CBSE Class 10 English Footprints without Feet VBQs

1. Brilliant scientist though he was, Griffin was rather a lawless person. His landlord disliked him and tried to eject him. In revenge Griffin set fire to the house. To get away without being seen he had to remove his clothes. Thus it was that he became a homeless wanderer, without clothes, without money, and quite invisible — until he happened to step in some mud, and left footprints as he walked.

Question. Why did Griffin’s landlord dislike him?
(i) Griffin was short-tempered and resorted to harming others
(ii) he was a lawless person
(iii) he wished to do as he pleases, without considering the consequences.
(iv) All of these
Answer. D

Question. Choose the option that lists the set of statements that are NOT TRUE according to the given extract.
1. Griffins landlord disliked him because he was short tempered.
2. Griffin's landlord disliked him because he was a law abiding person.
3. Griffin's landlord disliked him because he pleased others.
4. Griffin's landlord liked him.
5. Griffin became homeless.
6. Griffin had no money.
7. Griffin left footprints.
(i) 2, 3, 4
(ii) 1, 2, 3
(iii) 2, 3, 5
(iv) 2, 3, 7
Answer. A

Question. Pick the option that correctly classifies fact/s (F) and myths (M) about Griffin.
1. Griffin discovered a drug of invisibility.
2. Griffin invented a vaccine.
3. Griffin was a brilliant scientist.
4. Griffin made money machines.
(i) F – 1, 3 and M – 2, 4
(ii) F – 1, 2 and M – 3, 4
(iii) F – 1, 4 and M – 2, 3
(iv) F – 2, 4 and M – 1, 3
Answer. A

Question. The synonym of revenge is____________.
(i) sympathy
(ii) pardon
(iii) forgive
(iv) avenging
Answer. D

Question. The term wanderer means:
(i) loser
(ii) vagabond
(iii) player
(iv) fighter
Answer. B

2. Satisfied that her guest was an eccentric scientist, and in view of the fact that he had paid her in advance, Mrs. Hall was prepared to excuse his strange habits and irritable temper. But the stolen money did not last long, and presently Griffin had to admit that he had no more ready cash. He pretended, however, that he was expecting a cheque to arrive at any moment.

Question. Why did Mrs. Hall excuse Griffin?
(i) because he paid her in cash.
(ii) because he still had to pay her
(iii) because she was scared of him
(iv) none of these
Answer. A

Question. Why was Griffin pretending to receive a cheque?
(i) because he wanted to run away
(ii) because he wanted to stay in the hotel
(iii) because he was waiting for money
(iv) none of these
Answer. B

Question. Why did Mrs. Hall avoid Griffin’s mischiefs?
(i) she was greedy
(ii) she was needy
(iii) she was poor
(iv) none of these
Answer. A

Question. What do you mean by the term ‘ eccentric’?
(i) normal
(ii) fine
(iii) weird
(iv) none of these
Answer. C

Question. The antonym of the word ‘pretend’ is:
(i) assume
(ii) bluff
(iii) profess
(iv) reveal
Answer. D

3. The explanation of the mystery was really simple  enough. The bewildered boys had been following a scientist who had just discovered how to make the human body transparent.

Question. Why were these boys bewildered?
Answer. The two boys were bewildered because they had seen footprints appearing on their own without a person in sight. They tried to follow the footprints too but they disappeared soon.

Question. Who is the scientist being mentioned here? What did he discover?
Answer. The scientist is Griffin. He had been successful in his experiments of making a human invisible.

4. If only Griffin had managed to wake up in good time all might have been well. As it was, he did not wake up until the assistants were already arriving next morning. When he saw a couple of them approaching, he panicked and began to run. They naturally gave chase. In the end he was able to escape only by quickly taking off his newly found clothes. So once more he found himself invisible but naked in the chill January air.

Question. “All might have been well” - What had gone well for Griffin?
Answer. Griffin had been walking around without clothes in the January cold. He had managed to get into a London shop and found clothes and food. He could have gone on living in the shop had he done more planning.

Question. Why was he in the chill January air without clothes?
Answer. He had burned down his house as he had not paid the rent and the owner had been demanding money. Thus, he had nothing to his name anymore.

5. This time he decided to try the stock of a theatrical company in the hope of finding not only clothes but also something that would hide the empty space above his shoulders. Shivering with cold he hurried to Drury Lane, the centre of the theatre world.

Question. Why did he go into the theatrical company especially?
Answer. Griffin went into the theatre because he not only wanted clothes but also something that would help him cover his face to make it visiblHe.

Question. What did come out wearing?
Answer. He came out fully dressed in trousers, shirt, coat and bandages wrapped around his face.

6. The feeling among the neighbours was that the trouble was caused by witchcraft. But witchcraft or not, when news of the burglary at the clergyman’s home became known, the strange scientist was strongly suspected of having had a hand in it. Suspicion grew even stronger when he suddenly produced some ready cash, though he had admitted not long before that he had no money.

Question. Why were the neighbours complaining about witchcraft?
Answer. The clergyman and his wife had seen a chair flying at them when they went to inspect Griffin’s room. They thought the room was haunted by spirits.

Question. Why was everyone suspicious about the scientist?
Answer. Everyone was suspicious about Griffin because he was always cooped up in his room and had informed the landlords of the establishment that he had no money. But soon, he was able to pay the rent.

