Think As you Read
Q.1 From where did the peddler get the idea of the world being a rattrap?
ANSWER:
One day the peddler was thinking of his rattraps. Suddenly he was struck by an idea that the whole world with its lands and seas, its cities and villages was nothing but a big rattrap. It offered riches and joys, shelter and food as baits in the same manner as the rattrap offered cheese and pork. As soon as someone touches the bait, he finds himself in the trap.
Q.2 Why was he amused by this idea?
ANSWER:
The peddler believed that the world with all its riches and joys, food and shelter appears as a rattrap to tempt people. The world had never been kind to him. It gave him unwonted joy to think ill of it. So he was amused to think about the people who were already caught in the trap and others circling around the bait.
Q.3Did the peddler expect the kind of hospitality that he received from the crofter?
ANSWER:
No, the peddler did not expect the kind of hospitality that he received from the crofter. This was because usually he was greeted by ‘sour’ and unfriendly faces whenever he knocked on doors and requested for shelter.
Q.4 Why was the crofter so talkative and friendly with the peddler?
ANSWER:
The crofter was an old man without wife and children. He was living a monotonous and dull life in solitude. He welcomed his guest very warmly. He offered him food and shelter. Naturally, he was happy to get someone to talk to in his loneliness. So he was talkative and friendly with the peddler.
Q.5 Why did he show the thirty kroner to the peddler?
ANSWER:
The crofter was very proud of his cow that gave him enough milk to support him. He told peddler that he had got thirty kronor last month as payment by supplying the milk to creamery. The peddler seemed doubtful about it. So, in order to assure his guest he showed thirty kronor to the peddler.
Q.6 Did the peddler respect the confidence reposed in him by the crofter?
ANSWER:
No, the peddler did not respect the confidence reposed in him by the crofter. In fact, he betrayed his trust by robbing the thirty kronors from him.
However, later in the story, his conscience was awakened by his stay with the Willmanssons and he decided to return the money.
Q.7What made the peddler think that he had indeed fallen into a rattrap?
ANSWER:
After stealing the crofter’s money, the peddler believed that it was not safe to walk on the public highway. So he went into the woods. But it was a big and confusing forest. He walked and walked but could not get out of it. The forest having its trunks, branches and thickets appeared to him a big rattrap. Then he realized that he had fallen into the rattrap.
Q.8 Why did the ironmaster speak kindly to the peddler and invite him home?
ANSWER:
In the uncertain reflection from furnace, the ironmaster mistook the peddler as his old regimental comrade, Captain Von Stahle. His condition was very miserable. So being an old acquaintance he wanted to help him. He also wanted his company on Christmas Eve. So the ironmaster spoke kindly to the peddler and invited him home.
Q.9Why did the peddler decline the invitation?
ANSWER:
The peddler knew that the ironmaster had mistaken him as his old regiment comrade. The invitation by the ironmaster did not please the peddler since the he had the stolen money in his pocket. He thought that it would be like throwing himself voluntarily into the lion’s den. He was feeling guilty and frightened. So he declined the invitation.
Q.10What made the peddler accept Edla Willmansson’s invitation?
ANSWER:
Edla Willmansson had better power of persuasion. She looked at the peddler quite compassionately. She knew he was afraid. So she assured him that no harm would come to him and he would be allowed to leave just as freely as he came. Her friendly manner made the peddler feel confidence in her and accepted the invitation.
Q.11What doubts did Edla have about the peddler?
ANSWER:
When Edla went to the iron mill to fetch the peddler, she noticed that he was frightened. She had doubts that the peddler had stolen something or had escaped prison. His appearance and behaviour also left her in doubts whether he was actually an educated man, as claimed by her father.
Q.12When did the ironmaster realise his mistake?
ANSWER:
The ironmaster realised his mistake the next day when the peddler turned up at breakfast. The valet had bathed the peddler, cut his hair, shaved him and given him clothes. The ironmaster realised that he had been deceived in recognising the person because of the reflection of the furnace, the previous night.
Q.13 What did the peddler say in his defence when it was clear that he was not the person the ironmaster had thought he was?
