Fear

[Beth]

What makes invisibility frightening in the story?

[Janet]

It is frightening because it is so alien; so totally beyond what reason and senses accept as possible. Obviously his behavior then makes it all the more frightening. Otherwise some might have overcome their fear and responded with pity or compassion.

[Beth]

His behavior frightened me but also the fact that as a kid, I imagined invisibility would be awesome! Pranks, secrets, avoidance of consequences, etc. The description of all the aspects of invisibility that became a curse unnerved me. It applies to anything that seems too good to be true because there are always dark elements that come into play.

[Mary]

I just finished the book. I had the same thoughts as a child how "fun" it would be to be invisible. I think we have all entertained that fantasy at one time or another in our lives. This book took the fantasy to a whole different level, and not a pleasant one! I never thought of the negative implications of it--the "other side" of it. His behavior bothered more than angered me. He could have used this opportunity to do good things for others.

[George P.]

He could've made millions as a hitman/assassin. As a kid I thought the coolest thing about being invisible would be getting into movies free. Of course the fantasy was always being able to turn it on and off at will. Being stuck in an invisible state would have been horrible.

[Janet]

I guess the most frightening thing about being invisible here is the need to be completely naked to stay invisible. The utter vulnerability that leaves one in, especially in a climate other than the tropics, is terrifying. It also allows enemies to strike out at you with extreme vengeance and no compassion as happened at the end. Only after looking at his dying body did they see how much injury had been done to him. Even if the invisible man had not been so madly evil, I think he would have been in extreme danger from frightened towns people, etc.

[Beth]

Janet, I didn't think about the nakedness. Good point.

[Valerie]

I don't know if I have an answer to the question, but I did think this was one of the most interesting aspects of the first half of the book.

The villagers (and dogs!) had such a visceral reaction to him. Of course, Wells made him a completely unlikable character but I kept thinking - what if he had genuinely wanted help, or was lashing out because he was frightened of his situation.

I also thought there were a lot of parallels in the villagers reaction to someone who is -very obviously- not like them and the problems with prejudice so many people face in our times.

[Daniel]

(to everyone:) Great comments on the "practical" side of invisibility. I thought that's what made this book really special.