AMBER INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, THANE.

(2021-22)
NOTES

SUB:ENGLISH (First flight) STD: X

5. Footprints Without Feet

- H.G. WELLS

Summary

• Two boys on a London street were surprised to see fresh

muddy footprints of bare feet without finding who was making
them.
• These footprints had been made by Griffin, an eccentric
scientist who had discovered how to make his body
transparent.
• To get away after he had burnt his landlord’s house down, he
had to remove his clothes so that he became invisible.
• Griffin entered unseen into a big store to get warm. When the
store closed at night, he put on new clothes, consumed meat
and coffee from the restaurant and went to sleep on a pile of
quilts.
• He overslept and was seen by the shop assistants in the
morning. He again took off his clothes to escape them.
• Then he entered a theatrical company, and wore bandages on
his face, dark glasses, a false nose and bushy side-whiskers.
He robbed the shopkeeper of his money and escaped to loping
village by train to avoid being caught.
• He rented two rooms at an inn in the village. He explained to
Mrs. Hall, it s owner, that he had an accident and did not want
to be disturbed. Soon his money finished and so he robbed a
clergyman’s house by using his invisibility.
• That same day, when Mrs. Hall entered his room, she and her
husband were ‘attacked’ by the furniture. This made Mrs. Hall
think that it was haunted by spirits.
 • When the clergyman reported the burglary to the police, Griffin
was suspected of having a hand in it. So the village constable,
Jaffers came to arrest him on suspicion.
• Meanwhile, Mrs. Hall asked Griffin to explain all the unusual
happenings. Griffin lost his temper and took off all his clothes
(thus becoming invisible), knocked Jaffers unconscious and ran
away.

I. Multiple Choice Questions based on an extract

(A) As she and her husband turned away in terror, the extraordinary chair pushed them
both out of the room and then appeared to slam and lock the door after them.
Mrs. Hall almost fell down the stairs in hysterics. She was convinced that the room
was haunted by spirits, and that the stranger had somehow caused these to enter into
her furniture.
“My poor mother used to sit in that chair,” she moaned! To think it should rise up
against me now! The feeling among the neighbours was that the trouble was caused
by witchcraft.”

I. Mrs. Hall felt that the room was haunted by spirits

because
(a) she could see evil spirits.
(b) she heard strange noise.
(c) uncanny things happened there.
(d) the door slammed shut.

II. Pick the option that best describes how Mrs. Hall must be
feeling at the moment described in the extract.
(a) stunned and furious
(b) shocked and outraged
(c) outraged and nervous
(d) stunned and agitated
III. Pick the sentence that brings out the meaning of ‘hysterics’ as used in the
extract.
(a) My friend and I were in splits when we saw the clown’s antics.
(b) I don’t know why I suddenly felt worried about flying home.
(c) The sight of blood put the old man in a frenzy.
(d) The people who had witnessed the accident were spellbound.
IV. Pick the option that displays a cause-effect relationship.
(a) pushed and locked out → hysterical
(b) rising of the chair → moaning
(c) troubled neighbours → witchcraft
(d) stranger → haunted spirits

V. The neighbours thought it was ‘witchcraft’. This tells us that

neighbours were
(a) suspicious
(b) superstitious
(c) nervous wrecks
(d) gossip-mongers
VI.

Column A Column B
I. The stranger was (i) eccentric, lonely and callous
II. He had escaped (ii) eccentric, callus and short-tempered
III. He had an uncommon appearance (iii) from Iping to London
(iv) as he wore bandages around his
forehead

(a) I-ii, II-iv, III-iii

(b) I-I, II-iii, III-iv
(c) I-iii; II-ii; III-i
(d) I-ii; II-iii; III-iv

VII. Look at the different meanings of ‘haunt’. Pick the option that
DOES NOT correspond to its meaning
(a) to be conscious of a strange phenomenon.
(b) be persistently and disturbingly present in (the mind).
(c) (of something unpleasant) continue to affect or cause
problems for.
(d) a place frequented by a specified person.

Ans. (A): (i)-(c), (ii)-(d), (iii)-(c), (iv)-(a), (v)-(b), (vi)-(d), (vii)-(a)

II.SHORT ANSWERS

1. How did the invisible man first become visible?

Sol. The invisible man was a brilliant scientist. His name was Griffin. He
invented a rare drug which made him invisible. When he dressed completely
using clothes stolen from a suitable shop, he became visible. He took
bandages for his forehead, dark glasses, a false nose, big bushy
side whiskers, a wide-brimmed hat and an overcoat. He arrived at the village
of Iping and his unusual appearance startled everyone.

2. Why was he wandering on the streets?

Sol. Though Griffin was a brilliant scientist, he was a lawless person. His
landlord disliked him and wanted to throw him out so he set fire to his
house. To avoid getting caught, he removed his clothes and started
wandering on the streets sans clothes and money.

3. Why does Mrs. Hall find the scientist eccentric?

Sol. When Griffin, the scientist, came to Iping he booked two rooms in the inn.
Mrs. Hall who was the landlord’s wife served him everything of use. She
wanted to be friendly with the scientist and made every effort to befriend
him. But he forbade her to disturb him again and again. He told her that he
came to Iping to satisfy his desire for solitude. He also said that an accident
had affected his face. So Mrs. Hall thought that he was an eccentric scientist.

4. What curious episode occurs in the study?

Sol. One morning the clergyman and his wife were awakened by some noises.
When they went downstairs they heard money being taken out form the
clergyman's desk. Stealthily, the clergyman grasped a poker in his hand and
opened the door of the study. The episode took around a turn when they
found nobody in the study. Even though there was no one inside, the desk
was found open and the money kept on the desk was missing.
 QUESTION TO BE SOLVED

5. "Griffin was rather a lawless person.” Comment.

III. III. LONG ANSWERS

1. How would you assess Griffin as a scientist?

Sol. Griffin was a brilliant scientist. He discovered a rare drug which could make
the human body invisible. But he misused his discovery. He swallowed the
rare drug and set fire to the house of his landlord as he did not like Griffin
and wanted to eject him from his house. After this, he robbed the theatrical
shop. At Iping, he stole the clergyman’s housekeeping money by opening his
desk.
Thus it is clear that Griffin was a brilliant but lawless scientist as he misused
his powers and did not consider the consequences of his deeds. He broke the
law to meet his goals.

2. What other extraordinary things happen at the inn?

Sol. Besides the incident of stealing money from the clergyman’s desk, many
other extraordinary things happened at the inn. One day Mr. and Mrs. Hall
saw the scientist’s door open. Usually, it remained closed. They entered the
room to investigate. They found the clothes cold which showed that the
scientist had been up for some time. The bandages and clothes that the
scientist wore were lying about the room. Suddenly Mrs. Hall heard a sniff
near her ear. At once the hat from the bed leapt up and dashed itself into her
face. Meanwhile, the chair became alive and threw itself out of
the room.

QUESTION TO BE SOLVED

3. Would you like to become invisible? What advantages and

disadvantages do you foresee, if you did?