ANSWER:
The ironmaster came to know the reality about the peddler the next morning. The peddler in his defence explained that he never pretended to be what he was not. He showed himself as a poor trader. He only desired to sleep in the forge for the night. He had declined the ironmaster’s invitation again and again.
Q.14 Why did Edla still entertain the peddler even after she knew the truth about him?
ANSWER:
The peddler’s true identity came to light the next morning. But Edla served the peddler not as her father’s old comrade. Even after knowing the reality about the peddler she wanted him to stay with them on Christmas Eve and enjoy a day of peace. In her view it was not proper to chase away a person whom they had invited on Christmas.
Q15 Why was Edla happy to see the gift left by the peddler?
ANSWER:
When Edla opened the package of gift left by the peddler she felt very happy. She found a small rattrap with three wrinkled ten kronor notes and a letter addressed to her. He had left the 30 kronors for its rightful owner. He was not a thief but his circumstances made him so. She was happy to note that after all he had changed.
Q.16Why did the peddler sign himself as Captain von Stahle?
ANSWER:
The peddler was a vagabond. When he was invited by the ironmaster, he behaved like a real captain. In this role, he raised himself above the petty temptation. Kindness and hospitality shown by Edla had transformed him completely. He wanted to behave nicely with them.So he signed himself as Captain Von Sthale.
Understanding the Text
Q.1How does the peddler interpret the acts of kindness and hospitality shown by the crofter, the ironmaster and his daughter?
ANSWER:
The different ways in which the peddler repaid the three people corresponds to the way he interpreted the kindness of the three people. The peddler realised that for the crofter it was his craving for company that led him to offer his hospitality. The ironmaster’s hospitality apparently is limited to his acquaintances. It was only the daughter who genuinely offered warmth and goodness to the peddler. He was touched by Edla’s kindness and it made him want to act differently. He repaid her good treatment with a gesture of true gratitude.
Q.2What are the instances in the story that show that the character of the ironmaster is different from that of his daughter in many ways?
ANSWER:
The ironmaster misunderstood the peddler for an old acquaintance,whereas his daughter could make out that the man was afraid, which was suggestive of himhaving stolen something. Though the father and the daughter express compassion for the vagabond both do so for different reasons .The ironmaster was sure to help the vagabond get over his tramp manners because he had mistaken the latter for his old comrade. The daughter however wishes to feed him and welcome him inspite of knowing that he was not Captain Von Stahle. The father acts impulsively and casually and invites him without confirming the stranger’s identity. On realizing his mistake he recklessly wants to hand him over to the sheriff. Only when he is threatened to be ensnared by the rattrap of this world that he thinks otherwise. Edla on the other hand shows a strong sense of observation. She rightly judges him to be a tramp without any education. She persuades her father to let him stay because they had promised him Christmas cheer. When the blacksmith’s daughter infects the protagonist with her true altruism the peddler’s inner soul experiences a rapid transformation form an ugly duckling to a dazzling swan.
Q.3The story has many instances of unexpected reactions from the characters to others’ behaviour. Pick out instances of these surprises.
ANSWER:
The first instance is that of the crofter’s hospitality to the peddler. The rattrap peddler, used to being shooed away, was surprised at the friendly behaviour of the crofter. The peddlar was also surprised at the sudden invitation given by the ironmaster, who was himself shocked to realise his mistake in recognising the peddler, the next day. Another unexpected reaction, for both the peddler and the ironmaster, is Edla’s intervention to seek peddler’s presence for Christmas. However, the most unexpected reaction is from the peddler when he leaves the package and the letter for Edla, showing gratitude to the girl’s hospitality and respect for him.
Q.4What made the peddler finally change his ways?
ANSWER:
Edla Willmansson treated the tramp in a friendly manner. She was nice and kind to her.
She interceded on his behalf when her father was about to turn him out. She still entertained the peddler even after knowing the truth about him. She offered him the snit as Christmas present and invited him to spend the next Christmas with them. Her love and understanding aroused the essential goodness of the peddler and he changed his ways.
Q.5 How does the metaphor of the rattrap serve to highlight the human predicament?
