The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells

Set in the dank world of nineteenth century England, the tale of H. G. Welles’ The Invisible Man is that of a brilliant scientist named Griffin who had discovered a means to turn himself invisible. He settles in a town called Iping, and it is here where he is eventually found out and hunted down. The story was first published in 1897, at around the same time setting for the story, and as such was treated as a contemporary tale of science fiction.

Had the story been set in a more recent date, many factors could affect the protagonist Griffin such as the advancements in technology which could easily pinpoint him despite his invisibility, and on the other hand, as population increase and towns and cities are more developed today than before, population density could also play a role in how Griffin could “disappear” The story begins with a stranger covered from head to toe who arrives at the village of Iping, here he demands to be left alone as he stays at an inn.

Upon his arrival, the village is plagued by a series of thefts where no burglar had been spotted.

The stranger is eventually confronted by the innkeepers and he reveals to them his invisibility. As the invisible man is chased by the police, he manages to get away from them by removing all his clothes. He is then on the run, seeking to get away from his troubles, with the law aware of his condition and capabilities. The story reaches its climax as Griffin explains his story of how he was able to become invisible and his plans on terrorizing the nation with his powers of invisibility after repeatedly failing at attempting to revert to his visible self when he was caught at the inn earlier in the story.

Griffin is ratted out to the police by his friend Dr. Kemp, who refused to play a part in his madness, and Griffin threatens that Kemp would be the first to die in his Reign of terror. Kemp coolly plays bait in an entrapment operation, and Griffin is beaten to death by angry mob. Griffin is killed, however it was revealed that the invisibility formula was left with Griffin’s former lab assistant, the tramp Marvel. The plot of the story was of a linear storytelling style which went through the traditional phases of storytelling.

It was pretty simplistic and straightforward, and had a relatively fast pace. This complemented the story itself in a way where the pacing added a sense of thrill and suspense to the chase, while the linear way of storytelling kept it simple and easy to follow. Despite these facts, the story remained deep and emotional, with the tragedy of the protagonist Griffin realized all throughout the novel. The main character Griffin was introduced as a shadowy creature and a thief, hiding in the shadows, resorting to thievery to fund experiments, and quite a bit of a loner.

He was eventually driven mad towards a state of hatred for everyone when he couldn’t cure himself of his condition. However, what is often overlooked is that Griffin was driven into this state by the people who thought it best to beat up what it couldn’t understand. His history with Dr. Kemp shows how promising Griffin actually was as a scientist. Kemp, however, although Griffin’s fellow scientist and personal acquaintance from back in their University, kept a level head and although may not be as innovative or ingenious as Griffin, maintained a sense of balance.

So much so that he turns Griffin in upon hearing his evil plot. The tale is narrated from a third person perspective and complements the tale perfectly and makes perfect sense as a third person perspective would keep the audience objective to understand Griffin’s tragedy while keeping track of the invisible man. The main theme of the story is society’s ignorance. The fate of Griffin should not have been that of which he suffered in the novel, had the greater society not have initially feared him upon gaining knowledge of his invisibility. Griffin would also not have gone mad had he not been treated that way.

The general fault of the public here is fearing that which they cannot understand. Griffin suffered for this, and was led to his untimely death, when he should have been revered for his great discovery. Even after his death, the skepticism of the townspeople remained, fearing for what cannot be seen. I really enjoyed reading this book and would definitely recommend reading it especially to classical science-fiction buffs as it is a great introduction into H. G. Wells.

References

Wells, H. G. , (1897). The Invisible Man. United Kingdom: C. Arthur Pearson