| Name | Footprints Without Feet |
| Type | Question Answer |
| Class | 10th |
| Subject | English |
| Board | NCERT |
| Author | R. K. Narayan |
Footprints Without Feet Class 10 NCERT Solutions
Q1: How did the invisible man first become visible?
Ans: The invisible man first became visible when he stepped in some mud which left the footprints in the mud as he walked. His footprints were seen by two boys who followed him until his footprints fainted and became invisible again. As it was mid-winter, he slipped into a big London store for keeping himself warm and slept there while picking up a pair of shoes, an overcoat and a wide-brimmed hat from the store. He became fully dressed and visible person. The next morning, when he was stil sleeping, the store assistants started coming in and saw him was actually the first time he was seen.
Q2: Why was he wandering the streets?
Ans: Griffin was a lawless person. His landlord disliked him and tried to evict him from the house. In revenge Griffin set fire to the house. To get away without being caught he removed all his clothes so that he could not be seen and thus, became a homeless wanderer. He did not have nay money or clothing left with him. Thus, he was wandering in the streets.
Q3: Why does Mrs Hall find the scientist eccentric?
Ans: Griffin arrived at an inn in Iping village during winter season which itself was a uncommon thing to happen. Griffin had a weird appearance. Mrs Hall tried to be frindly with him but he gave her a cold response. He told her that he didn’t want to be disturbed and the reason for his visit to the village of Iping was solitude. There were some of the reasons due to which Mrs. Hall considered him to be an eccentric scientist.
Q4: What curious episode occurs in the study?
Ans: The clergyman and his wife were awakened early one morning by noises in their study room. They heard the sounds of coins being taken from the clergyman’s desk. When the clergyman went to study with a metal rod and looked under the desk, behind the curtain and up the chimney but no one was seen. But the desk was found open and the housekeeping money was also missing.
Q5: What other extraordinary things happen at the inn?
Ans: A series of extraordinary things happened at the inn. The landlord of the inn and his wife were surprised to see the doors of Griffin’s room open. Usually it was always shut and locked and the scientist became furious if anyone entered his room. They looked inside and found that nobody was inside the room and decided to investigate. Griffin was nowhere to be seen in the room. His clothes and bandages that he always wore were lying about the room. All pf a sudden, while investigating, Mrs.Hall heard a sniff next to her ear and the hat on the bedpost leapt up and dashed itself into her face. Then the chair in the room charged towards Mrs.Hall and hit her. As they both turned in terror, the chair pushed both of them out of the room and the door was slammed and suddenly a locking sound was heard. Mrs. Hall was scared and felt that the furniture was haunted by soirits and that the stranger had somehow caused these to enter into her furniture.
THINK ABOUT IT
1: “Griffin was rather a lawless person.” Comment
Ans: Griffin was a lawless person as he was not bothered if he had harmed anybody to fulfill his selfish interests. He set his landlord’s house on fire because the landlord tried to make him leave. Therefore, his roberries at shops and later in the village indicate that he was a lawless person. He stole money from Clergyman’s house. When he encountered the landlady of the inn, he threw a chair at her husband. He also escaped from the clutches of Mr Jaffers, the constable who had come to arrest him for his wrongdoings. Lawless people like Griffin never think about the safety and well=being of others. They are only concerned about themselves.
2: How would you assess Griffin as a scientist?
Ans: Griffin was a brilliant scientist, as he discovered the scientific formula to make a human body invisible. This was a big achievement iin science. But he seems to enjoy the feeling of power which he gets out of his invisibility. He misused his discovety. He stole things and also hurt people for his safety. Although he was brilliant in his job, but he was not a noble scientist who made contribution for the larger benefit of society. A true scientist should make discoveries for the larger benefit of society, not just for his own benefit.
TALK ABOUT IT
1: Would you like to become invisible? What advantages and disadvantages do you forsee, if you did?
Ans: It can be an awful idea to become invisible. Everything in this world has pros and cons and thus invisibility also have many advantages and disadvantages. Invisibility can help to maintain law and order in the society by tracking illegal crimes caused by anti-social elements and put an end to the nuisance created by terrorists or criminals. On the other hand, invisibility may mean a license for all kinds of pranks without getting caught. Once you become invisible, nobody would notice you. A person is likely to become isolated and will have no friends. One will tend to behave like the eccentric scientist Griffin in the story.
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?
Ans: Magnetic forces and electrostatic forces are examples of invisible forces. The atoms and molecules in a matter are so tiny that they are not visible to the naked eye. Similaryly sound and heat energy are invisible. While the idea of seeing invisible things can be very exciting, their visibility would create too many problems. For example, if we were able to see all the sound and view the magnetic force, around us, that would be irritating for us.
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!)
Ans: The fact that light can pass through glass or water makes them transparent. When light rays fall on an object, the reflected light from that object makes it visible to us. If some device can be made that can prevent reflection of light from the human body then the human body can also become invisible.