The Invisible Man. HG Wells

The invisible man by H.G. Wells: science fiction but very “diet” in comparison to other sci-fi's, still an interesting read. My favorite part though is how anachronistic it is. It could've been written in the 22nd century or the 19th [when it was really written]; there are no mentions of time at all. [except that it's feb. 29 in the book ;) ]

An Intro: A strange individual arrives at the rural town of Iping covered head-to-toe in bandages with glasses bigger than those of Mary Kate Olsen. He later gets run out of Iping, uses a greedy but unreliable man, and then encounters an old colleague of his. The plot isn’t super exciting, [this is not MTV’s Real Life] & nor is it gory like Revenge Tragedies.

Themes I liked:

1. The ring of Gyges: The book questions whether or not we would be moral people if nobody was watching. The ring of Gyges, which gave invisibility to it’s owner, [of Plato’s Republic] is alluded to in the book. As I’m a very cynical individual, I’m not going to expound my theories

2. The balance of science and humanity: The towns people are portrayed as idiotical bumpkins. However, they lead their simple lives contentedly. Meanwhile, Griffin, a smart individual is portrayed as cold and callous. With no hints of compassion or even remorse, he kills his father for money, subjects cats to tortuous experiments, and all for his own gain and enjoyment. He is suspicious as he hides his books in locked cupboards, refuses to let anybody near his gadgetry, even burns his apartment to clear it of any clues it could give. I could go on but the point is that he’s not only insane but more heartless than Kanye. His indifference is correlated to his obsession with his work and his isolation, something H.G. Wells’ could personally relate to.

3. The tragic hero: Although the reader is appalled at Griffin, there is something so pitiful about him. He may think that he’s a god among mere mortals but he has no clothing, shelter and he can’t eat any food because it’ll ruin his invisibility. He suffers, has to rely on others to help him. He can’t go out in busy streets after he almost got run over by a car. He can’t even talk to anybody as they all think they’re just drunk. All simple pleasures in life are erased, he has nothing. He can’t even walk from sores on his feet. As the story goes on, he gets chased down by dogs, degraded to the point where he’s still inhuman but not in a godly way, in an animal way. He’s become a wild animal.

I don’t know if I would recommend this story. To science fiction readers, it’ll seem lame, something an elementary schooler would read. But to somebody who doesn’t read Sci Fi, they won’t enjoy the story. But if you’re stuck on a lonely deserted island equipped with nothing else, than by all means

i like this cover