NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English (Footprints without Feet) Chapter 5 Footprints without Feet

NCERT
SOLUTIONS
CLASS - 10th

aglase .co

Class : 10th
Subject : English-2
Chapter : 5
Chapter Name : Footprints without Feet

Q1 How did the invisible man rst become visible?

Answer. Grif n was completely invisible until he happened to step in some 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 to put on
some warm clothes. After the store was shut, he got dressed by putting on shoes, an overcoat
and a wide-brimmed hat. This made him visible to the people who came to work at the store the
next day.

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Q2 Why was he wandering the streets?

revenge, he set re to the house. He had to remove his clothes to get away without being seen.
This was why he had become a homeless wanderer—without clothes and money.

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Q3 Why does Mrs Hall nd the scientist eccentric?

Answer. The arrival of a stranger at an inn in winter was in itself a strange occurrence. In
addition, the stranger had an uncommon appearance. In spite of Mrs Hall’s attempts to be
friendly, he would respond in a cold manner. He told her that he had no desire to talk, and that
all he wanted was solitude. He did not wish to be disturbed in his work. For all these reasons she
regarded him as an eccentric scientist.

Q4 What curious episode occurs in the study?

Answer. A clergyman and his wife were awakened very early in the morning by noises coming
from the study. They crept downstairs and heard the chink of money being taken from the
clergyman’s desk. With a poker grasped rmly in his hand, the clergyman hoped to surprise the
thief. However, it was he who was surprised when he found the room to be empty. He and his

wife looked under the desk, behind the curtains, and even up the chimney. There was nobody
there. Yet the desk had been opened and the housekeeping money was missing. It was a curious
episode, and the clergyman kept saying the words “extraordinary affair” for the rest of the day.

Q5 What other extraordinary things happen at the inn?

Answer. Apart from the study room incident, many other extraordinary things happened at the
inn. When the landlord and his wife saw the scientist’s door open, they entered his room. They
saw that the clothes and bandages that he always wore were lying about the room. Suddenly, Mrs
Hall heard a sniff close to her ear. A moment later, the hat on the bedpost leapt up and dashed
itself into her face. Then, the bedroom chair became alive and charged straight at her. As she
and her husband turned away in terror, the chair pushed them out of the room, and then
appeared to slam and lock the door after them. Mrs Hall, who almost fell down the stairs in
hysterics, was convinced that the room was haunted by spirits, and that these spirits had
something to do with the strange scientist.

Grif n was strongly suspected of having a hand in the burglary at the clergyman’s home. When
Mrs Hall questioned him on the strange happenings in his room, he threw off his bandages,
whiskers, spectacles and false nose. The people were horri ed to see a headless man. When the
police arrived, he threw off one garment after another, thereby becoming invisible and running
away.

Q1 “Grif n was rather a lawless person.” Comment.

revenge, he set re to the house and ran away. He had no money. Therefore, he stole and robbed
people after becoming invisible. When he went into the London store, he gave himself the
pleasure of clothing. He fed himself without regard to expense. Later, he went to Drury Lane,
which was the centre of the theatre world. He went to a suitable shop and came out wearing
bandages round his forehead, dark glasses, false nose, big bushy side-whiskers, and a large hat.
He was visible then. To escape without being seen, he callously attacked the shopkeeper from
behind, and robbed him of all the money he could nd. When he had exhausted all the money he
had stolen, he robbed a clergyman. He even attacked the innkeeper and his wife when they tried
to sneak into his room. Later, when the police came to arrest him, he threw off his clothes,
thereby becoming invisible and running away.

Q2 How would you assess Grif n as a scientist?

Answer. After repeated experiments, Grif n had discovered how to make the human body

transparent. This was a big achievement. However, he misused his discovery for personal gains
and for hurting others. Thus, though he can be termed as a brilliant scientist, he was not a noble
one.

Q1 Would you like to become invisible? What advantages and disadvantages do you foresee, if
you did?

Answer. Missing

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Q2 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. Missing

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Q3 What makes glass or water transparent (what is the scienti c explanation for this)? Do you
think it would be scienti cally possible for a man to become invisible, or transparent? (Keep in
mind that writers of science ction have often turned out to be prophetic in their imagination!)

Answer. Missing

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