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2024 LIZA Notes - The Rattrap 25 OCT

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8 views3 pages

2024 LIZA Notes - The Rattrap 25 OCT

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notatallreal30
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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THE RATTRAP BY SELMA LAGERLOF 25 OCTOBER 2024 LIZA K M

Theme:

• Material benefits are the trap that most human beings are prone to fall into and they do have the
tendency to redeem themselves from dishonest ways as the peddler does in the end of the story.

Message:

• Every human being has an essential goodness that can be awakened through understanding and
love.

Significance of the Title

• The author has used the metaphor of a Rattrap to highlight the human predicament. Just as a rat is
fooled by bait and gets trapped, most human beings also fall into the trap of material benefits. The
story revolves around the incident of a man getting trapped due to his greed.

Introduction:

• The metaphor of a Rattrap serves to highlight the human predicament. The story also highlights that
the world is a big rattrap for the poor and the wanderers. Just as a rat is fooled by bait and gets
trapped, most human beings also fall into the trap of material benefits The main character in the story
is one of the iron workers who lost his jobs and moves travelling as rattrap salesman leading a pathetic
life. He falls into a trap and later redeem from his dishonest ways through the essential goodness of a
girl named Edla.

GIST OF THE LESSON

 Description about a poor vagabond


 Peddler’s idea of world being a rattrap
 A generous Host – Confides in the vagabond – money stolen
 Lost in the forest - a hope in the darkness
 Description about Ramsjo Ironworks – various sounds emanate
 Tramp sneaks into the forge unnoticed
 Ironmaster’s recognition of the peddler
 Invites peddler to his mansion – declines invitation
 ironmaster sends his daughter to invite
 friendly & sympathetic attitude of Edla changes the mind of the tramp- gives his consent to
accompany her
 Iron Masters and Edla’s gesture of kind heartedness
 the guest’s entry shocks ironmaster
 Iron master’s displeasure and threat
• the tramp gives a piece of his mind
• ironmaster convinced by the argument
• Edla's intervention
• Peddler in boundless amazement
• morning after Christmas
• discovers about a thievery at crofter’s house
• girl feels dejected, father was unhappy
• informed by the servant that he went empty handed and has left behind a gift for Edla
• She opens the present – gave a little cry of joy
• Tramp expresses gratitude
• redeemed himself from dishonest ways – as he was raised by her as a Captain

pg. 1 PREPARED BY ELIZABETH K M , DEVAMATHA SENIOR SECONDARY ENGLISH DEPARTMENT 2024


ACTIVITY

Write a paragraph in about 100- 120 words – identify your temptations through meditation or introspection
and find ways to overcome it

1. Why does the peddler feel that the whole world is a rattrap?

2. How did people usually treat the peddler and what made the crofter different? Pg.33

3. Breach of trust is the worst crime one can commit. How is it true in the case of peddler?

4. How does the writer bring out the allegory in the lesson when the peddler is trapped in the forest?

5. What made the peddler respond to the name Nils Olof?

6. What made the ironmaster send his daughter to persuade the peddler?

7. Edla was very observant, quick and sharp in Nature –justify. Pg. 38 and 39

8. Why does Edla stop the peddler from going away though she knew that he is not the captain? Pg. 40

9. What trait of the daughter is brought out when her father talks about her being worse than a
parson?

10. Safety and security is a distant dream even in one's own home. What makes the peddler safe and
secure in the house of ironmaster?

11. What was Edla`s Christmas gift to the peddler?

12. What was the peddler's return gift to Edla?

13. Why does he sign in as the captain? 10th slide

14. How did the peddler earn his livelihood?

15. When the ironmaster threatened to call the Sherriff, how did the peddler react?

16. The crofter can be called as a good host. Why?

17. What did the crofter reveal about his past?

18. Why did the Peddler choose to go through the forest?

19. Why did the Peddler not reveal his true identity when the ironmaster mistakes him to be the
Captain?

20. What news did Edla get at the church? How did Ironmaster react to the situation ? Pg. 42

EDLA WILLMANSSON

 Not at all pretty, but modest and quite shy


 wise and perceptive
 Observant, great judge of human character
 She displays maturity and grace – invites peddler to come next year
 She is kind, gentle and hospitable
 Despite her knowledge about the peddler's intention, she treats him with respect and feeds him well
 she feels it was unethical to send a guest away as he had been promised Christmas cheer

pg. 2 PREPARED BY ELIZABETH K M , DEVAMATHA SENIOR SECONDARY ENGLISH DEPARTMENT 2024


 He was able to rise to the level of 'Captain' leaving his temptations aside just because he did not want
to let her as well as himself down.
 She is able to awaken goodness in the peddler's heart by showing understanding and love
 Her kindness and caring nature transformed the unscrupulous vagabond into a good human being
 she brings out the hidden but inherent goodness of the peddler by liberating him from the
'philosophical' trap
 She is the most positive figure in the story, and her compassion and generosity are the reason for the
peddler’s transformation

IRON MASTER

 Owner of a large iron factory - Successful Businessman


 Greatest ambition was to ship out good iron to the market
 kind hearted and friendly, was in the military in his younger days
 Not a good judge of characters
 when he mistook the rattrap seller as his old friend, he tried to help him
 He did not insult him because of his worn out condition
 invites him to his mansion to spend Christmas cheer
 Persuades his daughter to bring the peddler home
 Hasty and haughty in temperament
 When he realized his mistake he was angry with the poor peddler and
wanted to throw him out of his house
 Nevertheless, on his daughter’s request, he could not bring himself to oppose her

THE RATTRAP SELLER

 Poverty stricken life, difficult circumstances


 Begging, petty thievery and selling rattraps occasionally were his means of livelihood
 Morally not upright
 Spares not even his host the old crofter-peddler repays his generosity by stealing thirty kronor from
him
 He considered the entire world as a big rattrap and all men and women as rats - vulnerable to be
trapped by various types of baits
 . Philosophical and thoughtful
 He himself got trapped in this rattrap when he stole thirty kronor of the old crofter
 There was some goodness left in him that was brought to surface by kind Edla
 At the end he transformed himself and returned the stolen money to the crofter through Edla
 he was raised to Captain – in this way he had power to clear himself off.

-----------

pg. 3 PREPARED BY ELIZABETH K M , DEVAMATHA SENIOR SECONDARY ENGLISH DEPARTMENT 2024

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