#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 scott@scotttownsendinfo.com to share what superpower you would choose and why. If you'd choose invisibility, what would you do with it?

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to HG Wells' The Invisible Man
• 0:56 HG Wells' Literary Legacy
• 1:32 Griffin's Character and Invisibility's Irony
• 3:24 What Superpower Would You Choose?
• 5:15 Closing Thoughts and Call to Action

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hey, this is Scott Townsend. Welcome back to the Scott Townsend Show. And today we're talking about HG Wells. I just got through reading for the first time I can't believe I haven't read this before the Invisible man by HG Wells, and yeah, it's a 1897 classic. It was just a short read, it's like 162 pages long but I really enjoyed it and in typical HG Wells fashion he makes you think it's not just a gimmicky little. He's invisible and kind of a bad guy or a ghost or a monster or something.

Speaker 1: 0:45

There's more to it than that. If you could choose a superpower, what would it be?

Speaker 2: 0:50

Welcome to the Scott Townsend Show brought to you by Dietzelman Productions.

Speaker 1: 0:56

HG Wells. He wrote a lot of good books back in the late 1800s the time machine, um, the first man in the moon, dr moreau, war the worlds and they're still making these, remaking these books as movies. So yeah, it's kind of interesting. Uh, hg wills he writes about this guy.

Speaker 1: 1:22

First off, I've been intrigued by I think most kids are when they're little, uh, intrigued by monsters and godzilla, king kong, frankenstein, dracula, the wolf man, the mummy, the invisible man, all the universal monsters. I never saw the invisible man as being really a monster, but, uh, it always it did intrigue me and so, yeah, I would. I remember reading famous monsters magazine I think that was the name of it. I remember going to bed at night and putting my radio under my pillow and turning on cbs radio mystery theater with eg marshall, and, yeah, you know, just kids love that kind of scary stuff, and so I couldn't get enough of it. Although I never I never didn't see 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 I thought I haven't read that one, yet I need to, so it didn't take long and I highly recommend it.

Speaker 1: 2:33

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 really and he finally succeeds.

Speaker 1: 2:54

I'm going to try to do this book review without giving away too much information, but griffin's kind of a jerk and I think as he, as he uh integrates himself into society as an invisible man and of course he's gonna wrap himself up and keep gloves on and clothes and hat and glasses uh, it's, it's it becomes quite apparent that he's got other plans, other designs in mind and he doesn't treat people too well and he kind of goes into. Well, he doesn't go into how he did it, but as the story unfolds you realize he's not using his invisibility to help people or change the world for the better. I'm able to say that. So this invisibility, this is what I thought. It's interesting that the invisibility, the feature, the ability to be invisible, actually exposes who this guy really is and what he wants to do. I thought that was very ironic. The ability to be not seen actually illuminates who you really are and what you really want to do. So yeah, it's a great little twist there. It's got some great irony. And what happens to this guy? You wonder how is this going to end? And when no one's watching, who are we really? What happens when we remove accountability? And so my question to you is what superpower would you choose? And if you chose invisibility, my question to you is why Send me an email at scott, at scotttownsendinfo. Let me know what superpower you would choose. And if you chose invisibility, what would you do with it? I can think of a couple of things. Should I say it now or wait till I'll save it? I'll save it for the next episode.

Speaker 1: 5:05

This is a short, one, small little podcast episode, but the book's small and it's very interesting and it makes you think. It's a cautionary tale about the human condition and how the lack of visibility can reveal the truth about a person's soul. So yeah, on the surface it's a story about a guy who disappears, but like all good science fiction and HG Wells is a master at this it makes you think, it challenges you to look inward. If you've never read the Invisible man or the Time Machine or War of the Worlds, do yourself a favor, check them out. I'm going to read yeah, I'm going to add those to my list the Time Machine and the the war of the world these actually stories are over 100 years old, but they still hold up, not just because of the science but because of the insight into who we are as people.

Speaker 1: 6:01

So if you like this, if you like this episode, hey, hey, give us a shout out like subscribe, share. Whatever the kids are saying these days, it would be great to hear from you. Let me know about the question what superpower would you choose? And if you choose invisibility, what would you do with it? This is Scott Townsend. Thanks for listening to the Scott Townsend Show. Have a great day. Everything's going to be all right and we'll talk to you later.

Speaker 2: 6:38

The Scott Townsend Show is a Dietz-O-Man production. For more episodes, visit the Scott Townsend Show YouTube channel, listen on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.