Summary: The Invisible Man
The text begins a mysterious man coming into the parlour of the Coach and
Horses lodge, owned by Mr and Mrs Hall, at about half past five in the
morning. He is there till midday and rings the bell thrice but no one answers
him. He suddenly comes out at noon and shouts for Mrs Hall. Mrs Hall comes
with an unpaid bill and asks him to pay it if he wants any service in the lodge.
The stranger is angry that he has not been given any breakfast and with Mrs
Hall asking him many questions, he suddenly loses his temper and says that
since Mrs Hall wants to know everything, he would actually tell her
everything. Saying this, he takes off his fake nose, leaving a black cavity at the
centre of his face, and gives it to Mrs Hall. Mrs Hall screams in horror and
drops it. Then, the stranger takes off his dark glasses, his hat, and even tears
out his moustache and bandages. Mrs Hall shrieks and rushes out of the inn,
followed by the onlookers.
Presently, Mr Hall and Mr Bobby Jaffers, the constable, arrives. Mr Hall goes
straight to the parlour and asks Jaffers to do his duty. Jaffers is shocked to see
the headless figure, with a gnawed crust of bread in one gloved hand and a
chunk of cheese in the other. He simply brings out a pair of handcuffs and
announces that he is going to arrest the stranger. The stranger immediately
throws down the bread and cheese and takes off his left glove and flings it into
Jaffers’ face. Jaffers holds the ‘handless’ wrist and there is a scuffle. The
stranger eventually says he is willing to be arrested but he does not want to be
handcuffed. Jaffers agrees and the Invisible Man sits down and before anybody
can understand what he is doing, he slips out of his shoes, socks and trousers.
Then he jumps up and flings off his coat. When Jaffers realises what the
Invisible Man is up to, he grasps his waistcoat. They struggle and soon Jaffers
is left holding the empty waistcoat in his hands. Jaffers shouts and asks the
onlookers to catch the Invisible Man and they rush towards the white shirt—
the only thing remaining on the stranger. But in a moment, that is also off and
the Invisible Man escapes.
This episode highlights the cleverness and agility of the Invisible Man, who
uses his invisibility to escape getting arrested.
UNIT 10: THE INVISIBLE MAN
Embedded Questions
1. No, Mrs Hall does not think that the stranger was asking for his bill.
2. “Hasn’t come indeed!”; “I wonder where you found it!”
3. Free response
4. They are scared because there was nothing above the coat-collar of the solid gesticulating figure.
5. He was eating bread and cheese as he was hungry.
6. ● He says this to trick the constable.
● He starts removing his clothes as he is planning to escape. Without his clothes, he is invisible
Comprehension
A. 1. Mrs Hall knew that the stranger was ringing the bell to ask for his breakfast. Since he had not
paid the bill, Mrs Hall did not want to give him his breakfast. Hence, she did not answer when the
stranger rang the bell.
2. The stranger came out at midday as he had not eaten since morning and was very hungry.
3. The stranger became very angry when Mrs Hall did not believe him and questioned him about
money. Also, she was going on asking him questions without giving him a chance to explain.
4. Mr Hall and Constable Bobby Jaffers marched into the inn after everybody had fled.
5. The stranger was being arrested because there had been a theft in the village and the manner in
which it had happened and given the stranger’s odd behaviour, he was under suspicion.
B. 1. a. Mrs Hall said this to the stranger in the inn.
b. Mrs Hall came with the unpaid bill to drive home the point that unless the stranger paid his
previous bills, he would not get any service at the inn.
c. It was past midday and the stranger was hungry. He wanted to know why no one had answered
his bell or served breakfast to him.
2. a. The stranger said this to Constable Jaffers.
b. No, the speaker did not surrender. He said this so that Jaffers would release him and since he
could not be seen, it would give him the time and opportunity to escape.
c. Constable Jaffers should not have believed the speaker. Since Jaffer did not handcuff him
immediately, the speaker got the time and opportunity to remove his clothes. This made him
completely invisible and thus allowed him to escape.
