The Rattrap Important Questions – Class 12 English Flamingo Chapter 4

In this post we have given the Important Questions of Class 12 English Flamingo Chapter 4 The Rattrap (by Selma Lagerlöf). These are useful for students preparing for their Class 12 board exams.

इस पोस्ट में कक्षा 12 अंग्रेज़ी (Flamingo) के पाठ 4 The Rattrap के महत्वपूर्ण प्रश्न दिए गए हैं। यह उन सभी विद्यार्थियों के लिए उपयोगी है जो इस वर्ष कक्षा 12 की बोर्ड परीक्षा देने वाले हैं।

Very Short Answer Questions (1 mark)

Q1. How does the peddler earn his living?

Ans: He goes from place to place selling small wire rattraps that he makes himself, using material he begs from stores and big farms.

Q2. Why does the peddler also beg and steal?

Ans: Selling rattraps does not earn him enough, so he has to beg and commit petty thefts to keep body and soul together.

Q3. What idea about the world suddenly strikes the peddler?

Ans: He decides that the whole world is nothing but a big rattrap, which exists only to set baits such as riches, joy, shelter, food, heat and clothing for people.

Q4. Which game do the crofter and the peddler play in the evening?

Ans: They play mjolis, a Swedish card game, until it is time to go to bed.

Q5. How does the crofter prove that he has savings?

Ans: He takes down a leather pouch hanging by the window and shows the peddler three ten-kronor notes, thirty kronor in all.

Q6. Who does the ironmaster think the peddler is?

Ans: He thinks the peddler is Nils Olof, a comrade from his old regiment who has fallen on bad times.

Q7. How does the peddler sign his letter to Edla?

Ans: He signs it “Captain von Stahle”, the name the ironmaster had called him at the forge; he says Edla had been kind to him “as if I was a captain”.

Q8. When the ironmaster discovers his mistake, what does the peddler say about himself?

Ans: He says that he “never pretended to be anything but a poor trader”.

Short Answer Questions (2 marks)

Q9. Why does the peddler return to the crofter’s cottage after saying goodbye?

Ans: He comes back to steal the thirty kronor he had seen in the leather pouch by the window. He breaks a window pane, takes the money and carefully hangs the empty pouch back in its place before leaving.

Q10. How is getting lost in the forest linked to the peddler’s rattrap idea?

Ans: He had always believed that the world traps anyone tempted by a bait. Lost after the theft, he remembers this and sees that his own turn has come: “He had let himself be fooled by a bait and had been caught.” The forest feels to him like an impenetrable prison with no escape.

Q11. Why does the ironmaster ask the peddler to his home?

Ans: He believes the ragged stranger is his old regimental friend Nils Olof. Also, Elizabeth is dead and his boys are abroad, and he feels it is “too bad we didn’t have any company for Christmas”, so he presses him to come.

Q12. Why does the peddler turn down the invitation at first?

Ans: He has the crofter’s stolen thirty kronor in his pocket. Going to the manor house, where he might be found out, would be like walking voluntarily into the lion’s den, so he refuses.

Q13. What does Edla suspect about the peddler when she first meets him?

Ans: Seeing how frightened he looks, she privately suspects that he has either stolen something or escaped from jail. In spite of this, she promises he will be free to leave just as freely as he came.

Q14. How does the ironmaster’s behaviour change when he sees the peddler in daylight?

Ans: He realises at once that the cleaned-up man is not his old friend Nils Olof. His warmth gives way to suspicion; he demands to know what this means and hints that the sheriff may have to look into it.

Q15. Why does Edla want the peddler to stay?

Ans: She says he wanders the whole year with probably no place where he is welcome, so she wants him to enjoy one day of peace. She also feels that, since they invited him and promised him Christmas cheer, it would be wrong to drive him away now.

Q16. What does the peddler leave for Edla, and why?

Ans: He leaves a small rattrap holding the thirty kronor stolen from the crofter, with a letter asking her to return the money to the old man. He does this because she had been “so nice to me all day long” and he does not want her to be embarrassed at Christmas “by a thief”.

Long Answer Questions (4 marks)

Q17. Explain the peddler’s view of the world as a rattrap. How does the story first prove it and then partly reverse it?

Ans: The peddler believes the world is a huge rattrap that offers riches, joys, shelter, food, heat and clothing as bait and snaps shut on anyone who reaches for them.

The story first proves this true in his own case. After stealing the crofter’s money he loses his way in the forest and sees that he “had let himself be fooled by a bait and had been caught”. By the end, however, one reading is that the story partly reverses his bitter view. He is not changed by a trap or by punishment, but by Edla’s kindness, which his letter thanks her for, and he leaves the stolen money for her to return. The world may be a trap, but the story offers genuine kindness as a way out.

Q18. Trace the events that make the peddler realise he has fallen into his own rattrap.

Ans: After stealing the thirty kronor, the peddler is afraid to use the main road and turns into the woods. The forest is big and confusing. He walks on and on without reaching its end, and at last understands that he has only been circling in the same part of it.