ANSWER:
The metaphor of the rattrap signifies that the world exists only to trap people by setting baits for them. Whenever someone is tempted by the luxuries, he ends up being caught in a dangerous trap. The author, thus, makes a much deeper comment on the woeful plight of those in pursuit of the worldly pleasures, which often lead them to unfortunate situations. The story helps in realising the importance of general goodness and kindness. The peddler is saved from the snare of the huge rattrap called world only when he appreciates the kindness to him by Edla.
SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS :
Q1. How did the peddler of rattraps manage in survive?
ANSWER: He made rattraps of wire and went around selling them. He got material for making them
by begging in the big stores or at big farms. Since his business was not quite profitable, he would beg or steal in order to survive.
Q2. How did the peddler look? Was he different from people of his type?
ANSWER: He was a man with a long beard, dirty, ragged, and with a bunch of rattraps dangling on his chest. His clothes were in rags, his cheeks were sunken, and hunger gleamed in his eyes. No, he looked like the way people of his type usually did.
Q3. What idea. did he get about the world? What were its implications?
ANSWER: He got the idea that the whole world was only a big trap. It sets baits for people exactly as the rattrap offered cheese and pork. It offered riches and joys, shelter and food, heat and clothing as baits. It closed on the person who let himself be tempted to touch the bait. Then everything came to an end.
Q4. Why did the peddler think of the world as a rattrap? What became his cherished pastime?
ANSWER: The world had never been kind to the peddler. So, he got unusual joy to think ill of the world. His pastime was to think of people he knew who had let themselves be caught in the dangerous snare of the world, and of others who were still circling around the bait.
Q5. What hospitality did the peddler with rattraps receive from the old crofter?
ANSWER: The old crofter served the peddler hot porridge for supper and gave him tabacco for his pipe. He entertained his guest by playing cards with him. He also informed him about his prosperous past life and how his cow supported him in his old age now.
Q6. ‘The old man was just as generous with his confidences as with his porridge and tobacco’. What personal information did he impart to his guest ?
ANSWER: The old man told his guest that in his days of prosperity he had been a crofter at Ramsjo Ironworks. Then he worked on the land. Now he was unable to do physical labour. His cow supported him now. He supplied her milk to the creamery everyday. Last month he had received thirty kronor in payment.
Q7. Where had the old man put his money? Why did he hold it up before the eyes of his guest and what did he do later on?
ANSWER: The man had put his money in a leather pouch which hung on a nail in the window frame. He picked out three wrinMed ten-kronor bills for his guest to see as he has seemed sceptical. Then he stuffed them back into the pouch.
Q8.‘ The next day both men got up in good, season.’ Why? Who are the men and what did they do after getting up?
ANSWER: The two men are the old crofter and his guest-the peddler with, the rattraps. The crofter was in a hurry to milk his cow. His guest did not want to stay in bed when the host had risen. They left the cottage at the same time. The crofter locked the door and put the key in his pocket. The peddler bade him goodbye and thanked him. Then each went his own way.
Q9. Why did rattrap peddler return and how did he rob the old crofter?
ANSWER: The rattrap peddler was tempted by the thirty kronors he had seen in the leather pouch of the old crofter. He returned half an hour later, smashed a window pane, stuck in his hand and got hold of the pouch. He took out the money and thrust it into his own pocket. Thus, he robbed the old crofter.
Q10. How did the peddler feel after robbing the crofter? Why did he discontinue walking on the public highway?
ANSWER: At first he felt quite pleased with his smartness. Then he realised the danger of being caught by the police with the stolen money with him. He decided to discontinue walking on the public highway and turn off the road, into the woods.
Q11. Why did Edla plead with her father not to send the vagabond away? [All India 2014]
ANSWER: Edla was kind and sympathetic. She was much pained by the plight of the peddler. Edla requested her father to spend a day with them in peace as a respite from the struggle.
Q12. How did the peddler feel while walking through the wood? What did he realise?
