2. Index
1. Acknowledgement
2. About the Author
3. About the Rattrap
4. Character Sketches
5. Theme
6. Summary
7. Moral of the story
8. Conclusion
9. Bibliography
3. Acknowledgement
I want to sincerely thank Mr/Mrs______________________,
my English Teacher, for all their help and support
during the course of assignment. Their insightful
criticism and recommendations enabled me to
sharpen my writing abilities and completed this
project.
I also want to express my gratitude to my friends
and classmates for sharing their perspectives on the
story topic and characters with me. These
contributions have helped me to develop my
thoughts significantly.
Last but not least, I would want to express my
gratitude to ‘Rattrap’ author Selma Lagerlof for
penning such a compelling and thought-provoking
tale that has motivated me to learn about the topic of
human nature and morals.
7. ChARACteR SketCh
A tiny ensemble of individuals, each with own
characteristics and objectives make up the story
‘RATTRAP”.
1. Peddler
He was a beggar who led a nomadic way of life. He
was quite imaginative. He wore rags, had sunken
cheeks, and his eyes gleamed from hunger. He
roamed around the town selling wire rattraps that
he made himself. He obtained this wire either
through begging or by stealing. He possessed
certain human flaws, such as the need to steal and
beg to meet his basic necessities. He spent his
evenings wherever he could find shelter because
he had nowhere to stay during the day. He
believes that the entire universe resembles a giant
rat trap. It merely exists in order to attract others
with bait. He believes that all wealth, happiness,
food, clothing, and shelter are merely traps. The
rattrap shuts on the person who touches the bait if
and when he does.
8. 2. Ironmaster
He was the owner of Ramsjo Ironworks. He
thought the man selling rattraps was an old friend
from the army. He lacked the ability to make
accurate conclusions about others. He was a kind
and gentle man. He welcomed the street vendor to
his home to look after him. He gets furious when
he realizes that he had mistaken the stranger to be
an old friend. He not only invited the peddler to
spend the night at his house, but also provided
him with a dinner of porridge. It was on his
daughter’s insistence that he let the stranger
remain at their house for Christmas festivities. He
was a loving caring father who could see things
from his daughter’s perspective.
9. 3.Edla
She was the ironmaster’s daughter, is
characterised as being “not at all attractive, but
humble and extremely shy. Even after it is
established that the peddler is not Captain von
Stahle, she is incredibly kind, convincing him to
come to her house and then persuading her father
to let him stay for Christmas Eve. Edla is more
smart and observant than her father, as seen by
the fact that she can identify the peddler’s fear and
the likelihood that he has done a crime that he is
evading right away. She is the most admirable
character in the story and her kindness and
charity bring about a change in the peddler’s
heart.
The plot and concepts of the story are developed
with the help of each character in an essential way.
Their interaction with one another highlights the
complexity of human nature as well as the value of
love and compassion.
THEME
10. 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.
11.
12. SummARy
The Rattrap begins by introducing the rattrap seller
who wanders, collecting junk from here and there to
put together and turn into functional rat traps. One
day, a stranger whose cottage door he knocks on
allows him to stay the night. The man served the rat
trap seller porridge with a pipe of tobacco, and they
played games. The host explained that he worked at
an ironworks factory earlier, but now his only
source of income was his cow. He showed his guest
the thirty kronor he had earned the previous month
that he hung in a pouch by the window of his
cottage.
The rat trap seller goes about his way when his host
leaves in the morning to tend to his cow. However,
the rat trap seller returns to steal the money in the
pouch by breaking the window a little while later.
After this, he stumbles through the forest, avoiding
the highway to be on the safe side, all the while
thinking about how he allowed himself to fall into
the world’s rat trap of materialistic things like
money (the thirty kronors he stole).
He eventually lies down on the ground, which was
extremely cold because the story is set in late
December. On top of this, his clothes were mostly
rags, so it was even colder for him. However, as he
laid his head down, he heard the sound of the iron
13. mill nearby and followed it. When he arrived, people
were sitting by the warmth of the furnace. No one
bothered to object to his being there, so he sat with
them.
The owner of the mill came by in the meantime to do
his evening rounds, and upon seeing the tramp, he
mistook him for an old comrade, Nils Olof. The
tramp had a beard and scraggly hair, so it was easy
to mistake him for other people. The tramp did not
deny this, thinking he would get some more money if
he went with it. However, when the owner invited
him to the manor, he declined, out of what the owner
thought was an embarrassment. Soon after, the
owner’s daughter came to attempt to bring the
tramp to the house in the name of Christmas Eve,
and he had to oblige.
At the manor, the rat trap seller was given a bath, a
haircut, a shave and fresh clothes in the hope that
his embarrassment coming from his condition would
also wash off with his filth. However, when he went
into the dining room, the ironmaster immediately
realized that the tramp was not Nils Olof! He was
furious and asked the man to leave immediately lest
he calls the sheriff. The tramp explained his theory
about the world being a rat trap, so he was excused.
The daughter had her father allow him to stay, and
14. the man looked like he needed a hearty meal and
some sleep.
At the Christmas mass, while the tramp still slept,
the family found out about the stolen money. On
returning to the manor, the rat trap seller had
already gone on his way. However, he did leave
behind a Christmas present for the daughter - the
thirty kronor to return to the man in the cottage by
the roadside, as written by him in a letter with it;
Because he was treated with respect, he returned
the respect.
15. moRAL oF StoRy
In the story, the author Selma Lagerlof conveys a
definite message. The story has a universal appeal.
The essential goodness in a human being never dies.
It can be awakened through understanding and love.
Miss Edla awakens the basic goodness of the
peddler. He is transformed into a noble person in the
end.
.
16. cOncLusIOn
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 a 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, shows 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 Willmanson. 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 the noble acts.
17. BIBLIOGRAPHY
For successfully completing my project file. I have
done this project with the help of the following
1.Wikipedia
2.Class XII Textbook- Flamingo
3.SuccessCDs
4.Learn CBSE
5.Toppr
6.BYJU’S
7.Arihant All in One