Suddenly he recalls his thoughts about the world and the rattrap and sees that his own turn has come — he has been fooled by a bait and caught. The forest seems to close upon him “like an impenetrable prison from which he could never escape”. As darkness falls he sinks to the ground, exhausted, believing his last moment has come.

Q19. Compare the ironmaster’s kindness with Edla’s. Why does the peddler’s letter thank Edla?

Ans: The ironmaster is warm and generous only because he takes the peddler for his old comrade Nils Olof. As soon as the mistake is clear in daylight, his kindness turns into suspicion; he speaks of the sheriff and tells the man to leave.

Edla’s kindness does not depend on who the stranger is. She treats him gently even while suspecting he may be a thief or an escaped prisoner, and she keeps her promise after the truth comes out. That is why the letter thanks her: “Since you have been so nice to me all day long, as if I was a captain, I want to be nice to you, in return, as if I was a real captain.” He leaves the stolen money with her to return to the crofter.

Q20. Describe the peddler’s rattrap speech to the ironmaster. What does it show about him?

Ans: When the ironmaster hints that the sheriff may want to question him, the peddler strikes the table and declares that the whole world is a big rattrap and all its good things are only bait. He warns the ironmaster that one day he too may want “a big piece of pork” and be caught in the trap.

The speech shows that he is not just a helpless victim. He has a sharp, thoughtful mind, a subtle sense of humour that even amuses the ironmaster, and the courage to say an unwelcome truth to a powerful man instead of begging for mercy.

Q21. How does the story build up to its climax on Christmas Eve morning?

Ans: The tension grows step by step: the ironmaster’s mistaken warmth at the forge, the peddler’s fear and refusals, and Edla’s persuasion bring him to the manor. On Christmas Eve morning the valet bathes him, cuts his hair, shaves him and dresses him in the ironmaster’s suit.

Then, in clear daylight instead of the dim glow of the furnace, the ironmaster looks at him again and recognises his mistake. The mood changes from welcome to accusation (“What does this mean?”), forcing the peddler to defend himself with his rattrap speech. This is the peak of the story, which Edla’s intervention then resolves.

Q22. What part does Edla play in changing the peddler?

Ans: Edla’s kindness, unlike her father’s, does not depend on the stranger’s identity. She speaks gently to him though she suspects he is a criminal, insists that he stay after her father orders him out, and tells him that the suit is his to keep and that he will be welcome next Christmas Eve too.

One reading is that this treatment, not threats or mistaken flattery, awakens his better self. His letter thanks her for being “so nice to me all day long”, and instead of simply disappearing he leaves the stolen money with her to give back to the crofter.

Q23. Describe Ramsjö Ironworks and explain its importance in the story.

Ans: The narrator says Ramsjö Ironworks was once a large plant with a smelter, a rolling mill and a forge, set amid the mines of Sweden, though it is “now closed down”; in the story itself the forge is still working.

The forge, with its furnace and glowing iron, is where the peddler takes shelter after escaping the forest, and where the ironmaster first mistakes him for Nils Olof — the turning point of the plot. It is a place of hard labour but also of warmth from the fire, which can be read as mirroring the story’s idea that a harsh world can still offer real warmth to those in need.

Q24. How does the title “The Rattrap” express the central idea of the story?

Ans: The title means more than the wire traps the peddler sells. It stands first for his bitter belief that the world traps anyone who is tempted, then for the forest in which he himself is trapped after the theft, and finally for the real rattrap he leaves with the stolen money for Edla to return to the crofter.

In this way the title covers both the danger of temptation and the possibility of redemption — exactly the theme and sub-theme the textbook gives for the chapter.

Long Answer Questions (6 marks)

Q25. “The Rattrap” is a story of redemption through kindness, not force or judgment. Discuss.

Ans: For most of the story the peddler is treated as a problem. The smiths at the forge ignore him, the ironmaster’s warmth turns out to be based on a mistake, and once the mistake is known he mentions the sheriff and, the next morning, wonders how many silver spoons are left. None of this changes the peddler; his rattrap philosophy would only expect such suspicion from the world.

What does change him is Edla Willmansson. She notices his fear, guesses he may be a thief, and still speaks kindly to him, keeps her promise and treats him as a guest rather than a suspect. Her kindness is not foolish; it is given with open eyes, and this is something his cynical view of the world cannot explain.

In return he gives up the one dishonest gain he could easily have kept — the stolen money — and leaves it for Edla to return to the crofter, thanking her in a letter signed with the borrowed title of captain. The story therefore suggests that unconditional kindness, not punishment or judgment, is what awakens decency in a person whom the world has failed.

Q26. Write a character sketch of the peddler.

Ans: The peddler is a poor, nameless wanderer who lives by selling handmade wire rattraps, along with begging and small thefts. At the start he is deeply cynical and has built a whole philosophy on the idea that the world is a trap, catching anyone tempted by riches, joys, shelter and food. His cynicism shows in his actions: he robs the very crofter who treated him kindly.

Yet other sides of him appear as the story goes on. He is quick-witted, playing along with the ironmaster’s mistake in the hope of a few kronor. He has a subtle sense of humour, seen in his rattrap speech, which even amuses the ironmaster. Most importantly, he is capable of change.

