The Invisible Man, Week 3

Welcome to Week 3 of the Online Book Club discussion of The Invisible Man. 

Were you finally glad that Griffin explained the science behind his invisibility in this section? Did you understand anything about the science experiment? I was glad to get an explanation about the science, but I didn't understand it at all. It didn't seem believable to me, and I didn't understand how any of it worked. If you're curious about whether or not Griffin's experiment would actually work, check out this article. I don't think I will be trying to become invisible any time soon. 

This section definitely solidified the fact that I didn't like Griffin at all. In the first section, I was bothered by how rude he was, but in this section, he was just horrible. He was horrible in the way he treated Marvel and the townspeople, and when he casually mentioned that he robbed his father and then his father committed suicide, I knew that I could not root for this character at all. He didn't even seem to care that he hurt his family so deeply. I just couldn't believe that he was so cavalier about such a tragic incident. 

One funny detail in this section occurred in chapter 12. Griffin is locked in a room with Mr. Bunting and Mr. Cuss, and, of course, Griffin is mad that they took his clothes and looked through his papers. He threatens to hurt them, and then he ends up stealing their clothes, so he can escape. At the end of the chapter, we find out that Mr. Cuss and Mr. Bunting have to run away to save themselves, and H.G. Wells writes that Mr. Bunting tries to cover himself with a rug and some newspapers. It's pretty funny to imagine a grown man trying to run away while covering himself with newspapers. I don't think that would be very effective, and I can't imagine that he would be able to run very fast. I think it's interesting that Wells would include such a funny visual in the middle of all of Griffin's violence. 

Griffin treated Marvel horribly in this section. He abused him and threatened him, and he even ran after him and, seemingly, attempted to kill him. As far as we know, Griffin was injured by the man at the bar who was protecting Marvel, but do you think that's the end of Marvel and Griffin's relationship? Marvel still has all of Griffin's papers, so I can't imagine that they won't interact again. 

At the end of this section, Griffin confides in Kemp and shares all about his experiments and his time as the invisible man. He tells about setting a room on fire and making a cat mostly invisible, and he shares that he believes he will be able to do many wonderful things as an invisible man. Do you think Kemp will just help Griffin? Will he alert someone about all of the things that Griffin is doing? How will Griffin's past finally catch up to him? How do you think the story is going to end? 

In the book version, Griffin becomes invisible using drugs to decolorize his blood. In the new movie version, there's a suit with cameras on it that impact visibility. Check out the movie clip below if you'd like a peek at the suit. 

I hope you were able to make it through this section, and I hope you're able to finish the last chapters by next week! I can't wait to hear your thoughts in the comments section!