The Case of Science Abuse Science For Crime in Well's The Invisible Man

Volume 7, Issue 1, January – 2022 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
The Case of Science Abuse: Science for Crime in

Well’s The Invisible Man
Fatnia Paramitha Makatita Burhanuddin Arafah, Herawaty Abbas
English Language Study, English Department,
Postgraduate Program, Faculty of Cultural Sciences,
Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Hasanuddin University,
Hasanuddin University, Makassar, Indonesia Makassar, Indonesia
Abstract:- Science is important knowledge that dangerous and irresponsible (Donghaile, 2012).Because of
beneficial to human life. It is helpful, but also destructive its versatility, science can be abused by certain people in
depends on who is use it. This article explores the science order to fulfil their own benefit. In his book The Republican
abuse in The Invisible Man and describes the kind of War of Science, Mooney (2005) identified science abuse as
crime using science conveyed in H. G. Wells's The an act of manipulating science to meet one personal interest,
Invisible Man. This article uses the qualitative method. not only done by one particular person, but also can be in a
The result of this study shows that the main character massive scenario. At their best, scientists represent the best
abused the power of his science knowledge and discovery in humanity. They are an epitome of human intelligence and
to commit crime such as robbery, violations, curiosity. However, they are still humans and can use their
terrorization, and murder to satisfy his personal greed. knowledge to the wrong way.
Keywords:- Science, Abuse, Crime, The Invisible Man, The Invisible Man(1897) is one of Wells’s remarkable
Wells. novel. It given numerous film adaptations since it was
released, The Invisible Man (1933), Abbott and Costello
I. INTRODUCTION Meet the Invisible Man (1951), Memoirs of an Invisible
Man (1992), Hollow Man (2009), and The Invisible Man
Science is much too grand to be defined in a few (2020). Wells modernized the idea of Plato’s Ring of Gyges
words. According to Ziman (1984), the objective of science about the invsibility (Williams, 2010).This novel tells about
is to decipher myths and blind beliefs also provideunbiased a great invention discovered by a man named Griffin, a
knowledge base for all. Science has a huge contribution to talented scientist. He did research in physiology and found a
human, it bring many benefits and make our life easier. way to make his body invisible. Feeling superior after obtain
Throughout civilization, science has played an important such power, Griffin, driven by his fierce ambitions, grows to
role in human lives. The origin may be based on curiosity became violent and homicidal (Bergonzi, 1961). Griffin
and out of necessity but the intentions are mostly noble, to taking advantage of his invisibility and used it to commit
improve human life quality. It makes man's life easier and many crimes like breaking people’s home to rob money and
gives the chance to pursue various concerns such as also casually murder people who against him.The most
education, ethics, create culture, and improve human obvious meaning of this novel is its moral warning about
conditions (Burke. J, Bergman. J, & Asimov. I, 1983). one's individual desire to go beyond human boundaries with
In some cases, few science great discoveries are kept science as a tool (Sirabian, 2001).
confidential and inaccessible to public. One of the reasons is The purpose of this research is to identify the science
to minimize the possibility of science abuse by irresponsible abuse and the crimes as reflected in The Invisible Man, a
people who might take advantage and using it to harm scientific romance novel written by H. G. Wells. It
others (Tudge, 1999). Science is very versatile. It can create elaborates how a scientific discovery corrupted by harmful
medicine to deathly disease, but on the other hand it also can intentions and lead to disaster for the inventor.
create the deathly disease itself. It is helpful, but also
destructive depends on who is use it. Tudge (1999) argued II. WELLS AND HIS WORKS
that despite that fact science should be value-free, the idea
might be corrupted in many different ways. When the Herbert George Wells or widely known as H. G. Wells
science knowledge flow into human lives and manipulated was an English author, journalist, sociologist and historian.
by certain values, then it would become dangerous. He was born in 1866, Bromley, England. At eighteenth, he
won a scholarship to the Royal College of Science which he
In the preface of his book, Dangerous Science, Rozell attended during the 1880s. This formal training in science
(2020) stated that few people would argue that scientists linked with Wells’s great works of science fiction
bear absolute no responsibility for how their work is used. (McDonell et all, 1982). Wells’s first published novel was
Yet the potential use of research can be difficult to predict. The Time Machine (1895), the novel was successful and he
Regardless the benefits human gained from science, it is began the series of science fiction novels that marked him as
important to acknowledge how scientific creativity can lead “Father of Modern Science Fiction”. After his first
into destruction. It can be swayed by colleagues, military significant breakthrough with The Time Machine in 1895,
forces, and even ideology to utilize non-ethical choices Wells continue with War of The Worlds serialized by a
(Thomas, 2013). The power without moral control is popular magazine Pearson’s in 1898 (McLean, 2019).
IJISRT22JAN163 www.ijisrt.com 125

