Updated on 27/09/2021
4. The
Rattrap (Selma Lagerlof)
Main Points of the
chapter:
Ø This is a story of a poor man who
sells small rattraps (cage to catch rats) of wire.
Ø He wandered from place to place to
sell these rattraps.
Ø But he could not earn enough so he
had to beg and petty thefts.
Ø One night he saw a little grey
cottage by the roadside.
Ø He stayed with a crofter who served
him well.
Ø The crofter told him that he had
earned thirty kronor in payment of his cow’s milk.
Ø The next morning, when both had gone
for their work, the peddler came back & stole the old man’s thirty kronor.
Ø Now he took a way through a forest instead
of main road, in order to escape being caught.
Ø But it was confusing forest so he
found himself near the place from where he had started.
Ø He thought that the whole world is
also like a rattrap (Chuhedani).
Ø Like rat we people are tempted by the
baits as riches, joys, shelters, food and clothes.
Ø It was dark & cold night of
December; he heard the sound of hammer and reached the Ramsjo Ironworks.
Ø The Ramsjo mistook the peddler as his
old acquaintance, Nils Olof.
Ø The ironmaster invited him to his
house for the Christmas Eve.
Ø But next day when he looked at the
stranger in the broad daylight, he at once realised his mistake, that man was
not his old friend.
Ø So he asked him at once to leave his
house.
Ø But the ironmaster’s daughter named
Edla pleaded on the stranger.
Ø She served him for the Christmas Eve
as best as she could.
Ø Next morning both ironmaster and his
daughter went to the church when he was sleeping.
Ø There they heard that a man who sells
rattrap, had robbed the old crofter.
Ø Her father was afraid that the
rattrap seller might have stolen all their silver spoons.
Ø But he had not taken anything, rather
he had left a letter & the rattrap as Christmas present for Edla.
Ø In the package there were three
ten-kronor notes. He requested her to return money to the old crofter.
Ø Now he is reformed by the
compassionate behavior of a young girl Edla.
Very Short Type Q-Ans.
Q 1. Who is the writer of the story
‘The Rattrap’?
Ans. Selma Lagerlof
Q. 2 Who is the main character in the
story?
Ans. The man who made rattraps
Q. 3 What else did he do to living?
Ans. Begged and stole
Q. 4 What did the old man do for a
living?
Ans. Selling his cow’s milk
Q. 5 Where did the old man’s money?
Ans. In a leather pouch
Q. 6 Who stole the old man’s money?
Ans. The rattrap seller
Q. 7 How did the rattrap seller enter
the cottage in order to steal the old man’s money?
Ans. By smashing a window pane
Q. 8 How much money did he steal?
Ans. Thirty kronors
Q.9 What happened when the rattrap
seller left the main road and went into a forest?
Ans. he became confused and lost the
way
Q. 10 What did the owner of the
factory mistake the rattrap seller for?
Ans. His old friend Nils Olof
Q. 11 Where did the rattrap seller
reach when he followed the sound when he was in a forest?
Ans. The Ramsjo Ironworks
Q. 12 What was the name of the
ironmaster’s daughter?
Ans. Edla
Q. 13 What special occasion was the
next day?
Ans. Christmas Eve
Q. 14 What idea stuck the rattrap
seller’s mind one day?
Ans. That the whole world is also
like a rattrap
Q. 15 What had the rattrap seller
left for the ironmaster’s daughter as a Christmas gift?
Ans. The rattrap and a letter
Short Type Q-Ans.
Q. 1 From where did the
peddler get the idea of the world being a rattrap?
Ans. One day the peddler was going along the road. He was
thinking of his rattrap. He thought that the world is also like a rattrap. A
rat is caught in the rattrap when it is lured by the bait. In the same way the
world existed only to set baits for people. The world offers its riches, joys,
shelter, food and clothing to man just to trap him.
Q. 2 What made the
peddler think he had indeed fallen into a rattrap?
Ans. The peddler had stolen the thirty kronor of the crofter.
