#227 Unveiling the Invisible Man

Diving into HG Wells' 1897 classic "The Invisible Man," Scott explores how the novel uses invisibility as a device to illuminate human nature. This short but profound book examines what happens when accountability disappears and reveals who we truly are when no one is watching.

• First-time reading of the 162-page classic "The Invisible Man" by HG Wells
• Brief overview of Wells' other influential works including Time Machine and War of the Worlds
• Discussion of Griffin, the scientist who discovers invisibility but uses it selfishly
• Exploration of the book's central irony: invisibility actually exposes who people really are
• Reflection on what our choice of superpowers might reveal about our character
• Consideration of how classic science fiction examines human nature rather than just futuristic concepts
• Appreciation for how Wells' 125-year-old stories still resonate with modern readers

Email [e-mail] to share what superpower you would choose and why. If you'd choose invisibility, what would you do with it?

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, this is Scott Townsend.
Welcome back to the ScottTownsend Show.
And today we're talking aboutHG Wells.
I just got through reading forthe first time I can't believe I
haven't read this before theInvisible man by HG Wells, and
yeah, it's a 1897 classic.

(00:22):
It was just a short read, it'slike 162 pages long but I really
enjoyed it and in typical HGWells fashion he makes you think
it's not just a gimmicky little.
He's invisible and kind of abad guy or a ghost or a monster

(00:43):
or something.
There's more to it than that.
If you could choose asuperpower, what would it be?

Speaker 2 (00:50):
Welcome to the Scott Townsend Show brought to you by
Dietzelman Productions.

Speaker 1 (00:56):
HG Wells.
He wrote a lot of good booksback in the late 1800s the time
machine, um, the first man inthe moon, dr moreau, war the
worlds and they're still makingthese, remaking these books as
movies.
So yeah, it's kind ofinteresting.

(01:17):
Uh, hg wills he writes aboutthis guy.
First off, I've been intriguedby I think most kids are when
they're little, uh, intrigued bymonsters and godzilla, king
kong, frankenstein, dracula, thewolf man, the mummy, the
invisible man, all the universalmonsters.

(01:40):
I never saw the invisible manas being really a monster, but,
uh, it always it did intrigue meand so, yeah, I would.
I remember reading famousmonsters magazine I think that
was the name of it.
I remember going to bed atnight and putting my radio under
my pillow and turning on cbsradio mystery theater with eg

(02:05):
marshall, and, yeah, you know,just kids love that kind of
scary stuff, and so I couldn'tget enough of it.
Although I never I never didn'tsee the invisible man movie
either.
I think I've seen bits of it,pieces of it, but recently I saw
somebody mentioned that the uh,invisible man was a really
great book actually, and so Ithought I haven't read that one,

(02:27):
yet I need to, so it didn'ttake long and I highly recommend
it.
The character in the book,griffin, is a scientist and he's
getting into this ability,trying to discover the ability
to become invisible, and he's,uh, not in a good head space

(02:50):
really and he finally succeeds.
I'm going to try to do this bookreview without giving away too
much information, but griffin'skind of a jerk and I think as he
, as he uh integrates himselfinto society as an invisible man

(03:11):
and of course he's gonna wraphimself up and keep gloves on
and clothes and hat and glassesuh, it's, it's it becomes quite
apparent that he's got otherplans, other designs in mind and
he doesn't treat people toowell and he kind of goes into.

(03:34):
Well, he doesn't go into how hedid it, but as the story
unfolds you realize he's notusing his invisibility to help
people or change the world forthe better.
I'm able to say that.
So this invisibility, this iswhat I thought.
It's interesting that theinvisibility, the feature, the
ability to be invisible,actually exposes who this guy

(03:58):
really is and what he wants todo.
I thought that was very ironic.
The ability to be not seenactually illuminates who you
really are and what you reallywant to do.
So yeah, it's a great littletwist there.

(04:18):
It's got some great irony.
And what happens to this guy?
You wonder how is this going toend?
And when no one's watching, whoare we really?
What happens when we removeaccountability?
And so my question to you iswhat superpower would you choose

(04:42):
?
And if you chose invisibility,my question to you is why Send
me an email at scott, atscotttownsendinfo.
Let me know what superpower youwould choose.
And if you chose invisibility,what would you do with it?
I can think of a couple ofthings.
Should I say it now or waittill I'll save it?

(05:02):
I'll save it for the nextepisode.
This is a short, one, smalllittle podcast episode, but the
book's small and it's veryinteresting and it makes you
think.
It's a cautionary tale aboutthe human condition and how the
lack of visibility can revealthe truth about a person's soul.

(05:24):
So yeah, on the surface it's astory about a guy who disappears
, but like all good sciencefiction and HG Wells is a master
at this it makes you think, itchallenges you to look inward.
If you've never read theInvisible man or the Time
Machine or War of the Worlds, doyourself a favor, check them
out.
I'm going to read yeah, I'mgoing to add those to my list

(05:46):
the Time Machine and the the warof the world these actually
stories are over 100 years old,but they still hold up, not just
because of the science butbecause of the insight into who
we are as people.
So if you like this, if you likethis episode, hey, hey, give us
a shout out like subscribe,share.

(06:09):
Whatever the kids are sayingthese days, it would be great to
hear from you.
Let me know about the questionwhat superpower would you choose
?
And if you choose invisibility,what would you do with it?
This is Scott Townsend.
Thanks for listening to theScott Townsend Show.
Have a great day.
Everything's going to be allright and we'll talk to you

(06:32):
later.

Speaker 2 (06:38):
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