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

"Footprints without Feet" is an interesting story from  Class 10 English book about a scientist named Griffin who created a formula for invisibility. He made himself invisible, but people could still feel him. However, he used his power to steal things like money, clothes, and food. Let us see some Short Answer Questions of this chapter.

Q1: What mistake did Griffin make while he was in a big London store? What should have he done?
Ans: No doubt, Griffin got what he was searching for in the big London store. He dressed fully and fed himself on cold meat, wine etc. He lay down comfortably and slept on a pile of quilts. Had he woken up early before the coming of the employees in the morning, all might have been well. Fully dressed, he was easily seen now. He panicked and began to run. He was able to escape only by throwing all his clothes away. So, once more, Griffin found himself invisible but naked in the chilly January air.

Q2: Why did Griffin hurry to Drury Lane, the center of the theatre world?
Ans: 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.

Q3: Why did Griffin decided to leave London and come to the village of Iping?
Ans: Griffin wanted to get away from crowded London. He wanted to live alone in isolation away from the searching eyes of the people. So he took a train to the village of Iping. He wanted to lead a peaceful and undisturbed life in the village. He booked two rooms at the local inn.

Q4: How did the arrival of Griffin at the Iping inn was taken by the people and the landlady Mrs. Hall?
Ans: Griffin arrived at an inn in the village of Iping in winter. It was quite an unusual event in that season. Moreover, the stranger was of an unusual appearance. It set all tongues wagging in the village. Mrs. Hall, the landlord’s wife, tried to be friendly with him but was snubbed. She was prepared to excuse Griffin’s strange habits and irritable temper because the eccentric scientist had paid her in advance.

Q5: Why did the landlady Mrs. Hall try to be friendly and prepared to excuse Griffin’s irritable habits?
Ans: 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.

Q6: Describe the burglary committed very early in the morning at a clergyman’s house in ping.
Ans: 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 realize that the invisible man, Griffin, decamped unseen with the money.

Q6: Why was Mrs. Hall angry with Griffin, the strange scientist?
Ans: Mrs. Hall was furious with Griffin, the eccentric scientist because he had attacked both her and her husband, and even hurled her mother's chair at her. Additionally, Griffin had not paid his rent for a prolonged period, which added to Mrs. Hall's anger.

Q7: How did Griffin try to get rid of Mrs. Hall’s accusations?
Ans: In response to Mrs. Hall's accusations of stealing and non-payment of rent, Griffin became enraged and threw off his bandages and spectacles, rendering himself invisible. He proceeded to assault everyone and then fled the scene.

Q8: How did he save himself from the chasing staff of the store?
Ans: When Griffin saw that the salesmen of the store were coming near him, he took off all his clothes and became invisible. He did not have any other choice to save himself.

Q9: What did Griffin do in the shop of a theatrical company?
Ans: Griffin entered the shop of a theatrical company. He wore bandages round his forehead. Then he wore dark glasses, a false nose and a big hat. He put side whiskers also. Then he attacked the shopkeeper. He robbed him of his money and came out.

Q10: Why were the landlord and his wife surprised to see the scientist’s door wide open?
Ans: 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.

Q11: What did the scientist do when he became furious? Why were the people in the bar horrified?
Ans: The scientist became angry. He took off his bandages, false nose, and side whiskers. But he was still wearing his clothes. The people in the bar were horrified when they saw a headless man.

Q12: What happens to the constable?
Ans: 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.

Q13: Why was there an empty space above the shoulders even when Griffin was fully clothed?
Ans: Griffin’s body had become totally invisible. He became fully clothed. But the space over his shoulders remained uncovered. Therefore, there was an empty space above his shoulders.

Q14: What discovery did Griffin make?
Ans: 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.

Q15: Why were the two boys in London surprised and fascinated?
Ans: The two boys in London saw the muddy footprints. The footprints were fresh. But they could not see any man. The footprints moved on. Soon these prints disappeared. So, the two boys were surprised and fascinated.

Q16: Why were the two boys surprised and fascinated?
Ans: The two boys were highly surprised. They saw fresh muddy imprints of a pair of bare feet. They wondered what a barefooted man doing on the steps of a house in the middle of London. They saw only the footsteps but didn’t see the man whose marks they were. As they gazed, a fresh footmark appeared from nowhere. The boys followed them fascinated. The marks became fainter and disappeared altogether.

Q17: What was the explanation of the mystery of the footmarks? Who was responsible for them?
Ans: 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.