In order to avoid being caught, he did not walk along the main road. He took a
forest way. In the meantime, the night fell and there was darkness over the
forest. He forgot the way and he was confused where to go. This money was bait
that had trapped him. Now he thought that the world was indeed a rattrap.
Q. 3 Why did the
ironmaster speak kindly to the peddler and invited him home?
Ans. The ironmaster saw the peddler in the dim light of the
furnace. He mistook the peddler for his an old friend. He thought that his old
friend was passing through bad days. Therefore, he invited him to his house to
help him in his evil days.
Q. 4 When did the
ironmaster realise his mistake?
Ans. The ironmaster had seen the peddler in the dim light of
the furnace. As a result, his face was not clearly visible. He mistook the
peddler for an old friend. But when he saw the peddler well groomed in the broad
daylight, he realised that he had made a mistake about him. He was not his
friend.
Q. 5 How did the
peddler steal the old crofter money?
Ans. The peddler knew where the crofter had kept his thirty
Kronor. As soon as they left the cottage, the peddler came back. He smashed the
windowpane and took out the money from the leather pouch and hung the pouch
back.
Q. 6 Why did the
peddler take his way through the forest?
Ans. The peddler had the crofter’s stolen money in his
pocket. He was afraid that he would be chased and caught If he went by the
highway. That is why he took his way through the forest.
Q. 7 What present did
the peddler leave for Edla? What did he write in his letter to him?
Ans. The servant told Edla that the peddler had left a little package for her. She found a small rattrap in the package. Inside the package there were three ten Kronor notes and a letter. In his letter he thanked her for being so nice to him as if he was really a captain. He did not want her to be troubled with a thief on Christmas. He requested her to return the money to the old crofter. He wrote that the rattrap was a Christmas present for her.
Q. 1 How does the
metaphor of the rattrap serve to highlight the human predicament?
Ans. The peddler considers that the whole world is nothing
but a big rattrap. The riches, joys, shelter and food are nothing but mere
baits. When one touches the bait, the rattrap closes in on him. The peddler
robbed thirty kronor of the old crofter who served him food and provided
shelter at night. Those thirty kronor that he stole prove to be the bait. He is
lost in a big and confusing forest. He has befooled himself by the bait. The
metaphor of the rattrap comes alive when the ironmaster invited him to his
manor house but he refused to go there. Going there would mean going to the
lion’s den. Again the metaphor is used effectively when the peddler describes
human predicament to the ironmaster. Even the title of the story ‘The Rattrap’
is highly metaphorical. The metaphor runs throughout the story.
Q. 2 Give a
character-sketch of the peddler.
Ans. The writer of the story draws the character of the
peddler, with all sympathy and understanding. The rattrap seller is a very poor
man. He goes from place to place selling rattraps. The peddler represents some
human weaknesses. In fact, he is the product of circumstances. The peddler is a
vagabond. He is also a beggar as well as a petty thief. He himself falls to
temptation and steals thirty kronors of the old crofter.
The writer describes the peddler in such a way that arouses our sympathy with him. His clothes are dirty. He is very poor. He builds rattraps from the material received in begging. The peddler raises himself above petty temptation in the end. He thanks Miss Edla for her kindness and hospitality. He leaves thirty kronors to be given back to the old crofter. He also leaves a small rattrap as a Christmas present for Edla. Thus, the readers forgive him for his little human weakness.
*Important Spellings & Word-meanings*
*Spellings*
Literature
Interesting
Behaviour
Leather pouch
Peddler
Received
Hammer
Blacksmith
Ironsmith
Rattrap
Christmas
Dangerous
Extraordinary
*Word-meanings*
Amidst – in middle
Petty – small
Monotonous – boring
Vagabond – wanderer, trudging
Meditation – deep thinking
Pane – window glass
Smashed – broke
Staggered – walked in difficulty
Forge – furnace
Ragamuffin – wearing rags
Acquaintance – familiar
Preach – sermon
Arouse – woke up
Perspiration – sweat
Porridge – oat meal
Queer – strange