Footprints Without Feet Class 10 English: All Questions and Answers Explained
Vedantu offers comprehensive NCERT Solutions for Footprints Without Feet Class 10 Question Answers. The Class 10 English Chapter 5 highlights the story of an invisible man and the ruckus he causes in London and the village on its outskirts, Iping. Footprints without Feet Class 10 PDF deals with abnormal phenomena and is filled with thrills, suspense, and horror as the invisible man goes around town, creating a nuisance.
Table of Content
The NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Footprints without Feet Question Answers are designed by Vedantu experts. They are updated according to the CBSE Class 10 English syllabus to ensure students always learn the best Vedantu offers.
Glance for Class 10 English Chapter 5 - Footprints Without Feet
Griffin, a brilliant but lawless scientist, creates a drug that makes a person invisible. He tests it on himself, becoming completely transparent.
After becoming invisible, Griffin accidentally leaves muddy footprints, first noticed by two young boys who follow them until they disappear.
Griffin's landlord dislikes him and asks him to leave the house. In revenge, Griffin sets the house on fire and wanders the streets of London without food, money, or clothes.
To escape the cold, Griffin sneaks into a London shopping centre, where he steals clothes and food. When store employees arrive the next morning, he removes his clothes to become invisible again and escape.
Griffin steals clothes and money from a theatre company and a shopkeeper, disguising himself with bandages, a false nose, glasses, whiskers, and a hat. He decides to move to the quieter Iping village.
At the inn, Griffin's strange appearance and reclusive behaviour arouse suspicion. When his money runs out, he starts stealing again, causing further alarm among the villagers.
The inn owner and his wife, suspecting something amiss, try to investigate Griffin's room. Griffin reacts violently, damaging furniture.
When confronted by the town constable, Mr. Jaffers, Griffin reveals his invisibility by unwrapping his disguise, shocking everyone, and escaping by becoming invisible once more.
FAQs on NCERT Solution for Class 10 English Chapter 5 Footprints Without Feet - 2025-26
1. How does Griffin become invisible in the story, and what are the immediate consequences according to the NCERT textbook?
Griffin, a brilliant scientist, becomes invisible by swallowing a concoction of rare drugs he prepared. This formula makes his body as transparent as a sheet of glass. The immediate consequences are that he becomes a homeless wanderer without clothes or money, as he has to remove his clothes to be completely unseen. This forces him to endure the bitter cold of London and leads to his first criminal acts out of desperation.
2. Using examples from Chapter 5, how do you justify the statement that Griffin was a “lawless person”?
Griffin's lawlessness is evident through several actions in the story. To answer this correctly as per the CBSE pattern, you should mention the following points:
- Revenge: He sets his landlord's house on fire in an act of revenge.
- Theft: He steals clothes and food from a London store, and later robs a theatrical company for bandages and other items to create a disguise.
- Robbery: He steals money from the clergyman’s desk in the village of Iping.
- Assault: He violently attacks Mrs. Hall and her husband with furniture and later knocks down the constable, Mr. Jaffers, to escape arrest.
3. Describe the 'curious episode' that occurs in the clergyman's study, as detailed in 'Footprints Without Feet'.
The curious episode in the clergyman's study involves a burglary committed by the invisible Griffin. Early one morning, the clergyman and his wife are awakened by noises from the study. They hear the chink of money being taken from the desk. When they enter the room, they find it empty. Despite searching everywhere, they see no one, yet the housekeeping money is missing. The event is baffling because they heard the act of theft but could not see the thief, making it a truly extraordinary and curious episode.
4. What specific actions led Mrs. Hall to find the scientist eccentric and suspicious?
Mrs. Hall found the scientist eccentric for several reasons mentioned in the NCERT solutions. Firstly, his unusual appearance—fully bandaged head, dark glasses, and a false nose—was strange. Secondly, his arrival at an inn in Iping during the dead of winter was uncommon. Most importantly, his irritable and secretive nature, coupled with his blunt desire for solitude and his refusal to engage in any conversation, confirmed her suspicions that he was an eccentric character.
5. What is the correct method for structuring an answer for a long-answer question on Griffin's character from this chapter for the CBSE 2025-26 board exam?
To structure a 5-mark answer on Griffin's character, you should follow a step-by-step method:
- Introduction: Start with a clear topic sentence that states your main point (e.g., "Griffin was a brilliant scientist but a morally corrupt human being").
- Body Paragraph 1 (Brilliance): Provide evidence of his scientific genius, such as his successful discovery of the invisibility formula.
- Body Paragraph 2 (Lawlessness): Provide at least two to three distinct examples from the text to prove his lawlessness (e.g., burning the house, robbing the clergyman).
- Conclusion: Conclude by summarising the conflict in his character—the contrast between his intellect and his lack of ethics. This method ensures a comprehensive and well-supported answer as per the CBSE marking scheme.
6. Beyond being a gifted scientist, what does Griffin's character reveal about the dangers of knowledge without humanity?
Griffin's character serves as a powerful cautionary tale about the theme of knowledge without humanity. His scientific brilliance gave him a god-like power—invisibility. However, without a moral compass, empathy, or sense of responsibility, he used this power not for the betterment of society, but for petty personal gains, revenge, and crime. The story illustrates that scientific discovery, when divorced from ethical considerations, can become a destructive force, turning a genius into a menace to society.
7. Assess the practical disadvantages of being invisible that Griffin experiences throughout the story.
While invisibility seems like a superpower, the story highlights several practical disadvantages. Firstly, Griffin cannot wear clothes without becoming visible, leaving him vulnerable to the elements like the cold London air. Secondly, being invisible does not mean he is intangible; he can still be felt or bumped into, and his footprints can be seen in mud or snow. Lastly, his invisibility fosters isolation and loneliness, cutting him off from normal human interaction and driving him further into paranoia and anger.
8. How do the events at the Iping inn represent a turning point in Griffin's story?
The events at the Iping inn mark the climax of Griffin's conflict with society. Initially, he sought refuge and anonymity, but his dwindling money forced him to commit more crimes, like robbing the clergyman. This aroused suspicion, leading to a direct confrontation. When Mrs. Hall and the villagers challenge him, he is forced to use his invisibility violently to escape. This is a crucial turning point because it transforms him from a secretive lodger into a hunted fugitive, culminating in his dramatic reveal and escape from the constable, Mr. Jaffers.
9. What is the central moral lesson of the chapter 'Footprints Without Feet' concerning scientific responsibility?
The central moral lesson of the chapter is that scientific achievement must be paired with a strong sense of ethical responsibility. The story uses Griffin to show that great power, whether scientific or otherwise, can corrupt an individual who lacks a moral framework. It argues that a true scientist's goal should be to contribute positively to humanity. Griffin's failure was not as a scientist, but as a human being, making his discovery a curse rather than a blessing.
