Footprints without Feet Important Questions Class 10 Footprints without Feet English
Very Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1. How did Griffin become invisible?
Answer
Griffin swallowed a concoction of certain rare drugs that made his body transparent like glass, and also, solid as glass.
Question 2. Why did Griffin go inside a big London store?
Answer
Griffin went inside a big London store to gain some warmth, find a place for the night, and also to put on some clothes.
Question 3. How did he escape from the London store?
Answer
Griffin got up and tried to escape. The assistants ran after him. But Griffin took off his clothes one by one. He became invisible and escaped.
Question 4. Why did Griffin slip into a big London store?
Answer
Griffin slipped into a big London store because the cold was unbearable.
Question 5. Why were the two boys in London surprised and fascinated?
Answer
The two boys in London saw fresh muddy footprints appearing on the steps of a house but the barefooted man was not visible. So, they were surprised and fascinated.
Question 6. What was the “curious episode” that took place in the clergyman’s study?
Answer
One morning, the clergyman and his wife were awakened by noise. They saw no person. They were shocked to find that their money had been stolen from the desk.
Question 7. Who was Mr Jaffers? What was his surprise?
Answer
Mr Jaffers was a police constable. His surprise was that he was ordered to arrest a lawless person who was totally invisible.
Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1. What did Griffin do in the shop of a theatrical company?
Answer
He wore bandages round his forehead and put on dark glasses, a false nose, big bushy side whiskers and a large hat. He attacked the shopkeeper from behind and robbed him of all his money.
Question 2. Why did Griffin set the landlord’s house on fire?
Answer
Griffin was not liked by his landlord. He decided to take revenge on him, so one day he set his house on fire. Moreover, he did not want anyone to know about his secret discovery.
Question 3. How did Griffin escape from the London store?
Answer
When two attendants of the store discovered Griffin, they chased him. Hence, in order to protect himself, he threw away his clothes and became invisible and escaped from the London store.
Question 4. Why did Griffin not get a suitable house to live in?
Answer
Griffin was a lawless person, who was largely disliked by all. When his landlord tried to evict him, he set fire to the house and escaped due to his invisibility. Thereafter, it became difficult for him to find a proper place to live in.
Question 5. Why were the two boys surprised when they saw the imprints of a pair of bare feet?
Answer
The two boys could see muddy footprints on the steps of a house in central London, descending towards the street. It was surprising to see the footprints without seeing anybody making them.
Question 6. The landlord’s wife was convinced that Griffin was an “eccentric scientist”. What made her think of Griffin in these terms?
Answer
Griffin remained indoors and did not mix up with others. His habits were strange and his appearance was fantastic. All these things of Griffin made the landlady think that he was an “eccentric scientist.
Question 7. Why was Mrs. Hall hysterical and fell down the stairs?
Answer
When Mrs. Hall went to see the invisible man in his room, she found the bedroom chair became alive, springing into the air, it charged straight into her. Then the chair pushed both husband and wife out of the room. She felt that spirits have entered into her furniture and she became hysterical.
Question 8. What happened when Griffin didn’t wake up in time?
Answer
Griffin entered a big London store. There he slept on a pile of quilts. The next morning he did not wake up in time. The shop assistants opened the door. They found Griffin sleeping.
Question 9. What did the scientist do when he became furious? Why were the people in the bar horrified? What happened to the constable?
Answer
The scientist took off his bandages and spectacles and became headless. The people in the bar were shocked to see a headless man. Griffin hit the constable Jaffers hard and made him senseless.
Question 10. Why were the landlord and his wife surprised to see the scientist’s door wide open?
Answer
The scientist always kept his room locked. He got angry if anybody tried to enter his room. So, the landlord and his wife were surprised when they found his door wide open. It was an unusual thing.
Question 11. What happens to the constable?
Answer
The policeman tried to catch Griffin. But he looked a headless man. Griffin hit the constable. Then Griffin took off his clothes and became totally invisible. The constable was hit by unseen blows. Griffin knocked him unconscious.
Question 12. Why were they surprised when they opened the room?
Answer
Both the clergyman and his wife were surprised because the room was empty. They searched everywhere but couldn’t find anyone. Yet the desk had been opened and the housekeeping money was missing.
Question 13. How did Griffin become a homeless wanderer without clothes?
Answer
Griffin was a lawless scientist. He wanted to take revenge on his landlord. He set his house on fire. Then he took some rare drugs. He became invisible. He took off his clothes and came out. Thus he became a homeless wanderer without clothes.
Question 14. What discovery did Griffin make?
Answer
Griffin was a brilliant scientist. He made some experiments to show that the human body could be made transparent. At last, he discovered a rare drug. He took this drug and his body became as transparent as a sheet of glass.