Met with Edla’s unconditional kindness instead of judgment, he responds with honesty: he leaves the stolen money for her to give back to the crofter and thanks her in a letter signed “Captain von Stahle”. One reading is that he becomes an example of the book’s note on the author — that the essential goodness in a person can be awakened through understanding and love.

Q27. Write a character sketch of Edla Willmansson, bringing out how she differs from her father.

Ans: Edla is the ironmaster’s daughter. She is modest and shy, but proves to be firm and steady in what she believes is right. Sent by her father to bring the stranger home, she does it with genuine warmth. She notices his fear and privately guesses that he may be a thief or an escaped prisoner, yet she promises him that he may leave as freely as he came.

When her father discovers the mistake and wants the man sent away, it is Edla who insists that he stay. She gives her own reasons: a man who is welcome nowhere should have one day of peace, and a promise made by her family must be kept.

Here she differs sharply from her father. His kindness was warm but conditional, resting wholly on the belief that the stranger was an old comrade, and it turned to suspicion the moment that belief collapsed. Edla’s kindness never depended on who the man was. This difference — kindness with open eyes versus kindness built on a mistake — can be read as the reason the peddler’s letter thanks Edla, not her father.

Q28. With close reference to the text, explain the three levels at which the rattrap metaphor works in the story.

Ans: First, the rattrap is the peddler’s own philosophy. Walking alone, he decides that the whole world, with its lands and seas, cities and villages, is a big rattrap that offers riches, joys, shelter, food, heat and clothing just as a trap offers cheese and pork, and closes on anyone who touches the bait.

Second, the metaphor turns on the peddler himself. After stealing the crofter’s money and running into the forest, he gets hopelessly lost and recognises that he has let himself be fooled by a bait and been caught, just as he imagined the world catching others. (Reading the forest as a rattrap is an interpretation; the book does not name the bait.)

Third, the metaphor becomes literal and positive. He leaves a real small rattrap for Edla, with the stolen money inside to be returned to the crofter, and a letter calling it “a Christmas present from a rat who would have been caught in this world’s rattrap if he had not been raised to captain”. What began as a bitter idea about how the world destroys people ends as an act of honesty and gratitude, which is why the metaphor, followed through all three levels, is the key to the story.

Passage-Based Questions

Passage 1: He had naturally been thinking of his rattraps when suddenly he was struck by the idea that the whole world about him — the whole world with its lands and seas, its cities and villages — was nothing but a big rattrap. It had never existed for any other purpose than to set baits for people. It offered riches and joys, shelter and food, heat and clothing, exactly as the rattrap offered cheese and pork, and as soon as anyone let himself be tempted to touch the bait, it closed in on him, and then everything came to an end. The world had, of course, never been very kind to him, so it gave him unwonted joy to think ill of it in this way.

Q29. (a) What did the peddler suddenly think about the world? (1 mark) (b) What does the rattrap-world offer, and what happens to someone who is tempted? (2 marks) (c) Why does this idea give the peddler “unwonted joy”? (3 marks)

Ans: (a) He thought that the whole world was nothing but a big rattrap, existing only to set baits for people.

(b) It offers riches, joys, shelter, food, heat and clothing, just as a rattrap offers cheese and pork. As soon as someone is tempted to touch the bait, it closes in on him and everything comes to an end.

(c) The passage says the world had never been kind to him, so thinking badly of it gave him an unusual pleasure. Believing the world is only a trap lets a man who has been treated badly feel that everyone is caught in the same way. The passage says nothing more about whom he had in mind.

Passage 2: “I am thinking of this stranger here,” said the young girl. “He walks and walks the whole year long, and there is probably not a single place in the whole country where he is welcome and can feel at home. Wherever he turns he is chased away. Always he is afraid of being arrested and cross-examined. I should like to have him enjoy a day of peace with us here — just one in the whole year.” The ironmaster mumbled something in his beard. He could not bring himself to oppose her. “It was all a mistake, of course,” she continued. “But anyway I don’t think we ought to chase away a human being whom we have asked to come here, and to whom we have promised Christmas cheer.”

Q30. (a) Why does Edla want the stranger to stay? (1 mark) (b) What two reasons does she give for not sending him away? (2 marks) (c) Is Edla’s kindness justified, given that she already suspects he may be a thief? (3 marks)

Ans: (a) She wants him to enjoy one day of peace, because there is probably no place in the country where he is welcome and feels at home.

(b) First, a man who wanders all year, unwelcome and afraid of arrest, deserves one peaceful day. Second, since they themselves invited him and promised him Christmas cheer, it would be wrong to chase him away now, whatever mistake led to the invitation.

(c) Yes. Her kindness is justified because it does not depend on his being innocent. She reasons from her family’s promise and from simple compassion for a friendless wanderer, so even if he were the thief she fears, her point — that a promise must be kept and no one should be turned away at Christmas — would still hold. The story shows this kindness moving him to act honestly: his letter thanks her for being “so nice to me all day long”.