Long Answer Questions: Footprints without Feet | English Class 10 PDF Download

"Footprints without Feet" is a captivating tale from the  Class 10 English curriculum that follows the story of Griffin, a scientist who invented a formula for invisibility. Although he was invisible, people could still sense him. Regrettably, Griffin misused his power to steal items such as money, clothes, and food. Below are some Long Answer Questions related to this chapter.Q1: Why did Griffin have to resort to a burglary at the house of a clergyman in the village of Iping?

Ans: Griffin had booked two rooms at the local inn in Iping, where the landlady, Mrs. Hall, put up with his peculiar habits and bad temper because he paid in advance. When Griffin ran out of money, he pretended to be expecting a cheque. To get cash, he decided to rob a clergyman’s house.
Early one morning, the clergyman and his wife were woken by noises from their study. They heard the sound of money being taken from the desk. The clergyman burst in shouting “Surrender!” but found the room empty. They searched under the desk, behind the curtains, and up the chimney, but found no one. The desk was open, and the money was gone. The clergyman could only exclaim, “Extraordinary affair!” Griffin had already escaped invisibly with the cash.

Q2: Why did Griffin leave London and came to live in the village of Iping? How was he received there?

Ans:  Griffin wanted to escape the crowded city of London and took a train to the village of Iping. Mrs. Hall, the landlady, welcomed him and tried to be friendly, but Griffin was distant and made it clear he wanted to be left alone. He also said that an accident had affected his face.Mrs.Hall thought Griffin was an eccentric scientist and tolerated his odd behavior because he had paid in advance. 
However, after a burglary at the clergyman’s house and strange things happening with Mrs. Hall’s furniture, the villagers grew suspicious. Mrs. Hall thought her room was haunted and blamed Griffin for it. Neighbors suspected witchcraft, and Griffin’s sudden appearance of cash made them even more suspicious of him.

Q3: 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?

Ans: The landlord and his wife woke up early and were surprised to find the scientist’s room wide open, as it was usually locked. They decided to investigate but found no one inside. The bedclothes were cold, showing Griffin had been up for some time, and his clothes and bandages were scattered around. Suddenly, Mrs. Hall heard a sniff close to her ear. 
Then Griffin’s hat leaped from the bedpost and hit her face. The bedroom chair began moving on its own. Terrified, Mrs. Hall and her husband were pushed out of the room by the chair, which then shut and locked the door behind them. Mrs. Hall, shaken and nearly falling down the stairs, thought the room was haunted by spirits. The neighbors believed witchcraft was involved.

Q4: How did invisibility help Griffin in escaping on different occasions in the story? When did invisibility become a curse for Griffin?

Ans: Griffin, a once-brilliant scientist, discovered how to make himself invisible but chose to use this power for crime rather than good. He committed thefts and assaults, always escaping danger by turning invisible. His first use of invisibility was when he panicked in a London store, shedding his clothes to become invisible and escape from employees who saw him.
Later, after robbing a clergyman’s house, Griffin used his invisibility to cause chaos, hitting Mrs. Hall with a hat and pushing her and her husband out of the room, making her think the house was haunted. He also set his landlord’s house on fire and escaped. When constable Jaffers tried to arrest him, Griffin knocked him out. However, being invisible came with the curse of enduring the cold without clothes, leaving Griffin a homeless, lawless wanderer.

Q5: Describe Griffin’s adventures or misadventures in the village of Iping. Why did he come there?

Ans: Griffin left busy London for the quiet village of Iping to avoid attention. He booked two rooms at the local inn but ignored Mrs. Hall’s friendly attempts. Short on money, he decided to rob the clergyman’s house. The clergyman and his wife heard money being taken but saw no one, finding only an open desk and missing cash.
Griffin’s problems worsened when he threatened Mrs. Hall and her husband by hitting them with his hat and moving a chair, leading Mrs. Hall to believe the house was haunted. When she confronted him about how he entered a locked room, Griffin revealed himself as a headless man in anger. Later, when constable Jaffers tried to arrest him, Griffin shed all his clothes, turned invisible, and knocked Jaffers out before escaping into the night.

Q6: Give a character-sketch of Mrs. Hall.