Question 15. What was the explanation of the mystery of the footmarks? Who was responsible for them?
Answer
The explanation of the mystery of the footmarks was really simple enough. Those footmarks were of a scientist. He was Griffin. Griffin carried out many experiments. He succeeded in proving that the human body could become invisible. Those were the footmarks of the invisible scientist Griffin.
Question 16. Why did Griffin hurry to Drury Lane, the center of the theatre world?
Answer
The invisible but naked Griffin decided to try the stock of a theatrical company in London. He hoped of not only finding clothes for himself but also something that would hide the empty space above his shoulder. He hurried to Drury Lane, the center of the theatre world. He made his way, invisible, upstairs. He came out a little later. He was wearing bandages around his forehead, dark glasses, a false nose, big bushy side-whiskers, and a large hat.
Question 17. Why did the landlady Mrs. Hall try to be friendly and prepared to excuse Griffin’s irritable habits?
Answer
It was winter. It was quite unusual to visit Iping in winter. So, Mrs. Hall, the landlady felt obliged to get a guest in such a season. So, she tried to be friendly with him. Griffin snubbed her and asked her not to disturb him for nothing. Mrs. Hall was prepared to excuse the strange guest because he had paid her in advance. She thought him an eccentric scientist. She tolerated the strange habits and irritable manner of the eccentric scientist.
Question 18. Describe the burglary committed very early in the morning at a clergyman’s house in ping.
Answer
A clergyman and his wife were awakened by the noises in the study. When they came downstairs, they heard the chink of money being taken from the clergyman’s desk. He flung open the door and cried, “Surrender!” They were surprised to realise that the room was empty. The desk was open and money missing. They looked under the desk, behind the curtains and even up the chimney. They found nobody anywhere. The poor couple couldn’t realise that the invisible man, Griffin, decamped unseen with the money.
Question 19. What and why did Griffin show himself to Mrs. Hall and why were the people in the bar horrified?
Answer
Mrs. Hall wanted to know how the stranger came out of an empty room and how he entered a locked room. And what he had been doing to her chair upstairs. This made Griffin furious and he cried, “Very well—I’ll show you.” Suddenly he threw off bandages, whiskers, spectacles and even nose. Mrs. Hall was shocked and the people in the bar were horrified and found themselves staring at a headless man!
Long Answer Type Questions
Question 1. Describe Griffin’s encounter with the village constable Jaffers. Why did nobody lay his hands on Griffin?
Answer
The village constable Jaffers had been informed about the wrongdoings of the stranger staying at the inn. And he appeared on the scene. He was completely surprised to find that he had to arrest a man without a head. But Jaffers was a determined person. He couldn’t be easily prevented from doing his duty. There followed a wonderful scene. The policeman tried to get hold of Griffin. As he came near, Griffin started throwing off his clothes one after another. As Griffin threw off his clothes more invisible he became. Finally, a shirt flew into the air and Griffin became absolutely invisible. The constable was trying to catch hold of a person whom he couldn’t see at all. Some people tried to help Jaffers. They were beaten back by the invisible man. In the end, Jaffers made the last attempt to hold on to the unseen scientist, Griffin. Jaffers was knocked down unconscious. The people were nervous and excited. They were crying, “Hold him!” Griffin had shaken himself free. No one knew where to lay hands on Griffin.
Question 2. When and how did the landlady Mrs. Hall and her husband see their furniture moving and behaving strangely in the stranger’s room? What was the result?
Answer
The landlord and his wife were up very early. They were surprised to see the scientist’s room widely open. Usually, it was shut and locked. They decided to investigate. They peeped round the door but found nobody. In the room, the bedclothes were cold. That proved that Griffin had woken up quite early. They found the clothes and bandages that he always wore lying about the room. All of a sudden, Mrs. Hall heard a sniff very close to her ear. A moment later the hat leaped up from the bedpost. It dashed itself into Mrs. Hall’s face. Then the bedroom chair started moving. She and her husband turned away in terror. The `extraordinary chair’ pushed both of them out of the room. Then the door was shut and locked after them. Mrs. Hall almost fell down the stairs. She was very nervous and confused. She was convinced that the room was haunted by spirits. The stranger, Griffin had caused those spirits to enter into her furniture. Her mother used to sit in the chair which rose up against her. The feeling among the neighbours was that the trouble was caused by witchcraft.
Question 3. Why did Griffin have to resort to a burglary at the house of a clergyman in the village of Iping?
Answer
Griffin had booked two rooms at the local inn in the village of Iping. The landlady Mrs. Hall tolerated the strange habits and irritable temper of her strange guest because he had paid her in advance. But the stolen money didn’t last long. Griffin had no more ready cash. He pretended to Mrs. Hall that he was expecting a cheque to arrive at any moment. Griffin had to find ready cash. So, the result was the burglary at a clergyman’s house.
