12th Eng. CBSE Ch-4. The Rattrap Flamingo Summary/ Questions answers Theme Message Characters CBSE/ NCERT Based
Ch-4. The Rattrap Selma Lagerl
INTRODUCTION The Rattrap is a wonderful story, told like a fairytale. It gives voice to the writer's conviction that no man is a criminal by birth; secondly, every sinner has a trace of goodness in him which can be awakened through love and understanding. Loving care can change a thief into a decent fellow. This is the theme of the story.
The man in rags was a poor vagabond. He used to beg as well as steal. But he had a thinking brain and skill to make rattraps. He was a peddler. The wire made rattrap gave him an idea that the whole world was like a trap. It offered the baits of riches to innocent people to entrap them first and then get them punished by law.
DETAILED SUMMARY
Once upon a time there was a man who went around selling rattraps of wire. He used to make traps from the material he got by begging in stores and at the big farms. Since his business was not profitable, he took to begging as well as petty stealing. The poor man had sunken cheeks and his clothes were in rags. He was almost a vagabond.
One day, this man was struck by an idea that the whole world was nothing but a big trap. It set baits for people. It offered shelter and food, heat and joys exactly as the rattrap offered cheese and pork. The world had never been kind to him, so he enjoyed thinking ill of it.
One dark evening he was walking along the road. He saw a little cottage by the roadside. He knocked on the door to ask shelter for the night. The owner was an old man without wife or child. He was happy to get someone to talk to. He gave the visitor food to eat and tobacco to smoke. Finally, the two played cards until bedtime. The old man was generous and open-hearted. He said that once he used to work at Ramsjö Ironworks and also on the farm land. Now his cow alone was supporting him. He sold milk and had received thirty kronors in payment. He took down a leather pouch which was hung on a nail in the window frame. He picked out three
ten-kronor notes, showed them to the guest and put them back into the pouch. The next day both men got up early and left the cottage at the same time. But half an hour later the rattrap peddler returned to the house. He broke a window glass, took three notes out of the pouch and went away,
As he walked along with the money, he felt pleased with his smartness. He avoided the public highway, and got into the woods. It was a big and confusing forest. He walked and walked without coming to the end of the wood. He realised that he too had been be fooled by the bait of money and caught in a rattrap. It was late December. Darkness was descending. Danger and despair also seized his mind. Seeing no way out, he sank down on the ground.
He heard a hard, regular sound. Those were hammer strokes from an iron mill. He got up and went in the direction of the sound. It was the Ramsjo Ironworks which was not closed down. The master smith and his helper sat near the furnace waiting for the red hot pig iron to be put on the anvil. The tired rattrap-seller entered the mill and stood close to the furnace. The blacksmiths let him warm in front of the fire. The vagabond had a long beard, wore dirty rags and carried a few rattraps. He asked permission to stay and sleep.
In those days, that iron mill was owned by an ambitious man. He came that night to the forge for inspection. The first thing he saw was the tall stranger and removed his hat to see his face clearly. He mistook the stranger for his old acquaintance Captain von Stahle. The stranger did not reveal the fact to the gentleman because he hoped to get a couple of kronor from him. The gentleman was the iron master who had retired from the army. He thought that the stranger was the person who had resigned from the regiment and had fallen on bad days. He now wanted to take the comrade to his own home to celebrate X'mas. The man looked alarmed. He didn't want to throw himself into the lion's den. The gentleman thought that his comrade was feeling embarrassed because of his dirty clothing.
He told the man that his wife Elizabeth was dead, and his sons were abroad. There were only two persons in the house, he and his eldest daughter. And both needed company for Christmas to share the feast. But the man in rags refused to go to the master's house.
Half an hour later the daughter of the iron master arrived to persuade the man to go to her house. She had a servant carrying her fur coat. She was not at all pretty, but seemed young and quite shy. Her name was Edla and she had come to take the captain home. She noticed that the man was afraid. He looked as if he had stolen something or escaped from jail. She assured him that he would be free to take leave of them after Christmas. She sounded so friendly that the rattrap seller accepted her invitation ,All along the way, he was haunted by a fear that he was caught in a trap by stealing that old man's money.
The next day was Christmas Eve. The iron master wanted to see the captain bathed, clean and dressed up. The servant had already given the guest a bath, a hair-cut, a clean shave and a suit of clothes. Even though the guest was well dressed and groomed yet the master was not pleased. He realised he had made a mistake. The stranger made a clean confession that he was only a poor trader. He was ready to put on his rags again and get away. He did not want the police to lock him up. The master wanted him to get out of the house fast. Just then the daughter
walked into the room. She wanted the guest to stay for a day. She wanted the man to enjoy a day of peace with them, just one day in the whole year. It was unfair to chase away somebody to whom they had promised Christmas cheer.
The young girl led the stranger to the table. He kept wondering why the girl had taken his side. He slept for long hours. The suit he wore was to be a Christmas present from the master. The next morning the girl heard in the Church how a man selling rattraps had robbed an old man. In the absence of the master and his daughter, the stranger left the house. But he left behind a package as a Christmas present to the girl. It contained a rattrap and three ten-kronor notes. In the rattrap was a letter as well. It requested Edla to give back the money to the old man on the roadside hut. The rattrap was the Christmas present to her.
Give a brief character-sketch of the rattrap-peddler?
Ans. The rattrap-peddler was neither a born criminal nor a hardened thief. He was a victim of circumstances. He was a poor trader who made rattraps with wire which he begged for or stole. The world had never been kind to him. So he could not help robbing the old crofter, his host He was hungry, tired and cold when he knocked at the door of a cottage. The host generously offered him food and shelter. But the poor vagabond was tempted to steal his host's money. He realized quite soon that he had fallen into the trap and he felt remorseful. Circumstances played another joke with him. He was mistaken for an old captain friend by the ironmaster. He got a wonderful treatment from Edla. He shared the Christmas dinner. But he was discovered to have robbed the old crofter. He could have been chased out or put in jail but for the goodness shown by Edla. From a petty thief, he turned into a dignified Captain who left behind a Christmas gift for Edla.
Attempt a pen-portrait of the crofter. How did he treat the peddler?
The crofter was a lonely soul living in an humble cottage. Having nobody to give him company he always longed for companionship. The moment the stranger knocked at the door of his cottage, he received him with all warmth. He thought himself lucky to have some company. He was all generous and a good host. He tried his best to make the stranger feel at home.
The crofter was innocent and crystal-clear in his heart and had no malice or ill-will. It made him have full confidence in the stranger. So much so he displayed his money in the very pressure of the unknown guest. He was unaware of the move of nature that used him as a tool to entrap the peddler.
The crofter was too hospitable. He did everything which a host does to entertain his guest. For readers he might be a simple-minded person but he was truly a gentleman and compassionate. His entry into the story for a short period proves that man is a social animal and some company or the other is a must for him.
What message does the story of the peddler convey?
The rattrap peddler is a poor man. He robs the same who gives him shelter and food. But he is reformed by the compassionate behaviour of a young girl Edla. This story gives the message that the essential goodness of man can be awakened through love and understanding
Theme of the chapter
The Rattrap' is that most people get caught up in materialistic benefits and possessions, but everyone has a dormant goodness that can be awakened through compassion and understanding. The metaphor of the rattrap is used to develop this theme in the story.
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