ISSN No:-2456-2165
Wells himself have a degree in biology, he has Provincial College. A “shabby, poverty-struck” man (Wells,
published scientific essay, and educational journalism in 2019:128). As a poor teacher who often struggle financially,
prestigious journals such as Saturday Review and Nature in Griffin obsession with wealth grew strong. Just like how he
the early 1890s. Wells in his interview with the Weekly Sun robbed his father to fund his research, he also robbed money
Literary Supplement in December 1895, Wells said that he from other people using his invisible ability.
is a simply a story-teller who happens to be a student of
science (McLean, 2019). “The story of flying money was true. And all about
that neighbourhood, even from the august London
These are his several famous works;The Time Machine and Country Banking Company, from the tills of
(1895), The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896), The Invisible shops and inns-doors standing that sunny weather
Man (1897) and War of The Worlds (1898).Wells nominated entirely open-money had been quietly and
several times for the Nobel Prize in Literature. He is a writer dexterously making off that day in handfuls and
marked with originality and immense creative ideas, and rouleaux, floating quietly along the walls and shady
wrote ahead of time. His works tells about alien invasions, places, dodging quickly from the approaching eyes of
aircraft, space, a time machine, new super intelligent race, men” (Wells, 2019:94-95).
and biological experiment that can turn human body to be
invisible. Wells died, August 13 1946 in London. His legacy The narrative above contains the description about
as “The Father of Science Fiction” still remains and often Griffin’s robbery. The phrase “flying money” implied that
adapted into films and different works. the kind of thing happened often, people already aware and
named the phenomenon. Cantor (1999) argued that the
III. METHODOLOGY phrase describes the difficulty of tracing the movement of
money. The narrative also tells about the places he robbed,
This research employed qualitative research. from bank, shops, and inns. He robbed every place he can as
Qualitative research is an exploratory research (Arafah and long as the door is wide open. He used the advantage of
Hasyim, 2020). The data were gathered from text and invisibility very well so he could go in and out unnoticed
collected by using library research. The researcher collected and stealing money.
data through the novel The Invisible Man by H. G Wells as
the primary source, and from books, journals, and other B. Violation and Terrorization
material related to the topic of research. After that, the data In the novel The Invisible Man, Griffin portrayed as
in this research were deeply analyzed by applying ambitious man who always anxious about his research.
descriptive method. Griffin had an ill temper and it seems doubled up when he
turn into invisible since he aware of his ability. As the
IV. FINDING AND DISCUSSION Invisible Man he abusing science to scare people and create
a terror. He fired a whole house to cover his trail, destroying
Well’s The Invisible Manregarded as one of privileged things around for fun, and commit violence to people. He
works of science fiction in the Victorian literature (Gahatraj, enjoyed destroying things and scared people casually for the
2021). This novel explores the horrible potential when mere satisfaction of hurting (Wells, 2019: 83).
science fell into the wrong hand. In this novel, the main
character named Griffin succeed transform himself into the “Attention,” said the Voice, and then fiercely, “Don’t
Invisible Man after countless experiments and with the new try any games. Remember I can see your face if you can’t
ability he obtained with science knowledge he had, he see mine. You’ve got to go back to the house” (Wells,
commits many crime to satisfy his personal greed. 2019:191).
Griffin already had harmful intentions since day one he This narrative above tells about Griffin’s threat
become an Invisible Man. He was well aware that the towards to Colonel Adye. The sentence “Remember I can
invisibility really gave him extraordinary advantages. see your face if can’t see mine” implied the notion of
“My head was already teeming with plans of all the superiority with his ability to be invisible, which is benefit
wild and wonderful things I had now impunity to do” him in combat since he cannot be seen by the opponent. Not
(Wells, 2019: 142). only violations, Griffin also using his ability to spread terror
and destroying things and shops in the street. The people
The narrative above implied Griffin’s undesirable call the terror he did as “The Raging Unseen” (Wells,
plans to abuse his invisibility. I can be sensed the growing 2019:83).
feeling of self-importance and perverted intentions (Singh,
1984). Griffin committed several crimes such as robbery, C. Murder
violations, terrorization, and murder. “Developing science is The first time Griffin told Kemp about his plan to
vital but it needs to consider its implications on society” establish a Reign of Terror, he stated that he did not hesitate
(Sekar V, 2018). to kill people. For him, killing is necessary to set example if
people happened to against his will. In the story Griffin
A. Robbery committed many violations and at least two murder. His first
Griffin described asa young tall albino man who won the victim was an old man named Mr. Wicksteed. Mr.
medal in chemistry (Wells, 2019:110). In the story, he is a Wicksteed was killed by Griffin on his way home, he saw
brilliant and clever, yet a secretive man who teaching in the old man walking alone and thought that it was a perfect

ISSN No:-2456-2165
chance to prove his worthiness as something that people [5.] Donghaile, Deaglan O. (2012). Anarchism, Socialism,
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any crimes. The science works well in accordance to its Technologization of the Uncanny in H. G. Wells. The
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creation. In The Invisible Man it showed that Griffin used
the benefit of his knowledge for harmful intentions and
abused it to commit crime such as robbery, violation,
terrorization, and murder. He is a parable of the dangerous
power of science when it fell to wrong hands.
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Volume 7, Issue 1, January – 2022 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology

The Case of Science Abuse: Science for Crime in

IJISRT22JAN163 www.ijisrt.com 125

IJISRT22JAN163 www.ijisrt.com 126

[1.] Arafah, B and Hasyim, M. (2020). Covid-19

IJISRT22JAN163 www.ijisrt.com 127

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