Ans: Mrs. Hall was delighted to welcome a strange guest in winter at the local inn in Iping, finding his arrival quite unusual. As a good landlady, Mrs. Hall tried hard to make her guest comfortable and even attempted to be friendly. However, Griffin, who desired solitude, snubbed her efforts and preferred to be left alone. Mrs. Hall, believing Griffin was an eccentric scientist, excused his odd habits and irritable behavior, mainly because he had paid in advance. In the off-season, such a guest was a blessing.
When Mrs. Hall saw unusual behavior in her guest’s room, like a hat flying and a chair moving on its own, she was shocked. She believed the room was haunted by spirits. Mrs. Hall, daring to question Griffin, asked about the chair and how he entered a locked room. Griffin, infuriated, removed his bandages, whiskers, spectacles, and false nose, revealing himself as a headless man, shocking her and others in the bar.

Q7: What was the curious episode that took place in the clergyman’s study?

Ans: One morning, the clergyman and his wife heard noises coming from the study. They woke up and went downstairs. They heard money being moved from the study, which meant someone was taking money from the clergyman’s desk. The clergyman grabbed a poker and carefully opened the door, expecting to find a thief.
But when he looked inside, the room was empty. He and his wife were puzzled. They checked under the desk, behind the curtains, and even the chimney, but found no one. The desk was open, and money was missing. It was a strange situation.

Q8: Why did Griffin enter the big London store? What did he do there? How he was finally obliged to leave it?

Ans: Griffin set fire to his landlord’s house and then took a drug to become invisible. Since it was very cold and he had to remove his clothes, he went to a London store before it closed. After the store shut, Griffin broke open boxes, put on some clothes, and went to the kitchen to eat cold meat and drink coffee. He then lay down on a pile of quilts. The next morning, store workers arrived and found Griffin asleep on the quilts. When he woke up, he tried to escape, but the workers chased him. Griffin quickly took off his clothes, became invisible again, and managed to flee.

Q9: Why was the arrival of the stranger in a village in an unusual event? Give two reasons.

Ans: Griffin was a scientist. He reached the village inn in winter. He was a stranger in that village. It was not a proper time to visit the village. People did not come here in winter. So the event was unusual.  Secondly, Griffin looked very strange. He was wearing dark glasses, a false nose, and a big hat. His forehead was covered with bandages. He did not talk to anyone in the village. He said that he wanted to live alone. He asked Mrs. Hall not to disturb him. The people of the village were attracted to his strange appearance and habits. Thus, his coming to the village was an unusual event.

Q10: Describe the scene when Mr. Jaffers tries to arrest “a man without ahead”?

Ans: 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. 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.

Q11: Give a character sketch of Griffin. Why did his discovery of invisibility make the brilliant scientist a lawless person who brought sufferings to himself and the people around him?
Or
Was Griffin a true scientist in spite of his great discovery? Didn’t he misuse his discovery for his petty gains and thefts rather than for the welfare of humanity?

Ans: Griffin was a brilliant scientist who discovered how to make himself invisible. Despite his amazing achievement, he used it for selfish purposes, committing thefts, burglaries, and attacking innocent people. He could have gained fame and respect if he had used his discovery to help others, but instead, his actions made him a lawless troublemaker. 
Griffin showed how misusing science can lead to disaster. His reckless behavior turned him into a wandering outcast. To stay invisible, he had to go without clothes in the cold winter and commit crimes in places like a clergyman’s house, a London store, and a shop on Drury Lane. His misuse of his discovery led to disgrace rather than honor.

Q12: Why were the two boys surprised and fascinated when they saw fresh muddy imprints of a pair of bare feet? What was the explanation of this mystery and who was causing it and why?

Ans: The two boys were amazed when they saw fresh muddy footprints and wondered who had made them. They were surprised not to find the person behind the footprints, which eventually faded away. The mystery was simple: the footprints belonged to Griffin, a brilliant but eccentric scientist. 
Griffin had discovered how to make himself invisible by taking special drugs. However, he had to be naked for this invisibility to work; if he wore clothes, he would become visible. This made his invisibility a curse. He had to go without clothes in the cold winter and became a homeless wanderer. To survive, he turned to theft and burglary, stealing to get clothes and food.

Q13: How did Griffin become a homeless wanderer, without clothes and without money? What did he do in revenge and what was the result?

Ans: Griffin was indeed a brilliant scientist who discovered how to make the human body invisible. His long research and experiments led to this great achievement. However, his success led him to misuse his discovery for revenge. Angry with his landlord, who wanted to evict him, Griffin set the landlord’s house on fire. 
To escape arrest, he removed his clothes, turned invisible, and fled.But this revenge came with a cost. Griffin had to endure the consequences of his actions. Without clothes or money in the cold winter, he became a homeless wanderer. To stay warm and fed, he resorted to illegal activities like burglary in a London store. His misuse of his discovery led to his downfall and complete ruin.

Attempt the test of this chapter through this link. 

You can get a detailed explanation of Footprints without Feet through this video.