CBSE Class 10 Footprints Without Feet Book Chapter 5 Footprints without Feet Question Answers from previous years question papers (2019-2024)
Footprints without Feet Previous Year Questions with Answers – Question Answers from Previous years Board Exam Question papers provide valuable insights into how chapters are typically presented in exams. They are essential for preparing for the CBSE Board Exams, serving as a valuable resource.They can reveal the types of questions commonly asked and highlight the key concepts that require more attention. In this post, we have shared Previous Year Questions for Class 10 English Chapter 5, “Footprints without Feet”.
Questions which came in 2024 Board Exam
Q1. Read the following extracts and answer the questions:
The arrival of a stranger at an inn in winter was in any case an unusual event. A stranger of such uncommon appearance set all tongues wagging. Mrs. Hall, the landlord’s wife, made every effort to be friendly. But Griffin had no desire to talk, and told her, “My reason for coming to Iping is a desire for solitude. I do not wish to be disturbed in my work. Besides, an accident has affected my face.” 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. [2024]
(i) State any one inference about Griffin from the given context:
“My reason for coming to Iping is a desire for solitude. I do not wish to be disturbed in my work. Besides, an accident has affected my face.”
Ans. Griffin is a private person who loves solitude. He wants to go away from the noisy city. He experienced an accident which disfigured his face.
(ii) State True or False:
Even though Mrs. Hall was satisfied with Griffin, she was skeptical to excuse his strange habits and irritable temper.
Ans. False
(iii) It was not difficult for Griffin to convince the landlord and his wife about his strange appearance and eccentric behaviour.
Elaborate in about 40 words with reference to the context.
Ans. Griffin made the payments promptly which played a significant role in convincing the landlady. His strange behaviour and appearance was justified by his profession of being a scientist who had been affected by an accident.
(iv) Which phrase would correctly substitute ‘set all tongues wagging’ in the given sentence from the extract?
A stranger of such uncommon appearance ____________.
Ans. sparked everyone’s curiosity.
Q2. Scientists contribute to make the world a better place. Griffin is an antithesis to this statement. Justify. [2024, 40-50 words]
Ans. Griffin is a violent man who resorts to destruction. He uses his scientific research to rob his landlord. Once he is caught sleeping in a store in London, he attacks the storekeeper. At the in at Iping, he attacks the owners by becoming invisible. Thus, he misuse the scientific advancements.
Q3. A character arc is the transformation or development of a character throughout a story and refers to the changes a character undergoes as a result of his/her experiences, challenges and interactions with other characters.
In light of the above information, trace the character arc of Griffin in H.G. Wells’ Footprints without Feet’. [2024, 100-120 words]
Ans. Griffin is a mad scientist who uses his scientific advancement for the wrong reasons. He becomes invisible and then sets the landlord’s house on fire. He escapes and only the muddy footprints are visible. Then he enters a closed store, looking for warmth, sleeps through the night and on being discovered, hits the storekeeper. Then he again steals things like props from a theatre store. Griffin is an anti-social and anti-law. He wants to escape the city and his search for solitude takes him to the village of Iping. There also, his irritant nature leads him to hit people and enter into fights. Finally, the policeman Jaffers is called in to catch the invisible man who creates a lot of ruckus.
Q4. Imagine that Griffin’s conscience pricks him and he decides to write a diary entry, about misusing science and endangering society, in the context of his own experience.
Write this diary entry, as Griffin, in about 120 words.
(Reference — Footprints without Feet by H.G. Wells) [2024, 120 words]
Ans. Dear Diary
Today, my conscience pricked me. I’ve used my scientific discoveries not for the betterment of humanity, but for selfish and harmful purposes. My invisibility formula, a brilliant achievement, led me down a dark path. I set fire to my landlord’s house, stole money, and terrified innocent people. I see now that my actions have endangered society and caused fear and chaos. Instead of using my discovery to help others, I became a criminal. Science should be used to improve lives, not destroy them. I regret my choices deeply. I hope that someday, my story will serve as a warning about the dangers of misusing scientific knowledge for personal gain.
