Footprints without Feet | Question and Answer |
NCERT | Class 10 | English | Footprints without Feet
Read and find out
Question 1 How did the invisible man first become visible?
Answer He was completely invisible until he happened to step in mud, which caused him to leave footprints as he walked. His footprints were seen by two boys , who followed him as long as the prints were visible. On getting rid of them, he went 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 from the house. 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 without clothes and money.
Question 3 Why does Mrs Hall find the scientist eccentric?
Answer Mrs Hall found the scientist eccentric because of his strange appearance. She put in all her efforts to be friendly but was in no mood to talk to anyone. He told her that he had no desire to talk, and all he wanted was solitude. He did not wish to be disturbed in his work.
Question 4 What curious episode occurs in the study?
Answer Early morning, a clergyman and his wife were awakened by noises coming from their study. They heard the sound of coins being taken from the clergyman’s desk. To their amazement the room appeared to be empty. He and his wife looked everywhere but there wasn’t a sign of anybody. Yet the desk had been opened and housekeeping money was missing.
Question 5 What other extraordinary things happen at the inn?
Answer At the inn, Mrs Hall and her husband were surprised to see the scientist’s room door open which usually remained locked and shut. However, he was not seen in the room and they decided to investigate further. All of a sudden Mrs Hall heard a sniff close to her ear. The next moment a 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 and then appeared to slam and lock the door after them. She was convinced that the room was haunted by spirits and the stranger had somehow caused these to enter into the furniture.
Think About it
Question 1 “Griffin was rather a lawless person.” Comment.
Answer Griffin was a lawless person. He did many acts that were against the laws of the country. He set his landlord’s house on fire because the landlord tried to make him leave and became a homeless wanderer. He also robbed a shopkeeper of all the money he could find. He stole the house keeping money from the clergyman’s desk. 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. However he misused his discovery for personal profit and hurting others. He seems to enjoy the feeling of power which he gets out of his invisibility. A true scientist should make discoveries for the larger benefit of society, not just for his own benefit.
Talk About it
Question 1 Would you like to become invisible? What advantages and disadvantages do you foresee, if you did?
Answer Like two facets of a coin, invisibility can have many advantages and disadvantages. Yes , I would you like to become invisible as this would give me a chance to get adventure and joys of life. If I become invisible then I would try to help people who are needy. I also help in spying over the enemies and to catch the culprits. But 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. This is the main disadvantage of being invisible.
Question 2 Are there forces around us that are invisible, for example, magnetism? Are there aspects of matter that are ‘invisible’ 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 Yes forces like magnetic, electrostatic and gravitational forces are examples of invisible forces. We can feel these forces but cannot see them. Similarly heat energy and sound energy are invisible. It is existence of such forces which help planets , stars ,galaxies to remain at their fixed position. Things always fall down due to gravitational forces. While the idea of seeing invisible things can be very exciting, their visibility would create too many problems. If we could see such forces, the world world would be surrounded by various rays which will be crossing each other. The confusion will be so great that one will not be able to understand the path to follow.
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 When a ray of light passes through a medium without deflecting its path , the medium appears as a transparent medium. When light falls on an object, the reflected light from that object makes it visible to us. Light passes through glass or water without any deviation , this makes glass or water transparent. The man becoming invisible is just an imagination. There are so many things that can be felt but not seen.
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