ANSWER: During the first hours the woods caused him no difficulty. Later in the day, it became worse as it was a big and confusing forest. The paths twisted back and forth. He kept on walking but did not come to the end of the wood. He realised that he had been walking around in the same part of the forest.
Q13. What do you learn about the Ramsjo Ironworks from ‘The Rattrap’?
ANSWER: The Ramsjo Ironworks used to be a large plant, with smelter, rolling mill and forge. In the summer time long fines of heavily loaded barges and scows slid down the canal. In the winter time, the roads near the mill were black from charcoal dust.
Q14. Why did the blacksmith fail to notice the entry of the peddler in the forge?
ANSWER: The forge was full of many sounds. The big bellows groaned and the burning coal cracked. The fire boy shovelled charcoal into the maw of the fumance with a great deal of clatter. A water fall roared outside. Sharp north wind made the rain strike the brick-tiled roof. Due to all this noise the blacksmith failed to notice the peddlar’s entry.
Q15. ‘The blacksmiths glanced only casually and indifferently at the intruder’, What prompted them to do so?
ANSWER: Usually poor vegabonds, without any better shelter for the night, felt attracted to the forge by the glow of fight which escaped through the sooty panes. They came in to warm themselves in front of the fire. The intruder looked like other people of his type usually did.
Q16. What did the tramp ask? Was his request granted? What did he do then?
ANSWER: The tramp asked permission to stay. The blacksmiths hardly deigned to look at him. The master blacksmith nodded a haughty consent without uttering a word. The tramp too did not say anything. He had come there only to warm himself and sleep. So, he eased his way close to the furnace. ‘
Q17. Who was the owner of the Ramsjo Iron Mill? Why did he come to the forge that night?
ANSWER: The owner of that mill was a very prominent ironmaster. His greatest ambition was to ship out good iron to the market. He insisted on quality and kept a watch on the work both night and day. He came to the forge on one of his nightly rounds of inspection.
Q18. What did the ironmaster notice in the forge? How did he react then?
ANSWER: The ironmaster noticed a person in dirty rags lying quite close to the furnace. Steam rose from his wet rags. The ironmaster went near him and looked at him very carefully. Then he removed his slouch hat to get a better view of his face. He thought that he was an old acquaintance of his and said : “But of course it is you, Nils Olof!”
Q19. Why did the man with the rattraps not want to undeceive the ironmaster all at once?
ANSWER: The peddler thought that if the fine gentleman thought he was an old acquaintance, he might perhaps throw him a couple of kronor. So he did not want to undeceive him all at once.
Q20. What observation did the ironmaster make about the stranger? What did he ask him to do?
ANSWER: The ironmaster saw the stranger in the uncertain fight of the fumance and mistook him for his old regimental comrade. He said that it was a mistake on his part to have resigned from the regiment. If he had been in service at that time, it would never have happened. He asked the stranger to go home with him.
Q21. What did the peddler think about going up to the manor house? How did he react to the ironmaster’s invitation?
ANSWER: The peddler looked quite alarmed. He still had the stolen thirty kronor on him. Going up to the manor house would be like throwing himself voluntarily into the lion’s den. He did not feel pleased to go there and be received by the owner like an old regimental comrade. So he declined the invitation.
Q22. What did the ironmaster assume to be the reason behind his old comrade s refusal? Hoiw did he try to reassure him?
ANSWER: The ironmaster assumed that his old regimental comrade felt embarrassed because of his miserable clothing. He said that his house was not so fine that he couldn’t show himself there. He lived there only with his daughter as his wife Elizabeth was dead and his sons were abroad.
Q23. What reason did the ironmaster advance in support of his invitation to the stranger?
ANSWER: He said that they didn’t have any company for Christmas. He thought it was quite bad. He requested the stranger to come along with him and help them make the Christmas food disappear a little faster.
Q24. ‘The ironmaster saw that he must give in.’ What made him give in? What did he say? What did the blacksmith think about the ironmaster?
ANSWER: The stranger declined the ironmaster’s invitation thrice. The ironmaster then told Stjemstrom, the blacksmith that Captain von Stahle preferred to stay with him that night. He laughed to himself as he went away. The blacksmith, who knew the ironmaster, understood very well that he had not said his last word.
