Jan 03, 2005 11:17 AM
5475 Views
(Updated Jan 03, 2005 11:17 AM)
The Invisible Man by HG Wells is not a story of the unknown, but into the unknown.
Physics has a clear reason why certain things are invisible, while some others are not. For example, glass is visible in air, but the same glass, dipped in glycerine, will make it completely invisible. The ''visibilty'' of an object depends on certain physical properties of the object like reflection, refraction and absorbtion. In our example of glass, air and glycerine, glass is invisible in glycerine because their refractive index is almost the same; therefore if we are in air, we cannot see the glass inside the glycerine. We can extend this logic in case of invisiblity of a living being.
Therefore, it is not a story of the unknown. However, what happens to the invisible man is detailed out in this book; therefore it is a story into the unknown.
Author: HG Wells is an author of science ficton of immense repute. In 1901, he wrote ''The first Men in Moon'' long before there was civil airplanes even!! His extraordinary insight into the things scientific is still renowned. ''The Invisible Man'' was published in 1897.
The Character: Griffin, the main hero (villian?) of the story had received the best prize for chemistry in university. He them came accross the idea of invisibility and thought of numerous advantages that he would have once invisible. For example, he could steel, rob and none could catch him. He was brilliant in science and took 4 years to succeed. After being successful, he came accross the harser realities of life. On many occasions, he was almost run over by carriages, he was knocked about in the streets, he was locked up in a departmental store. He could not wear clothes, because then he would become visible - therefore he was cold and bitter in the winter. He discovered that he was still susseptible to nature and weather, even if invisible.
He wanted to unleash a reign on terror. He had a tragic instance - the death of his father, and he his debt to carry on his scientific persuits. He wanted to rob, steal and kill people, whoever came his way. And finally, when he died, he became visible once more.
Plot: Dr. Kemp was in the same university as he, so when he accidentally meets Dr.Kemp, he trusts him and confides his intention to terrorize people. Fortunately for the community, Dr Kemp betrays his trust and informs inspector Aide, who later was killed by Griffin. At last, when the invisible man comes to kill Dr Kemp, the latter killed him with the help of other people.
The story: The narration is amazing. After nearly 60% of the book, one comes to know about the name of the main character: Griffin. The reader's anxiety and curiosity is held all through.
Moral: Invisibity is a tragedy, not an advantage.
