Footprints without Feet NCERT Ch-5 Class 10th || NCERT || NCERT Intext solutions

 

Footprints without Feet NCERT Ch-5 Class 10th || NCERT  

NCERT Intext solutions

Read and Find Out (Page 26)

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.

Page 28

Question 1.

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 hacLcome there for solitude and did not wish to be 

disturbed in his work.

Question 2.

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 3.

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.

Think About It (Page 31)

Question 1.

“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 2.

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.

Talk About It (Page 31)

Question 1.

Would you like to become invisible? What advantages and disadvantages do you 

foresee, if you did?

Answer:

It can be an exciting idea for most people. Like two facets of a coin, invisibility can have 

many advantages and disadvantages. For a child, invisibility may mean a licence for all 

kinds of pranks without getting caught. Like a Hindi movie, invisibility can help you beat 

all the villains black and blue and get rid of them. 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. You will tend to behave like the eccentric 

scientist in this story.

Question 2.

Are there forces around us that are invisible, for example, magnetism? Are there 

aspects of matter that are ‘invisible1 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:

Magnetic forces and electrostatic forces are examples of invisible forces. The atoms 

and molecules in a matter are so small that they are not visible to the naked eye. 

Similarly, heat energy is invisible. Similarly, sound is invisible to us. While the idea of 

seeing invisible things can be very exciting, their visibility would create too many 

problems. For example, if we are able to see all the sound around us, that would be too 

irritating for us.

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:

The fact that light can pass through glass or water makes them transparent. When light 

falls on an object, the reflected light from that object makes it visible to us. If some 

device can be made which can prevent reflection of light from the human body then the 

human body can be made invisible.