Wells's portrayals of country people are stereotypical, but not offensively so.

His Sussex natives come off as unintelligent and ignorant, but these characteristics support the novel's comic element. More likely to disturb some readers is the lack of appealing characters in the book and the uncompromising portrait of a society unable to cope with an outsider. No one comes off well in the novel, and Griffin is as much a victim as a villain. The Invisible Man has no characters whose courage or intelligence inspire admiration. The book does, however, teach that true maturation involves learning to deal with destructive desires.