Bye
Q5. Griffin’s brilliance as a man of science fades before his darker traits. Give reasons from the text to support your answer. [2024, 100-120 words]
Ans. Griffin’s brilliance as a scientist is overshadowed by his darker traits throughout the story. Despite his intellect and scientific achievements in making himself invisible, he uses this power for selfish and destructive purposes. He sets fire to his landlord’s house out of revenge and steals money to sustain himself. His actions show a disregard for others’ well-being and a willingness to manipulate and harm. Instead of using his brilliance to benefit society, he chooses a path of lawlessness and deceit. Griffin’s descent into criminality highlights how his scientific brilliance becomes tainted by his lack of empathy and moral compass, ultimately diminishing his legacy as a man of science.
Questions from the Chapter in 2023 Board Exams
Q1. Read the following extracts and answer the questions:
Mrs. Hall almost fell down the stairs in hysterics. She was convinced that the room was haunted by spirits and that the stranger had somehow caused these to enter into her furniture. [2023]
(i) Mrs. Hall tripped because _________
(a) the floor was oily.
(b) she was standing on a chair.
(c) she was in a state of panic.
(d) the door was slammed.
Ans. (c)
(ii) Mrs. Hall suspected everything in the room was put under a spell of witchcraft by _____.
Ans. the stranger
(iii) Fill in the blank with one word only :
Mrs. Hall was afraid that spirits had entered her ______.
Ans. into furniture
(iv) According to the extract, the feeling of Mrs. Hall can be best described as
(1) stunned (2) happy
(3) awestruck (4) nervous
(5) outraged (6) agitated
Select the correct option :
(a) (2) and (4)
(b) (3) and (6)
(c) (5) and (6)
(d) (1) and 6)
Ans. (b)
(v) ‘Spirits’ in the above lines means the same as
(a) ghosts
(b) conscience
(c) ego
(d) attitude
Ans. (a)
Q2. Read the following extracts and answer the questions:
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 ! [2023]
(i) Griffin’s landlord tried to eject him because
(a) he was a lawless person.
(b) he had set his house on fire.
(c) he didn’t like him.
(d) he was a drug addict.
Ans. (c)
(ii) Fill in the blank with one word only.
Griffin deliberately removed his clothes because he wanted to become _______.
Ans. invisible
(iii) Select the option that correctly captures the application of the word ‘fire’ as used in this extract.
(a) Griffin said that he would fire the manager.
(b) The soldiers opened fire at the enemy.
(c) His remarks provoked heavy fire from the political opponents.
(d) The Amar Palace was completely destroyed by the fire.
Ans. (d)
(iv) Griffin’s presence was felt when
(a) he jumped into the water with a splash.
(b) he wore clothes.
(c) he left muddy footprints.
(d) he stepped in mud.
Ans. (c)
(v) Which of the following is not true with reference to the given extract?
(a) Griffin had become penniless.
(b) Griffin promised to behave himself.
(c) Griffin revealed himself by his muddy footprints.
(d) No one could see Griffin when he took off his clothes.
Ans. (c)
Q3. Read the following extracts and answer the questions:
The two boys started in surprise at the fresh muddy imprints of a pair of bare feet. What was a barefooted man doing on the steps of a house in the middle of London? And where was the man?
As they gazed, a remarkable sight met, their eyes. A fresh footmark appeared from nowhere !
Further footprints followed, one after another, descending the steps and progressing down the street. The boys followed, fascinated, until the muddy impressions became fainter and fainter and at last disappeared altogether. [2023]
(i) The boys were surprised to see a barefooted man in London because ______.
(a) everybody in London moved around in shoes.
(b) it was very cold in London to move around barefoot.
(c) the muddy footprints were fresh.
(d) only a homeless person would walk barefoot.
Ans. (b)
(ii) Select the option that correctly captures the usage of the word ‘started’ in the above extract.
(a) When I reached the theatre the movie had already started.
(b) The fire started from the kitchen.
(c) On hearing the bell ring, the sleeping Raman started and jumped out of bed.
(d) Taking a deep breath, Ravi started down the stairs.
Ans. (c)
(iii) The boys reaction can best be described as
(a) captivated, bored
(b) repulsed, absorbed
(c) curious, unhappy
(d) captivated, interested
Ans. (d)
(iv) Complete the analogy by selecting the suitable word from the text :
Disappeared : Vanished :: Extraordinary :
Ans. remarkable
(v) According to the extract the boys were ____ when they saw the footmark.
