What traumatic event does Zitkala-Sa describe at the school?

The forcible cutting of her long hair

Why was the cutting of her hair so humiliating to Zitkala-Sa?

Among her people, shingled hair was worn by cowards and mourners

From where did the peddler get the idea of the world being a rattrap?

While thinking of his own rattraps during his lonely wanderings, he was struck by the idea that the whole world baits people with joys and riches just as a rattrap baits with cheese.

Why was the peddler amused by this idea?

The world had never been kind to him, so it gave him unwonted joy to think ill of it and to picture others being caught in its snares.

Why did the peddler feel he had fallen into a rattrap?

After stealing the crofter's thirty kronor he got lost in the dark forest, and felt the world had baited and caught him just as he had imagined.

Why did the ironmaster invite the peddler to his home?

In the dim furnace light he mistook the peddler for Nils Olof, an old regimental comrade, and warmly invited him for Christmas company.

Why did the peddler decline the ironmaster's invitation?

Carrying the stolen money, he feared that going to the manor would be like throwing himself into the lion's den and that his theft might be exposed.

Why did Edla still entertain the peddler after she knew the truth?

Out of compassion she wished him to enjoy at least one day of peace and Christmas cheer, having promised it; she would not chase away a human being they had invited.

How did the peddler finally change his ways?

Moved by Edla's kindness and trust, which treated him with dignity, he repented; he returned the stolen money and left a grateful note signed Captain von Stahle.

What was the gift the peddler left for Edla, and why was she happy?

He left a rattrap containing the thirty stolen kronor and a letter; she was happy because his gesture proved that kindness had reformed him.

How does the metaphor of the rattrap highlight the human predicament?

It shows how people are tempted by the world's baits — wealth and comfort — and trapped by greed, yet can be freed by love and understanding.

Why did the peddler sign himself 'Captain von Stahle'?

Because Edla treated him with the dignity of a captain; he chose to live up to that respect by behaving honourably and returning the money.

The Rattrap

Class 12 English · Flamingo · Chapter 4

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CBSE Class 12 · English Core

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CBSE Class 12 · English Core

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The story in short

Written by the Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf and told in the manner of a fairy tale, this story carries the belief that the essential goodness in a human being can be awakened through understanding and love. A poor, homeless peddler who sells small wire rattraps survives by begging and petty thievery. To amuse himself in his dreary wanderings, he conceives the idea that the whole world is one big rattrap that baits people with riches, food and shelter, and snaps shut once they are tempted. One night he is given kind shelter and food by a lonely old crofter, who trustingly shows him thirty kronor. The next morning the peddler steals the money and, fleeing into the forest, becomes lost — caught, he feels, in the rattrap of his own making. He stumbles into the Ramsjö ironworks, where the ironmaster mistakes him for an old regimental comrade and invites him home; the peddler declines, fearing exposure. The ironmaster's kind daughter, Edla, persuades him to come and stay for Christmas, treating him as a guest even after his true identity is discovered. Moved by her unexpected kindness and trust, the peddler undergoes a change of heart. He leaves behind a Christmas gift — a rattrap containing the stolen thirty kronor and a note signed 'Captain von Stahle', asking Edla to return the money to the crofter. Kindness has redeemed him from the world's rattrap.

Goodness awakened by kindnessThe rattrap as a metaphor for the worldHuman loneliness and bondingGreed and redemptionCompassion and dignity

Characters & key ideas

The peddlerThe poor rattrap-seller redeemed by kindness.

Rattrap metaphorThe idea that the world baits and traps people like a rattrap.

The crofterThe lonely old man whose trust the peddler betrays.

The ironmasterWho mistakes the peddler for an old comrade and invites him home.

Edla WillmanssonThe ironmaster's kind daughter whose compassion transforms the peddler.

Captain von StahleThe name the peddler signs to redeem himself in his note.

Extra questions & answers (board-style)

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Who wrote "The Rattrap"?

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