CLASS 12- THE INVISIBLE MAN Questions and answers

1. Character sketch of Mr. Thomas Marvel.

Ans. Mr. 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 gets the invisible mans books and carries them around. He wears a
shabby high hat and we first meet him considering two pairs of boots, both
probably given to him by someone. There is an air of eccentricity about him.
He was bearded, plump and had short limbs. He wore a furry silk hat, twine
and shoe-laces 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.
2. Narrate the episode of Marvels first meeting with the invisible man.
Ans. 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 for charity. He put
the four shoes in a group and looked at them. It occurred to him that both
pairs were exceedingly ugly.
He heard a voice from behind . Then he realized 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 to him that he needed
Marvels help. He knew that Marvel is an outcast. Moreover, 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.
3. After going through the Invisible Man , what do you think about Griffin? Is he
a criminal who should be punished for his crime or should we blame other
people for coming in his way of getting success?
Ans. No doubt Griffin was gifted with immeasurable scientific talent. He did
something impossible, i.e. become invisible. His fault was that he
thoughtlessly and selfishly tried to use his discovery to reign over others. His
doom came because of his not pondering over the consequences of his
actions. He lost all reasoning and started to spread terror all around. At one
point it seemed that he would have reached his goal if other people had not
come in his way of getting success. Initially when he came to the inn, he
didnt notice anything perilous about him and he kept on doing his work
without harming anybody. But as time passed, his destructive tendencies
came to the fore and he became a threat to society. Even the people he had
trusted such as Marvel and Kemp, tried to betray him and he became even
more violent and met his end.

In my opinion, each person has shades of grey in his personality, the only
thing is that he should get the opportunity to channelize the energy in the
positive direction to get the maximum benefit out of the knowledge that the
person possesses.

4. Money had been the central force behind the happenings in the novel. How
far to you agree with the statement ? Justify with examples.
Ans. The story of Griffin seems to be a parable depicting the power of money.
Griffins invisibility resulted from a scientific discovery . The chief use Griffin
makes of his invisibility is to rob people of their money. This is supported by
the statement, The story of the flying money was truemoney had been
quietly and dexterously making off that day in handfuls floating quietly
along by walls and shady placesMoreover, the only thing that gets Griffin
accepted in Iping is money. He gets a room at the inn because of his ability to
strike a bargain. Even Mrs Hall does not bother to learn Griffins name as
long as he pays his bills on time. Indeed money helps a lot in manipulation as
he calms down an agitated Mrs Hall by saying Put it down in the bill. As Mrs
Hall says , he may be a bit overbearing , but bills settled everything Thus
griffin needs money to survive and his crimes started with his stealing of
money from his father. He was able to live among the people by virtue of the
power of money.
5. Unbridled ambition can drive a man to the brink of disaster and make him
lose his reasoning . How is Griffin a manifestation of this statement?
Ans. Griffin a psychopathic scientist who studied Physics . Had a wild desire
to be invisible and reign over the world. Worked tirelessly to achieve formula
so desperate that he drove his own father to commit suicide when he had
robbed money from him . A very interesting character doesnt seek
anyones help at the beginning of the novel - and begs for help at the end.
Had no sense of right or wrong had no human interaction and interacted
only for personal gains. Set house on fire to conceal his attempts at being
invisible. Prone to fits of violence to scare and keep others away. He tends to
abuse his invisibility to threaten or punish characters like Marvel or Kemp. All
his vacuous activities led him to nothingness and ultimately resulted in his
tragic death.
6. Comment on the ending of the novel.
Ans. No doubt the ending of the novel left the readers thinking about the lack
of proper law and order system. Marvel, who was in the possession of the
manuscripts with the secret formula and all the robbed money, got away
while Griffin was punished for his follies. Marvel even became the owner of an
inn named after the invisible man and lied about him having those

manuscripts. Nobody suspected him even though he was the only one other
than Griffin who had seen the books containing the formulae.
It would be better if Kemp got the books- he could use them for the service of
humanity. Invisibility had not been put to good use by Griffin which might
otherwise have immense possibilities. Marvel was an uneducated tramp- did
not realize the negative impact of invisibility. Kemp educated- realized that
invisibility could do harm if not used properly. So did not help Griffin.