C. 1. The stranger went into the little parlour of the Coach and Horses lodge at about half past five in the
morning. He remained there until midday, with all the doors and windows shut. No one knew what
he did there. All that time he did not eat anything. Thrice he rang his bell—the third time, furiously
and continuously. He could be heard walking up and down, and twice people heard him smashing
bottles violently.
2. Mrs Hall wanted to know why the stranger had not paid his bills. She also wanted to know how his
room was empty when no one had seen him go out, and how had he gotten in again.
3. As Mrs Hall went on questioning the stranger, he became very angry and raised his gloved hands
and yelled at her to stop. Then he said that Mrs Hall neither understood him nor knew anything
8about him and if she wanted to know everything, he would reveal the truth to her. Saying this, he
put his palm over his face and withdrew it. The centre of his face became a black cavity. He put his
fake pink nose in Mrs Hall’s hand and she threw it down in horror.
4. After taking off his fake nose, the stranger took off his dark glasses, his hat, and with a violent
gesture tore out his moustache and bandages. Everyone was shocked. All they could see was
a figure upto the coat collar and then nothing at all. It was worse than anything they had seen
or expected. Mrs Hall shrieked in horror and ran out of the house. All at once, everyone started
shouting and screaming and ran out of the door.
5. As Mr Hall and Constable Jaffers barged into the room, the stranger threw down the bread and
cheese. Off came the stranger’s left glove and flew into Jaffers’ face. Jaffers held the ‘handless’
wrist. As the stranger tried to free himself, they swayed and staggered, and crashed into a chair.
Suddenly, the stranger offered to surrender and Jaffers foolishly believed him. This gave the
strange the time and opportunity to unbutton his waistcoat and remove his shoes. Then the
stranger sat down and before anybody could understand what he was doing, he slipped out of his
shoes, socks and trousers. Then he jumped up and flung off his coat.
Finally, Jaffers realised what was happening and caught hold of the stranger’s waistcoat. They
struggled and soon Jaffers was left holding just the waistcoat in his hands. He asked the onlookers
to catch the stranger, warning them that if the stranger managed to take off all his clothes, he
would manage to escape. The onlookers rushed towards the white shirt—the only thing that
remained on the stranger. The shirt-sleeve gave a sharp blow to Hall. As Jaffers tried to hold it,
he only helped to pull it off. After that, nobody knew where the stranger was and though the
onlookers tried to catch him or hit him, he managed to escape.
D. Examples from the text: He threw down the bread and cheese. Off came the stranger’s left glove and
flew into Jaffers’ face.
“Wait! I’ll surrender,” cried the stranger, as he pulled off his right glove.
“Very well,” said the stranger, “I’ll come. But no handcuffs.”
The Invisible Man sat down and before anybody could understand what he was doing, he slipped out
of his shoes, socks and trousers.
Then he jumped up and flung off his coat.
Grammar
A. 2. has been visiting 3. is raining 4. have been practising 5. has written
6. goes
B. 2. had learnt 3. had, begun 4. had been practising 5. was studying
6. had booked
Vocabulary
1. requested 2. shrieked 3. asked 4. offered 5. warned 6. ordered
Spelling
1. licence 2. woollen 3. categorise 4. dialogue 5. organise 6. cancellation
7. offence 8. advice
Writing
An invisible man on the run
(reporter’s name)
(day)
Iping: In a rather peculiar incident, an invisible man was believed to be the reason behind the recent
theft that happened early this Monday morning. The suspect, who is on the loose right now, has never
been seen by anyone, probably because he is invisible.
This mysterious man had been living in an inn named Coach and Horses owned by Mr and Mrs Hall.