Q25. Who was the new guest at the forge ? Why had that person come there and how did he I she look’? Who accompanied her and why?
ANSWER: The new guest was the ironmaster’s daughter. She drove in there in a carriage along with a valet who carried on his arm a big fur coat. She had been sent there by her father hoping that she had better powers of persuasion that he himself. She was not at all pretty, but seemed modest and quite Shy.
Q26. Describe the scene at the forge when Edla Willmansson came there.
ANSWER: The master blacksmith and his apprentice sat on a bench. Iron and charcoal glowed in the furnace. The stranger had stretched himself out on the floor. He lay with a piece of pig iron under his head and his hat pulled down over his eyes.
Q27. What did the young girl notice about the stranger? What did she conclude? How did she make him feel confidence in her?
ANSWER: The stranger jumped up abruptly and seemed to be quite frightened. She looked at him sympathetically, but the man still looked afraid. She concluded that either he had stolen something or else he had escaped from jail. She spoke to him in a very friendly manner to make him feel confidence in her.
Q28. What did the peddler of rat traps think while he was riding up to the manor house?
ANSWER: Whfie he was riding up to the manor house he had evil forebodings. He questioned himself why he had taken that fellow’s money. He thought that he was sitting in the trap and would never get out of it.
Q29. Why did the peddler derive pleasure from his idea of the world as a rattrap? [Delhi 2014]
ANSWER: The peddler was very happy with the idea of the world as a rattrap because he was never given kindly treatment by the world. He had quite different feeling for it and loved to think ill of it by comparing it to a rattrap.
Q30. How did the ironmaster try to convince his daughter about the stranger’?
ANSWER: He asked his daughter to have some patience. She would see something different as soon as the stranger got clean and dressed up. Last night he was naturally embarrassed. He asserted that tramp manners would fall away from him with tramp clothes.
Q31. What impression did the well-groomed guest make? How did the ironmaster react and why?
ANSWER: He looked truly clean and well dressed. The ironmaster did not seem pleased. He looked at him with contracted brow. It was because he had made a mistake in identifying the person in uncertain light at night. He demanded an explanation from the man.
Q32. What did the ironmaster threaten to do after knowing the mistake? How did the stranger save himself?
ANSWER: The ironmaster threatened to call in the sheriff. The stranger told him that the Sheriff might lock him up for dissembling. He reminded the ironmaster that a day might come when he might get tempted, and then he would be caught in the big rattrap of the world. The metaphor amused the ironmaster. He dropped the idea of sending for the sheriff, but asked the stranger to leave at once.
Q33. ‘The daughter stood there quite embarrassed and hardly knew what to answer.’ What embarrassed her? Why did she intercede for the vagabond?
ANSWER: The daughter had drawn plans to make things homelike and typical of Christmas, for the poor hungry wretch. She could not get away from this idea at once. She felt embarrassed when her father asked the man to get out. She interceded for the vagabond to persuade her father to let him stay for Christmas.
Q34. What arguments did the young girl give in favour of the stranger’s stay there?
ANSWER: She said that the whole year long, the stranger walked around. He was probably not welcome or made to feel at home even at a single place. He was chased away wherever he turned. He was always afraid of being arrested and cross-examined. She wanted him to enjoy a day of peace with them-just one in the whole year.
Q35. “He only stared at the young girl in boundless amazement.” What made the man with the rattraps react in this manner?
ANSWER: The young girl told him after the Christmas dinner that the suit he wore was to be a Christmas present from her father. He did not have to return it. If he wanted to spend next Christmas Eve peacefully, without any evil befalling him, he would be welcomed back again. This amazed him.
Q36. “The young girl sat and hung her head even more dejectedly than usual.” What two reasons forced her to behave in this manner?
ANSWER: First, she had learned at church that one of the old crofters of the ironworks had been robbed by a man who went around selling rattraps. Second, her father taunted her and held her responsible for letting that “fine fellow” into the house.
Q37. Sum up the contents of the letter addressed to Miss Willmansson.
