assistants. He had to take off his newly found clothes to become invisible and escape, so that he found himself invisible but naked in the chill January air for the second time.

Question 6.
What did the Halls see in the scientist’s room? [CBSE 2013]
Answer:
As the door of the room was open and nobody appeared to be inside, the Halls entered the scientist’s room. They saw that the bedclothes were cold, showing that the scientist must have been up for some time; and stranger still, the clothes and bandages that he always wore were lying about the room.

Question 7.
How did the visible man become invisible? What did he do then? [CBSE 2014]
Answer:
The invisible man got angry with Mrs Hall for asking an explanation for the mysterious happenings and threw off all he was wearing on his head so that he became a man without a head. Soon the constable Jaffers arrived to arrest him, but the invisible man threw off all his clothes to become invisible and, in the ensuing scuffle, knocked Jaffers unconscious and escaped.

Question 8.
What happened to Jaffers when he tried to catch the invisible scientist?
Answer:
When constable Jaffers tried to catch Griffin, he became invisible by removing his clothes. Jaffers found himself struggling with someone who couldn’t be seen. He was hit blows by Griffin and soon was knocked unconscious.

Question 9.
What was the explanation of ‘mystery’? (Footprints Without Feet)
Answer: The two boys followed muddy footprints being made fresh without seeing anybody making the prints, which was a ‘mystery’ for them. The explanation was that the bewildered boys had been following a scientist who had just discovered how to make the human body transparent, and thus invisible, by swallowing certain drugs.

Long Answer (Value Based) Type Questions [8 Marks each]

Question 1.
Griffin was not a true scientist as he misused his scientific discovery. Illustrate this point by giving two incidents from the story.
Answer: A true scientist is a law-abiding person. Griffin was not a true scientist as he did not use his discovery of how to make himself invisible for good uses. He lost control of himself and behaved like a criminal. First, he set fire to his landlord’s house and ran away. Then he stole food without paying for it in a London store. Besides, he robbed the owner of a theatrical company and stole money from a clergyman’s desk.

Question 2.
Describe the landlord’s and his wife’s experience with the strange scientist. [CBSE 2016]
Answer:
Both Mrs Hall and her husband were surprised to find the scientist’s room door open because normally it was always locked. So they peeped in, but found nobody there. The clothes and bandages that he always wore were lying about the room. Suddenly Mrs Hall heard a sniff close to her ear and the hat on the bedpost leapt up and dashed itself into her face. Then the bedroom chair sprang into the air and pushed them both out of the room and then appeared to slam and lock the door after them. Mrs Hall became hysterical and almost fell down the stairs. She thought that her furniture was haunted. They decided to confront the scientist next time when they met him.

Question 3.
What impression do you form of Griffin after reading the lesson, “Footprint,without Feet”?
Answer:
Griffin was a brilliant scientist, as he discovered a drug due to which his body became transparent as a sheet of glass after swallowing it. This made him invisible. But he was a lawless person. Because of his misdeeds, he became a homeless wanderer without clothes and money. He was an introvert with a desire for solitude. He was always seeking adventure, being fond of mysterious things. However, he was unscrupulous, as he robbed various people to finance his work, besides he got angry very quickly, which caused him to become a fugitive.

Question 4.
If, somehow you discovered how to become invisible, how would you use that opportunity? [CBSE 2015]
Answer:
If I discovered how to become invisible, I would use this opportunity to punish all those people who cause trouble to others for their own selfish motives. I would catch them and hand them over to the police without letting them know that I was behind them. I will also help the law-enforcing agencies when they conduct raids on criminal hideouts, as I will be able to move in the open without fear of being seen. This will help the people of the country to become more law-abiding citizens.