Author and The Book - The Invisible Man

Author and The Book

• About the Author :- 

Herbert George “H.G.” Wells was a prolific English writer in many genres, including fiction, history, politics, social commentary and even textbooks.  He was born on 21 September 1866 in the United Kingdom. He is remembered for his science fiction novels, which include The War of the Worlds, The Time Machine, The Invisible Man and The Island of Doctor Moreau.

The Invisible Man is a science fiction novel published in 1897. The title character is Griffin, a scientist, who has devoted himself to research into optics and invents a way to become invisible. He successfully carries out this procedure on himself, but fails in his attempt to reverse the procedure.

• Book Review :- 

The Invisible Man is a fascinating piece of science fiction by H. G. Wells. It was first published in 1897. The plot centres on a chemist turned physicist, Griffin, who hits upon a formula to make bodies invisible. The story starts with the arrival of the Invisible Man to a small town to carry on with his research and slowly unfolds itself to his corruption and eventual death. Science fiction always deals with the unusual; it inspires awe and wonder in the reader. This novel too deals with an impossible phenomenon while teaching us that the whole world can be turned upside down if scientific theories are misused.

The book is from the perspective of an observer. However, in the portion where Griffin tells his own story, we do get some insight into his thoughts and view. The narrative is quite slow, with very little action. It is only in the second part of the book that the narrative picks up some speed.

Through the novel, we get some idea about the society of the late nineteenth century, which looked at science with suspicion and was not ready to accept anything unusual. Even today, this is quite true. Perhaps, this is the reason why The Invisible Man, which is one of the earliest science fiction novels, continues to strike a chord with its readers.

• Plot :- 

The story starts when a stranger arrives at an inn in the small village of Iping. He creates a lot of speculation because of his unusual ways. He keeps himself covered from head to toe and wants to be left alone. People are intrigued when his luggage arrives as it contains numerous bottles and test tubes. He becomes the talk of the town and the robbery at the vicar’s house adds fuel to the fire as people think it is the stranger who has committed the crime.
The stranger is compelled to reveal his invisibility to his landlady and this terrifies the people around. They want to apprehend him and get him imprisoned. The stranger escapes and leaves his books behind, but comes back with the help of Marvel, the local tramp. This time the stranger, with the help of his invisibility, lashes back at the people. Soon, however, Marvel decides to stop being the Invisible Man’s sidekick and flees. The vengeful Invisible Man follows him.

The story takes a turn here as the stranger meets an old acquaintance from medical school, Dr. Kemp. Here, the life of the stranger, Griffin, how he stumbled upon the formula of invisibility and his future plan of creating a reign of terror are revealed. Griffin is betrayed by Kemp, who informs the police about him. He is antagonised and decides to kill Kemp for his betrayal. The townspeople become aware of him and his intentions and in the end, kill him brutally.

• Critical Analysis :- 

The Invisible Man is a science fiction by H. G. Wells. The story starts with a strange man coming to a small village and his arrival is followed by strange happenings in the village. The villagers suspect that the stranger is behind these and want to apprehend him. The narration is in the third person and the protagonist, Griffin, is slowly introduced here. We get to know the perspective of Griffin mainly in the section where he narrates his own story. He tells us about his life as a medical student and the hardships of his life. Somewhere along the way, the reader starts sympathising with him, but then, events take a turn when Griffin changes into a cruel man. The reader watches as he transforms from a scientist to a killer. He wants to create a reign of terror and make everyone listen to him. He does not feel remorse for all the cruelties that he has committed. The townspeople realise the truth about Griffin and want to kill him. Betrayal on the part of Griffin’s college senior results in Griffin being chased by the police. The plot is resolved when Griffin tries to kill Kemp, but the people kill him instead.

• Chronology of Events :- 

• A stranger arrives at the inn “Coach and Horses” in Iping.

• His luggage arrives the next day and arouses interest among the villagers.

• Cuss, the general practitioner, tries to talk to the stranger.

• A robbery takes place at the vicar’s house.

• The Halls are attacked by the ‘mad’ furniture. They assume the stranger to be a spirit.

• Mrs. Hall demands her payment and explanations. In anger, the stranger reveals his invisibility.

• The village constable tries to arrest the stranger who manages to escape by undressing.

• He takes the help of a tramp to retrieve his secret books from the inn.

• The villagers are celebrating Whit Monday, but the arrival of the Invisible Man creates a chaos.

• Both the tramp and the Invisible Man manage to take back the books that hold the secrets of the experiment.

• The Invisible Man goes to Port Stowe and with the help of the tramp, steals a lot of money.

• The tramp betrays him and runs away, with the Invisible Man chasing him.

• The tramp enters a bar to be safe and the people there help him. The Invisible Man is shot at.

• The Invisible Man takes refuge in Kemp’s house.

• He recognises Kemp as an old acquaintance from medical college.

• The Invisible Man, whose name is Griffin, tells his story to Kemp.

• He explains how his landlord had become suspicious regarding his experiments and he was forced to escape. Before running, however, he conducted the procedure on himself and became invisible. He had burnt down the whole house and stolen clothes, food and money from a theatrical company and disguised himself. After facing unprecedented difficulties, he reached the village of Iping, where the story had begun.

• Now, back in Kemp’s house, Griffin asks Kemp for help as he wants to do great things with the help of his invisibility.

• Kemp informs the police about Griffin and his corrupt plans of creating a reign of terror.

• Griffin escapes to the hills and kills an innocent man.

• He comes back to kill Kemp and shoots the colonel who had come to help Kemp.

• Kemp escapes and runs to the village.

• The Invisible Man follows him, but is killed by the villagers.

• His dead body slowly becomes visible.