Question. What happened to the constable who had come to arrest the scientist?
Answer. When the constable arrived, he saw a headless Griffin. When he went to arrest him, Griffin got into a scuffle with him, simultaneously removing his clothes and becoming invisible. The constable was hit a number of times and was finally knocked unconscious.

Question. What does Griffin do to keep warm?
Answer. When Griffin starts to feel cold in the winter air, he goes into a store and waits for it to close. Then, he wears clothes from the boxes in the store, eats food and sleeps on a pile of quilts to keep warm.

Question. Where does Griffin go in order to fill the gap above his shoulders?
Answer. Griffin goes to a theatrical company shop from where he gets bandages round his forehead, dark glasses, false nose, big bushy side-whiskers and a large hat.

Question. The landlord’s wife was convinced that Griffin was “an eccentric scientist”. What made her think of Griffin in these terms?
OR
Why did Mrs. Hall think Griffin was eccentric?
Answer. Griffin came to Iping in winter. The arrival of a stranger in winter was unusual. He had uncommon looks. He told Mrs. Hall that he desired solitude. He did not want to be disturbed. All this convinced the landlord’s wife that Griffin was ‘an eccentric scientist’.

Question. What was “the curious episode” that took place in the clergyman’s study?
Answer. One day in the early morning, the clergyman and his wife heard noises in their study. They heard the chink of money and suspected it to be stolen. The clergyman flung open the door. He screamed, “Surrender”. To their surprise, the room was empty. They looked everywhere but there was nobody, although the desk was open and the money was missing.

Question. How do you assess Griffin as a scientist?
Answer. Griffin was a great scientist. He became invisible due to his inventions. He had some medicines, swallowing which he could become invisible but he was not an honest scientist in the real sense. It was because he misused his inventions. A true scientist uses his inventions for the benefits of humanity rather than his own benefits.

Question. Whose footprints did the two boys follow? Why were they charmed by what they saw?
Answer. The two boys followed the footprints which appeared on the muddy ground but they could not see any man. Those were Griffin’s footprints. He had become invisible and was walking on the road leaving the prints behind. They followed those footprints because they saw this all strange and unusual.

Question. Describe Griffin’s discovery. How did he make it successful?
Answer. Griffin was a brilliant scientist. He discovered how to make the human body transparent. He conducted various experiments to prove that the human body could be made transparent. For that, he swallowed some rare drugs following which, his body became transparent like a sheet of glass.

Question. What happened when Griffin didn’t wake up on time? How did he escape from the London store?
Answer. Griffin was still sleeping when the assistants arrived and stared towards him. When Griffin saw two of them approaching, he panicked and began to run. They chased him. He escaped from the London store after taking off his clothes and becoming invisible and naked once again.

Question. Why did Griffin slip into a big London store? What did he do inside the shop?
Answer. Griffin was wandering on the streets of London in mid-winter. The air outside was chilling cold and he needed clothes to save himself from this unbearable weather. Griffin decided to enter a London store. Griffin broke open the boxes and wrappers and dressed himself in warm clothes. He ate cold meat and had coffee in the restaurant followed by sweets and wine from the grocery store.

Question. Discoveries and inventions in science can be used for the good as well as for destruction. Discuss in the context of the story ‘Footprints without Feet’.
Answer. Everyday, new inventions and discoveries are being made. These are made for the welfare of mankind. Any invention is made with the benefits in mind. However, there are some technologies that can be harmful also. In the story, we see how Griffin, a scientist who has invented the invisibility drug, uses it for all the wrong purposes. He could have given it for the benefit of the people but uses it to his advantage to steal money, hurt people and break the laws. He used his intelligence only for his own benefit and to fool and harm others. This is an immoral and illegitimate usage of science and knowledge. Science is meant for the good of the people and not for destruction.

Question. Griffin made a great invention in the invisibility drug but he still is not a positive character in the story. Why?
Answer. Griffin made a brilliant drug—one that made him invisible. He, however, used it for his own advantages. He stole clothes and food from a store. Then he also stole things from a theatre company shop after hitting the salesman. He then went to an inn and stole money from the study there to pay for his room. When the constable came to arrest him, he hit him and made him unconscious. All this lawlessness makes him, a negative character, despite his brilliant invention. He was an excellent scientist who had achieved a feat that most scientists could only dream of. But on the flipside, he was not a moral human being. He has no moral values to control his strength and power.

Question. What makes you think that Griffin was a lawless person?
Answer. Many facts in the story prove that Griffin was a lawless person. He did many anti-social acts but he never felt guilty about it. First, he set fire to his landlord’s house and ran away after making himself invisible. Since he was without clothes, the bitterly cold London air troubled him much. So he slipped into a store for warmth. There he stole clothes and food. His next victim was a shopkeeper of theatrical goods. Once again he stole the goods from it and attacked the shopkeeper too. In the village of Iping, he stole money from the clergyman’s house. When the people suspected him, he got angry and violent towards them.

Question. What happened to the landlord and his wife in Griffin’s bedroom?
Answer. One early morning, the landlord and his wife found Griffin’s door wide open. Out of curiosity, they peeped into the door. There was nobody in the room. They went in and found the bedclothes cold. They saw clothes and bandages lying there and were amazed to see that. These belonged to Griffin. Just then the landlord’s wife heard a sniff. The next moment, the hat on the bed leapt up on its own. It hit her face. Then the bedroom chair sprang into the air. It charged at her. Out of fear, they turned away. The chair pushed them out. The landlady almost fell down the stairs. She felt that the room was haunted by spirits.