Very early in the morning, the clergyman and his wife were awakened by the noises in the study. When they came downstairs, they heard the chink of money being taken from the clergyman’s desk. Without making any noise, the clergyman flung open the door shouting, “Surrender!” But he was amazed to find the room empty. He and his wife looked under the desk and behind the curtains. They even looked up the chimney. There was no sign of anybody. Yet, the desk had been opened and the money was missing. The clergyman could only utter, “Extraordinary affair!” The invisible man had already decamped with the cash.
Question 4. Griffin misused his invention, instead of using it for the betterment of the society. Do you think moral values are important along with intellectual abilities? Discuss.
Answer
Griffin was a scientist who had made a discovery due to which he could be invisible. But he was rather a lawless scientist, who misused a scientific discovery for his petty, selfish gains. He set his landlord’s house on fire, when he asked him to vacate it. He entered the store invisible, stole clothes and food.
At another shop, he attacked the shopkeeper from behind and ran away after robbing his money. At Iping, he stole the clergyman’s money from his desk and hit Mrs Hall by throwing a chair on her. He hurled blows on the police constable Mr Jaffers and knocked him down. In this way, Griffin misused his scientific discovery without making benefit to the mankind.
Question 5. Describe the scene when Mr. Jaffers tries to arrest “a man without ahead”?
Answer
One day. Griffin stole money from the clergyman’s house. The people of the village suspected Griffin. They thought that he had stolen the money. Mrs. Hall called a policeman. When the policeman reached there, he was surprised. Griffin had removed his spectacles, false nose and side-whiskers. Now, he looked headless. The policeman was surprised as he had to arrest a headless man. He tried to catch Griffin. But Griffin started taking off his clothes one by one. He was becoming more and more invisible. In the end, he became totally invisible. The constable tried to fight with him. Some villagers also tried to help the policeman. But they received blows from nowhere. Then Griffin hit the policeman. He fell unconscious. Then Griffin became free and walked out.
Question 6. “A lawless scientist is a curse to the society.” Discuss.
Answer
It is true, that a lawless scientist is a curse to the society. A true scientist uses his discoveries for the good of the society and welfare of the people. It helps the nations to progress. A lawless scientist increases the miseries and sufferings of society. In this story, we find how Griffin misuses his discovery.
He causes pain and suffering to others. He causes destruction. Suppose the nuclear weapons fall in the hands of a lawless scientist, he can cause widespread destruction. He may ruin the achievements of other scientists. That’s why the leaders of the world are worried about chemical weapons falling into the hands of lawless heads of governments or terrorists. If this happens, all the scientists of the world will be doomed.
Question 7. What was the curious episode that took place in the clergyman’s study?
Answer
One day, early in the morning some sounds came from the study. The clergyman and his wife were awakened. They came downstairs. They heard the chink of money from the study. It was clear that someone was taking away money from the clergyman’s desk. The clergyman took a poker in his hand. He carefully opened the door. He expected to find a thief in the room. So he shouted and asked the man to give in. But he found the room empty. They were surprised. He and his wife looked under the desk. They looked behind the curtains. They even checked the chimney. But they did not find anybody. However, the desk had been opened. They found that money was missing from the desk. This was really a curious episode.
Question 8. What other extraordinary things happened at the Inn?
Answer
The landlord and his wife were surprised to see the door of the scientist’s room open. Usually it is shut and locked and Griffin becomes furious if anyone enters his room. So they did not want to miss this opportunity. They peeped round the door, and finding nobody inside, decided to enter and investigate. The bedclothes were cold, showing that the scientist must have been up for some time now. All of a sudden Mrs. Hall heard a sniff close to her ear. A moment later that hat on the bed suddenly leapt up and dashed itself onto her face.
Then the bedroom chair became alive. Springing into the air, it charged straight at her legs. 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, by now, convinced that the room was haunted by spirits and the stranger had somehow caused these to enter into the furniture.
Question 9. How would you assess Griffin as a scientist and a human being? What qualities or values would you suggest will make him a better person?
Answer
Griffin was an eccentric scientist who had discovered a rare drug which could make him invisible. Griffin became invisible not for. The welfare of the society but to satisfy his own ego and carry out satanic deeds. He was a brilliant scientist but not a law-abiding person. He was a criminal scientist who had no respect for humanity. He stole money from the clergyman’s house, set the landlord’s house on fire and even killed his father for his own benefit. He was also not a good human being. He was rude to everyone. When everyone asked about his secret, he hit them and escaped becoming invisible. I would like to suggest him to imbibe empathy, kindness, helpfulness, honesty, generosity, social responsibility, etc. These values will make him a better person. He should have used his discovery for the benefit of society and his country.