ANSWER: The stranger did not want her to be embarrassed at the Christmas season with a thief. As she had been nice to him as if he were a captain, he would be nice to her as if he were a real captain. She asked her to return the money to the old crofter. The rattrap was a present from a rat who would have been caught in the world’s rattrap if he had not been raised to captain. It was as captain that he got power to clear himself.
LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS :
Q1. What is the theme of the story ‘The Rattrap’ ? How has this theme been developed?
ANSWER: The theme of the story is that most human beings are prone to fall into the trap of material benefit. However, every human being has an essential goodness that can be awakened through understanding and love. A human being has the tendency to redeem himself from dishonest ways.
The theme is developed with the help of the metaphor of the rattrap. The peddler of rattraps calls the world a big rattrap. The material benefits like riches and joys, shelter and food, heat and clothing are temptations that that allure a person to fall into the rattrap of the world exactly as the bait of cheese and pork attract a rat to fall into the rattrap. Once someone takes the bait, the world closes in on him and then everything is lost.
The peddler is tempted by the thirty kronors of the old crofter. He steals the money. Now he is afraid of being caught and moves through the woods. It is the kind, sympathetic, loving and generous treatment given by Edla Willmansson that helps him get himself free from the rattrap of the world.
Q2. Give an account of the peddler’s meeting with the old crofter. How does the peddler conduct himself? What light does this episode throw on human nature?
ANSWER: One dark evening the peddler reached a little gray cottage by the roadside. He knocked on the door to ask shelter for the night. The owner, an old man without wife or child, welcomed him. He was happy to get someone to talk to in his loneliness. He served him hot porridge for supper and gave him tobacco for his pipe. Then he played cards with him till bed time.
The host told the peddler that in his days of prosperity, he worked on land at Ramsjo Ironworks. Now his cow supported him. He sold her milk at the creamery everyday. He showed the peddler the thirty kronor notes he got as payment that month. Then he hung the leather pouch on a nail in the window frame. Next morning the crofter went to milk the cow, and the peddler went away. However, he returned after half an hour, broke the window pane, took the money out of the leather pouch and hang it back on the nail.This episode shows that in loneliness, human beings crave for company, for social bonding. Secondly, temptations can overpower the greatest philosopher. The peddler who calls the world a rattrap is himself tempted by thirty kronor.
Q3. How did the peddler feel after robbing the crofter? What course did he adopt and how did he react to the new situation? What does his reaction highlight?
ANSWER: Having robbed his generous host, the peddler felt quite pleased with his smartness. He did not feel any qualms of conscience that he had abused the confidence reposed in him by the crofter. The selfish wretch thought only of his own safety. He realised the danger of being caught by the police with the stolen thirty kronor on his person. Hence, he decided to discontinue walking on the public highway and turn off the road, into the woods.
During the first few hours the woods caused him no difficulty. Later on, it became worse as it was a big and confusing forest. The paths twisted back and forth. He kept on walking but did not come to the end of the wood. He realised that he had only been walking around in the same part of the forest. The forest closed in upon him like an impenetrate prison from which he could never escape.
The reaction of the peddler highlights the predicament of human nature. Temptations lead to evil. The fruits of evil seem pleasant at first, but they deprive man of his goodness and push him into the maze of the world which holds a vice-like grip on him.
Q4. (i) ‘The blacksmiths glanced only casually and indifferently at the intruder.’ (ii)“The ironmaster did not follow the example of the blacksmiths who had hardly deigned to look at the stranger * What do these attitudes reveal? How does the forge-episode help to develop the story? What is its implication?
ANSWER: The blacksmiths display the typical attitude of manual workers and labourers for whom work is the first priority and parasites on human society are drags on the fruit of their labour. The master blacksmith nods a haughty consent without honouring the intruder with a single word. Evidently, he regards the tramp as insignificant.
The ironmaster, who is on his nightly round of inspection, behaves differently. He walks closely up to him and looks him over carefully. Then he removes his slouch hat to get a better view of his face. In the uncertain light of the furnace he mistakes the stranger for his old regimental comrade and requests him to go home with him. When the stranger declines the invitation, the ironmaster sends his daughter to persuade him to spend Christmas Eve with them. Thus the forge episode helps to develop the story.
