This document provides information about the short story "The Rattrap" by Swedish author Selma Lagerlof. It summarizes the plot of the story, which uses a rattrap as a metaphor for how greed and temptation can trap people. It also gives background on the author and defines some key terms and characters from the story. The learning outcomes are for students to understand how kindness can redeem a person and awaken their goodness, and that the world offers attractions meant to entrap humanity.

1. THE RATTRAP
BY
SELMA LAGERLOF

2. PRESENTED BY
 M. Yashodhara
 PGT English
 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya
 Gollahalli Tumkuru
 Karnataka

3. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
 Author Name:Selma Lagerlof
 Born--20 November 1858, Marbacka, Sweden
 Died--16 March 1940, Marbacka, Sweden
 Profession--Writer, Teacher
 Movies--The Enchanted Boy, The Saga of Gosta Berling
 She was the first woman to receive noble prize

4. Selma Lagerlof
She was a Swedish writer
Her stories have been translated into many
languages

5. LEARNING OUTCOME

 The students will appreciate the unique fairy tale quality of
the story and the skill of the writer.
 The students will learn about the human tendency to
redeem oneself from dishonest ways.
 They understand the characters and appreciate their
qualities.
 They will understand that the whole world is nothing but a
big rattrap. The moment anyone touches the bait, the
rattrap closes in on him. Then everything comes to an end
 They will understand that we can change a person from his
evil thoughts by showing love and compassion.

6. CHARACTERS
 A peddlar with rattraps.
 An Oldman: A crofter
 Master Smith in the Ramsjo Iron Mill in Sweden
 Helpers in the Mill: blacksmiths
 Iron mill owner
 Edla Willmansson – daughter of the Iron Mill owner

9. THEME – SUB THEME
 The story is based on the universal theme that the
essential goodness in man can be awakened through
understanding and love.
 The story revolves around the belief that the whole world
is nothing but a big rattrap with all its temptations used as
baits.

10. SUMMARY
 The author uses the rattrap as a metaphor to justify the theme
and basic idea that the world offers riches and joys as baits to trap
man. The peddler in the story is taken in by the multiple baits
offered to him in the form of a cottage on the roadside, the
crofter's hospitality and his confidences. Most of all, it was the
money shown by the crofter that brought him back into the trap.
He came back to steal the 30 kronors shown by his host. In his
attempt to save himself from the clutches of law he got all the
more entangled into the trap. He became a victim ofhis own
philosophy of life.

11.  The world, like bait, kept enticing him further in the form
of the iron master and his daughter with all their
hospitalities that they offered. The kind treatment meted
out to him by Miss. EdlaWillmansson left a deep
impression on him. It awakened the hidden goodness in
him on seeing that she had gone out of her way to make
him comfortable and had also opposed her father who
wanted to turn him away on realising that he was not the
man, his old army comrade that he had taken him for.

12.  It was Edla's attitude that helped the peddler get
released from the trap. He surrendered the stolen
money and also thanked her for bringing about the
much desired change in him. His basic goodness
came to the fore because of her sympathies and
her concern toward him. Quite rightly, he addressed
her as, "Honoured and Noble Miss," while writing
the note to her.


14. JUSTIFICATION OF THE TITLE
.
 The Rattrap” is an appropriate title as it is the story of a
rattrap peddler. 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. Hence, the title is an apt one.

15. WORD MEANING
 plods =walks slowly with heavy steps
 Dreary = dull
 Smelter =one who melts iron
 Clatter =a loud noise
 Compassionately =sympathetically
 Forebodings =coming events
 Dejectedly =disappointed

16. ASSIGNMENT
1. What kind of life did the Peddler lead and why?
2. What did the peddler think of the world and its people?
3. Describe the hospitality that the peddler enjoyed while
at the manor house of the ironmaster.
4. Why did the peddler sign himself as Captain Von
Stahle?
5. Justify the title of the story” The Rattrap”.

17. THANK YOU