Q18: How did Griffin succeed in becoming invisible? What was the result of his experiments?
Ans: Griffin was a brilliant scientist. He had carried out experiment after experiment. He wanted to prove that the human body could become invisible. His experiments succeeded. He swallowed certain rare drugs. His body became as transparent as a sheet of glass. Its status didn’t undergo any change. It remained solid as glass.

Q19: How and why did a brilliant scientist like Griffin degenerate into a lawless and homeless wanderer?
Ans: There can’t be any doubt that Griffin was a brilliant scientist. After all, the man who discovered the invisibility of the human body couldn’t be an ordinary person. But he misused the discovery. He utilised it for his petty interests. He indulged in petty thefts, burglaries, and beatings of innocent persons. He made illegal and unlawful entries in stores and shops only to feed and dress without paying anything. All these illegal activities made him a lawless person and an anarchist.

Q20: How did Griffin become a homeless wanderer without clothes and money?
Ans: Invisibility made Griffin a lawless person. He was living in a rented house in London. His landlord disliked him. He tried to eject Griffin. The scientist was determined to take revenge. In revenge, Griffin set fire to the house. Now he became a homeless wanderer without money. To become invisible, he had to remove his clothes completely.

Q21: What did Griffin do in a big store in London?
Ans: First of all, a cloth less wanderer in mid-winter needed some warmth. As the doors of a big London store were shut, Griffin first looked for clothes. He broke open boxes and fitted himself out with warm clothes. He became fully dressed in shoes, an overcoat and a hat. Then he fed himself on cold meat, coffee, sweets and wine taken from the grocery store. Finally, he lay down to sleep on a pile of quilts.

Q22: What did Mr. and Mrs. Hall do when they found Griffin’s room wide open? Why were they surprised?
Ans: The landlord and his wife woke up early. They were surprised to see the scientist’s door wide open. Usually, it was shut and locked. He was furious if anyone entered his room. They peeked around but found nobody. The bedclothes were cold. It meant that the scientist must have woken up long ago. The bandages and clothes that the stranger always wore were lying about in the room.

Q23: Describe the strange behavior of Mrs. Hall’s furniture. How did the chair start moving and push Mr. and Mrs. Hall out of the room?
Ans: All of a sudden, Mrs. Hall heard a sniff close to her ear. A moment the hat on the bed-post of Griffin’s room leapt up. It dashed itself into her face. Then, the bedroom chair started moving. Mrs. Hall and her husband turned away in terror. The chair pushed them both out of the room. The door was locked after them. All these strange activities were done by the invisible man.

Q24: How did Griffin try to become visible?
Ans: Griffin went into a shop in Drury Lane, the heart of the theatre world, with the aim of finding something to wear, and becoming visible. He emerged from the shop wearing bandages round his forehead, dark glasses, a false nose, bushy sideburns and a large hat.

Q25: Why were the two boys surprised when they saw the imprints of a pair of bare feet?
Ans: 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.

Q26: Why did Mrs. Hall think that the room was haunted by ghosts? What did the neighbors think about the strange incident, the movement of furniture in the stranger’s room?
Ans: Mrs. Hall was highly surprised and terrified to see the furniture in her guest’s room moving and dancing. She saw how out chair the prior, should an uh der the dd ohoerr whuss bsahnudt and locked. She thought that the room was haunted by spirits and ghosts. The stranger had somehow caused those spirits to enter into her furniture. The neighbors thought that the trouble was caused by witchcraft.

Q27: What and why did Griffin show himself to Mrs. Hall and why were the people in the bar horrified?
Ans: 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 his nose. Mrs. Hall was shocked and the people in the bar were horrified and found themselves staring at a headless man!

Q28: Why was the time bad for Griffin, the scientist, to become invisible?
Ans: Griffin removed his clothes and became invisible. It was the month of January. The air was very cold. He started shivering with cold. Thus, the time was bad for Griffin to become invisible.

Q29: How did Griffin save himself from the cold of January?
Ans: Griffin was shivering with cold. He entered a big store. After some time, the store was closed. Griffin Wore warm clothes. Then he slept on a pile of quilts. Thus he saved himself from the cold.

Q30: Why did no one know where to lay hands on Griffin during the encounter of the invisible man with the constable, Mr. Jaffers?
Ans: Mr. Jaffers was informed and he arrived to arrest Griffin. He was quite surprised to find that he had to arrest a man without a head. The policeman ran to get hold of a man who was throwing off one garment after another. At last, Griffin became invisible when he threw off his shirt finally in the air. The constable was struggling to arrest him. Those who came to Jaffer’s help were hit by blows that came from nowhere. Jaffers was knocked down unconscious. Griffin had shaken himself free and no one knew where to lay hands on him.

Cover detailed explanation of Footprints without Feet through this video.

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