The episode highlights the difference in the reactions of various persons to the same set of circumstances. This reveals the shades of human nature. It shows that even the person with best discernment may commit an error of judgement.
Q5. Bring out the contrast in the ironmaster’s attitude and behaviour towards the stranger before and after he realises his mistake.
ANSWER: The ironmaster is moved to see his old regimental comrade in a pitiable state. He considers it a mistake on his part to have resigned from the regiment. He insists that his old comrade will go home with him. As the stranger declines the invitation, he thinks that the man feels embarrassed because of his miserable clothing. He explains that he does not have such a fine home that he cannot show himself there. He requests the stranger to provide company to him and his daughter for Christmas. When the stranger refuses thrice, he sends his daughter, with a big fur coat to persuade him. Just before breakfast on Christmas Eve, he thinks of feeding him well and providing him same honourable piece of work.
His behaviour undergoes a U-turn when he looks at the well-groomed stranger and realises his mistake. He expresses his displeasure with a wrinkled brow and demands an explanation from the man. Though the peddler defends himself well saying he never pretended to be someone else, the ironmaster calls him dishonest and threatens to hand him over to the sheriff. When the metaphor of world being a rattrap softens him a bit, he asks the peddler to quit at once.
Q6. What impression do you form of Edla on reading the story ‘The Raitrap’ ?
ANSWER: Miss Edla Willmansson is the eldest daughter of the owner of the Ramsjo Ironworks. She is not pretty, but modest and quite shy. She is quite obedient and visits the forge at the behest of her father. She has a wonderful power of observation and takes quick judgement. From the stranger’s frightened looks, she concludes that he is either a thief or a runaway convict. She uses her skills of persuasion to make the stranger agree to accompany her home. Her compassionate looks, friendly manner and polite way of address help her. She tells her father that nothing about the man shows that once he was an educated man.
She believes in the spirit of Christmas and intercedes on behalf of the stranger to per suade her father to let him stay and be happy. She first makes a passionate plea and then argues that they should not chase away a person they had invited themselves and promised him Christmas cheer.
Her dejection on learning that the peddler with rattraps was a thief reflects her sensitiveness. The gift of the captain makes her happy. It is her noble action that helps a thief redeem himself. In short, she is an intelligent, affectionate and kind young girl.
Q7. Comment on the efuRng of the story ‘The Rattrap’.
ANSWER: The story ‘The Rattrap’ has a very beautiful ending. It helps us to realise that all is not lost for human beings who are prone to fall into the trap of material benefits. It is the protagonist of the story—the peddler with the rattraps—who coins the metaphor of the rattrap, falls
himself in it on being tempted and ultimately redeems himself by renouncing the temptation. His admission that he had been the thief, and the treatment he got as a captain, show how love and understanding can transform even a depraved soul. The story thus comes a full circle with the ending. All questions are answered and no loose tags remain hanging.
The ending also pays tribute to the goodness of humanity here exhibited through Miss Edla Willmansson. The happy ending also arouses our optimism and belief in the essential goodness of man and other human virtues. Thus it serves to inspire the readers to do noble acts.
Q8. Do you think the title of the story ‘The Rattrap’ is appropriate? Give reasons to support your answer.
ANSWER: The story has an appropriate and suggestive title. It at once draws our attention to the central theme—the whole world is a big rattrap. This metaphor helps us to understand the human predicament. All the good things of the world are nothing but baits to tempt a person to fall into the rattrap. Through the character of the peddler, the writer drives home the idea that most human beings are prone to fall into the trap of material benefits.
The story begins with rattraps and ends with a rattrap as a present for someone who has helped a rat to get free from’the rattrap. Even the middle of the story revolves round the rattrap. The actions of the peddler after he steals thirty kronor of the old crofter reveal the inner conflicts, tensions and lack of peace of a person who touches the bait of temptation. Renunciation of the temptation helps in redemption.Thus, we conclude that the title is apt and significant.
Discover more from EduGrown School
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.