Revision Summary: Footprints without Feet (Class 10 English)
1. Unit at a glance
- The unit contains only the prose story “Footprints without Feet” by H.G. Wells; no poem is included.
- Central focus is a scientist named Griffin who discovers how to make the human body invisible.
- The narrative follows Griffin’s misuse of this discovery as he turns into a lawless wanderer.
- Key settings are mid-winter London and the village of Iping.
- The story highlights problems of invisibility, theft, and suspicion from others.
- It raises questions about the responsible use of scientific power.
2. Prose
Summary
Griffin, a brilliant but lawless scientist, swallows rare drugs and becomes invisible. After leaving muddy footprints in London, he steals clothes and food from a store, then disguises himself at a theatre shop by robbing the owner. He moves to Iping, where his strange behaviour and sudden cash lead to suspicion. At the inn, furniture seems to move by itself; later he is forced to remove his disguise, revealing a headless man. He finally escapes after knocking the constable unconscious.
Setting
Mid-winter London streets and shops, followed by the village of Iping and its inn.
Main characters
- Griffin: a brilliant but lawless scientist who becomes invisible and uses the power for theft and escape.
- Mrs Hall: the innkeeper’s wife who tries to be friendly but grows suspicious of the stranger.
- The clergyman: victim of the study burglary whose money disappears while the room appears empty.
- Mr Jaffers: the village constable who attempts to arrest the headless, increasingly invisible man.
Sequence of key events
- Boys notice fresh muddy footprints appearing from nowhere in London.
- Griffin explains he became invisible after swallowing rare drugs; he set fire to his landlord’s house and fled naked.
- He enters a London store at closing time, dresses, eats, and sleeps there.
- Chased next morning, he removes clothes and becomes invisible again.
- At a Drury Lane theatre shop he steals clothes, bandages and money after attacking the shopkeeper.
- He reaches Iping, pays in advance, and demands solitude.
- Burglary occurs at the clergyman’s house; money vanishes from an empty room.
- Furniture at the inn attacks Mrs Hall and her husband; Griffin is suspected.
- When questioned, Griffin removes his disguise, becomes a headless man, fights Jaffers, and escapes.
3. Poem
No poem is present in the unit.
4. Themes and messages
The writer shows that scientific discovery can be misused when the discoverer lacks moral sense (“Griffin was rather a lawless person”). The story illustrates that invisibility brings practical hardships and social suspicion rather than freedom. Reference: Griffin’s thefts and the attack on the shopkeeper demonstrate the misuse of his power.
5. Literary devices
- Simile: “his body became as transparent as a sheet of glass — though it also remained as solid as glass.”
- Imagery: “fresh muddy imprints of a pair of bare feet” and “footprints followed, one after another, descending the steps.”
- Personification: “the hat on the bedpost leapt up and dashed itself into her face” and “the bedroom chair became alive… charged straight at her.”
- Irony: the constable must arrest “a man without a head” yet still tries to do his duty.
6. Vocabulary
- Bewildered: confused or puzzled.
- Transparent: allowing light to pass through so objects behind can be seen.
- Eccentric: behaving in an unusual or odd way.
- Solitude: state of being alone.
- Hysteria: uncontrolled excitement or panic.
- Callously: without caring about others’ feelings.
- Constable: police officer.
7. Exam pitfalls
- Mixing the order of events (e.g., thinking the Iping furniture incident happens before the London store episode).
- Claiming Griffin uses invisibility only for good; the text shows repeated theft and violence.
- Forgetting that Griffin becomes visible only when clothed and invisible when naked.
- Confusing Mrs Hall’s reaction with the clergyman’s; the furniture attack is at the inn, not the study.