- terrified 2. nervous
- delighted 4. curious
- puzzled
Select the correct option :
(a) 1, 2, 4
(b) Only 1
(c) 4 and 5
(d) 2 and 3
Ans. (c)
Questions that appeared in 2020 Board Exams
Q1. Describe the curious episode which took place in a clergyman’s study. [2020, 30-40 words]
Ans. A clergyman and his wife were awakened very early in the morning by noises coming from the study. They crept downstairs and heard the chink of money being taken from the clergyman’s desk. With a poker grasped firmly in his hand, the clergyman hoped to surprise the thief. However, it was he who was surprised when he found the room to be empty. He and his wife looked under the desk, behind the curtains, and even up the chimney. There was nobody there. Yet the desk had been opened and the housekeeping money was missing. It was a curious episode, and the clergyman kept saying the words “extraordinary affair” for the rest of the day.
Q2. Why does Mrs. Hall find the scientist (the new guest) eccentric? [2020, 30-40 words]
Ans. Mrs Hall found the scientist eccentric because of his strange appearance and also, when she tried to be friendly with him, he rebuffed her by saying that he had come there for solitude and did not wish to be disturbed in his work.
Q3. What made the boys follow Griffin? [2020, 30-40 words]
Ans. The boys saw freshly made muddy footprints on the path but there was no one to be seen who would be leaving those footprints. This intrigued the boys and hence, they decided to follow those footprints without feet which were actually left by the invisible scientist, Griffin.
Q4. How did Griffin’s invisibility come to his help whenever he found himself in trouble? [2020, 100-150 words]
Ans. Griffin’s invisibility helped him every time he found himself in trouble. For example, when he went to rob the Innkeeper, he could not be spotted by him. Another instance was when he stole some clothes from the big store in London to cover himself in the cold but after being spotted by people he ran for his life and was forced to undress once again and become invisible. Griffin even scared the Innkeeper by revealing his invisible self and thus, found an escape every time. Thus, Griffin’s invisibility can be said to be his savior in disguise as it helped him escape miseries during various situations in the story.
Q5. How would you assess Griffin as a scientist? [2020, 100-150 words]
Ans. Griffin was a brilliant scientist, as he discovered the scientific formula to make a human body invisible. This was indeed a big achievement in science but he seemed to enjoy the feeling of power when he became invisible. He misused his discovery to satisfy his personal needs and got sadistic pleasure by hurting others. Although he was brilliant in his job, but he was not a noble scientist who made contribution to the larger benefit of society. His discovery of invisibility was therefore, done just for his own benefit.
Q6. A brilliant scientist though he was, Griffin misused his scientific discovery. Illustrate this point by giving any two examples from the story. [2020, 100-150 words]
Ans. Griffin was brilliant as a scientist. He had found a way by which a human could become invisible. He himself became invisible a number of times and his experiment was a huge hit. His invention could have been used for the welfare of science as well as mankind if he used it in a proper way but he chose to use his invention for his own selfish needs.
When he ran out of money, he decided to steal money from the house of a clergyman and to do so he misused his own invention. When everyone suspected him and called the police, he even tried to escape from the chase of the police.
One more crime that he committed after misusing his invention was burning the house of his landlord when the landlord asked him to empty his house.
Q7. Discoveries of science can be used for the welfare of mankind as well as for its destruction. How is this applicable to Griffin’s scientific discovery? Explain giving examples from the text. [2020, 100-150 words]
Ans. Discoveries of science can be used for the welfare of mankind as well as for its destruction. This is completely applicable to griffin’s scientific discovery. Griffin as a scientist was brilliant. He had found a way by which a human can become invisible. He himself became invisible a number of times and his experiment was a huge hit. His invention could have been used for the welfare of science as well as mankind if he used it in a proper way but he chose to use his invention for his own selfish needs.
When he ran out of money, he decided to steal money from the house of a clergyman and when police chased him he escaped. One more crime that he committed after misusing his invention was burning the house of his landlord when the landlord asked him to empty his house.
2019 Exam Question and Answers from the chapter
Q1. How did Griffin find himself invisible but naked in the chill January air for the second time? [2019, 30-40 words]
Ans. When the large London store opened in the morning, the sales people entered. Seeing them, Griffin panicked and ran. The assistants chased Griffin as he fled in a state of terror. He had to take off his newly discovered clothing in order to disappear, so for the second time he was both invisible and naked in the cold January air.
Also see:
Footprints Without Feet Important Questions, NCERT Solutions, Extra Questions
Footprints Without Feet Summary, Explanation
Footprints Without Feet Character Sketches