He had not paid his bill for a considerable amount of time. During an argument with Mrs Hall, this
man threw away his fake nose and then removed his hat and the bandages covering his face. The
people in the inn were horrified to see that there was nothing above the coat-collar and ran out of
the inn in fright. After that, Constable Jaffers, led by Mr Hall, went to arrest the ‘invisible’ man, who
is believed to be the key suspect behind the theft in the village. However, he managed to trick the
constable and the other people in the room and escape. While measures have been taken to capture
this man, caution is advised to the people of Iping.
THE INVISIBLE MAN
A. Answer in brief.
1. What was mysterious about the man in the inn?
Ans: The stranger came into the parlour early morning and did not move out of the room till
midday. There was something strange about his behaviour. He didn’t seem to need food as he
never asked for food till midday. Occasionally people heard him walk up and down and twice they
heard bottles being smashed violently.
2. Why was Mrs Hall angry with the man?
Ans: Mrs Hall got annoyed at the way the man was ordering her. She was also angry that he had
not paid her bill. She said the man had no right to complain about breakfast not having been
served if he had no intention of clearing her bills. She did not believe him when he said he was
waiting for his money.
B. Answer in detail.
1. What was intangible about the horror that struck the people of the inn?
Ans: Horror leaves a person with an intense feeling of fear, shock or disgust. One gets horrified
looking at something which can be seen, observed or even felt. But in the case of the man in the
inn nothing could be seen. There were no scars, disfigurements or anything that was tangible.
Still everyone around was horrified. The man whom they saw was a gesticulating figure up to the
coat-collar and then there was nothing — no visible thing at all. The headless figure sitting in the
inn was a grotesque sight and every one ran out of the inn in fear.
2. Describe the tussle between the stranger and Mr Jaffers.
Ans: The news spread around about the invisible man in the inn. In the middle of the entire melee,
Mr Hall brought Mr Bobby Jaffers, the constable who had come with the arrest warrant. Jaffers
marched in to see the headless figure sitting on the chair. The moment the constable got close to
the man to handcuff him, he threw down the bread and cheese he had in his gloved hand and he
threw the left glove which flew into Jaffers’ face. Jaffers held the handless wrist. The invisible man
then agreed to come to the police station, but that was only to buy time. He quickly got out of
clothes and when Jaffers tried to get hold of him, he found himself fighting with clothes with no
man inside.
C. Read the lines and answer the questions.
1. “You don’t understand who I am or what I am,” he said, “If you want to know everything, I’ll show you.”
a. Who speaks the above line?
b. Why does the man make the above remark?
c. What did he show?
Ans: a. The above lines are spoken by the stranger in the inn.
b. The man made the above remark in answer to Mrs Hall’s angry outburst at the stranger’s
behaviour.
c. He wanted to show his face. Hence he put his palm over his face and withdrew it. The
centre of his face was a black cavity.
2. “Shut the door! Don’t let him loose!”
a. Why did the people want to shut the door?
b. Who are they trying to capture?
c. Were they successful in holding him?
Ans: a. They could not locate where the invisible man was. The constable wanted to arrest him.
So the people thought he could be contained inside the room.
b. They were trying to catch the invisible man and nobody knew where he stood.
c. No it was of no use. By that time the invisible man had escaped.
D. Answer in brief. (Think and answer)
1. Do you think Mrs Hall would have known that she had an invisible man in her inn if he had paid
the bill regularly?
(Free response) Suggested Ans: She would have known about his state eventually. He behaved
strangely and attracted the attention of the people around. She would have entered the room
for some work if not for the bill. Such unusual situations usually come to the notice of the public
sooner or later.
2. Was the invisible man aggressive in behaviour? Explain.
Ans: The invisible man’s behaviour towards Mrs Hall was far from courteous. He was not just
being rude but behaving in an aggressive manner by not only demanding that he be served his
breakfast immediately, but also trying to threaten her with clenched fists and stomping his feet.
The tone of his voice sounded harsh as well.
E. Answer in detail. (Think and answer)
Do you think one would be able to enjoy the state of being invisible? How would you feel and what
would you do if you had that power?
(Free response)
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