Question

How did being invisible prove to be a handicap for Griffin

Answer 1

Griffin was obsessed with the idea of becoming invisible because he wanted to end all his troubles with it. He thought after becoming invisible he would have the impunity to do whatever he chose. He could do anything and escape by being invisible. No person could hold him. He could take his money where he found it.

However, after becoming invisible his joy was just short lived. He soon realized many disadvantages of being invisible. The first and foremost disadvantage was the cold. The extreme cold climatic condition in London during winter could not be faced without clothes. In order to become invisible, Griffin had to take all his clothes off. Being clothe less would soon freeze him to death.

The second disadvantage was the rain and the snow. He realized when it rained and snowed, his presence was liable to be detected as the water would trickle down him making him visible; similarly, snow would also make an outline on his shoulders and head making him visible. He could easily be caught and imprisoned.

The fourth disadvantage was he had neither any home nor any shelter where he could hide himself. He did not want to confide his secret of invisibility to anyone, as he had no friend. He feared no one would believe him. He also feared if he confided to anyone he could betray him. Seeing so many disadvantages that could endanger his survival, he felt being visible was far better than being invisible. So he wanted to be visible again. But he did not how to become visible. He needed a quiet place where he could carry his experiments on becoming visible again. He made a plan to cover himself thoroughly until he was successful with his experiment of becoming visible.

Answer 2

Being invisible proved to be a handicap to Griffin in more than one way.

To remain invisible, Griffin had to remain without clothes. However, the climate was not obliging and the winter in London was very cold. This made him shiver and freeze with cold quite often.

When it snowed, the snow fell on Griffin’s body forming an outline and creating the impression of someone present.

As he did not trust anyone with whom he could share the details of his invisibility, Griffin had no friend or acquaintance. Because of this, he was unable to find a suitable place for himself to stay.