The Rattrap:Selected and very Important Short-Anwer-type Qs.

Selected and very Important Short-Anwer-type Qs.

1.       What did the peddler sell and how did he make those things? 2011

Ans. The peddler used to sell rat traps. He made them with  wires and he used to get the material from some stores or farms by begging.

2.       Why was the beggar (the peddler) given to begging and small thievery? 2011

Ans. The peddler was a poor man. He used to sell his rat-traps. Very few people would buy them. Sometimes no one bought his articles. Then he was forced to beg and do some thievery.

3.       From where did the peddler get the idea of the world being a rattrap? (2010, 2011)

Ans. One day he kept thinking deeply about the rat traps which he used to sell. While thinking, suddenly, an idea struck his mind. He thought that the world offered so many things like riches and joys, shelter and food, heat and clothing. His rat trap also offered cheese and pork.

4.       How does the metaphor of the rattrap serve to highlight the human predicament? 2010

Ans. Both the rat-trap and the world offer baits. In the rat-trap, rats are attracted to eat the cheese or pork kept as bait. As soon as it touches the bait, the door is closed at once. The world also offers so many baits like riches and joys, shelter and food, heat and clothing. The human beings are attracted to enter the beautiful world of matter. They are also trapped in it.

5.       Where did the peddler seek shelter one evening? 2011

Ans. One dark evening, the peddler saw a gray cottage by the roadside. He knocked at the door.  The old man opened the door. The old man was living alone. So he was very happy to receive the guest.

6.       Did the peddler expect the kind of hospitality that he received from the crofter? 2010

7.       Ans. No, the old peddler had never hoped to receive that kind of hospitality in the hut. In the past, he always received cold looks and bad faces of people while requesting for shelter.

8.       How did the old crofter entertain the peddler as a guest?

Ans. Firstly, the old crofter offered the poor peddler shelter affectionately. Then he prepared porridge and gave him supper. He also gave him a slice of tobacco roll. Finally both of them played the game called ‘mjolis’ until bedtime.

9.       Why did the crofter receive the peddler so warmly and show his money to the stranger?Ans. The old crofter was living in his cottage alone without his wife and children. He thought to give shelter to a poor man and also to pass his time by talking and entertaining the guest.  He was a credulous (one who believes people easily) person. He also thought that the poor peddler did not believe him.  So he showed him the money he had in his leather pouch.

10.   How did the peddler rob the poor crofter?

Ans. The peddler had seen the crofter putting his money. So the next morning the rat trap seller said good bye to the crofter and left the house. After half an hour, the peddler came back to the cottage. He broke open the window pane, entered, took money out of the pouch, put the pouch there and came out with the money in his pocket. 

11.   What made the peddler think that he had indeed fallen into a rattrap?

Ans. The peddler forgot the way in the woods. He found that in that forest the road was leading him to nowhere. He was coming back to the same point after walking a long distance. Then he felt that the stolen money was a big trap for him and he had become its victim.

12.   Why did the peddler decline the ironmaster’s invitation to come to his home?

Ans. The peddler did not want to invite any trouble. He was also more worried about to keep the stolen money safe with him. So he declined the ironmaster’s invitation to go to his home.

13.   Why did the peddler accept Edla Willmansson’s invitation?

Ans. Edla showed a lot of affection to the peddler. She requested him to stay with them till Christmas. She said all that in such a way that it won his confidence. So he accepted her invitation without any hesitation.

14.   What doubts did Edla have about the peddler?

Ans. When Edla looked at the peddler with her eyes full of affection, she saw that he was afraid. She at once understood that the man had either stolen something or he had come out of any jail.

15.   When did the iron-maker realize his mistake? 2011

Ans. In the morning of the next day, the peddler’s hair was cut. His face was shaven off. He took bath and was dressed well. Then in the light of the day, the Captain looked at the peddler. He saw that he was not his old acquaintance, but he was a tramp.

16.   How did the peddler defend himself for not revealing his true identity? 2010

Ans. The peddler said that he was never posing like a Captain. He was a poor trader.  He had also requested for the shelter at the forge. He also said the he could remove the dress given to him by him.

17.   Why did Edla entertain the peddler even though she came to know the truth about the peddler? 2010

Ans. Edla was a kind hearted girl. She knew that it was not the peddler’s fault. He had already refused to come to their house. It was she who had herself gone to take him. Moreover she did not want to send him away at the Christmas Eve. She had prepared eatables to feed him also. So she entertained him.

18.   Why was Edla happy to see the gift left by the peddler? 2010

Ans.

19.   What did the peddler write in his letter to Edla?

20.   Why did the peddler sign himself as Captain von Stahle?