Chapter- 4 The Rattrap
Question: Who is the author of the story “The Rattrap”?
Answer: The author of the story “The Rattrap” is Selma Lagerlöf.
Question: When was Selma Lagerlöf born?
Answer: Selma Lagerlöf was born in the year 1858.
Question: When did Selma Lagerlöf die?
Answer: Selma Lagerlöf died in the year 1940.
Question: What nationality was Selma Lagerlöf?
Answer: Selma Lagerlöf was a Swedish writer.
Question: What common theme runs through Selma Lagerlöf’s stories?
Answer: A belief in the essential goodness of human beings that can be awakened through understanding and love runs through her stories.
Question: Where is the story “The Rattrap” set?
Answer: The story is set in Sweden.
Question: Which natural resource is important in the setting of the story?
Answer: Iron ore is an important natural resource in the setting of the story.
Question: In what manner is the story told?
Answer: The story is told in the manner of a fairy tale.
Question: What did the man in the story sell?
Answer: The man sold small rattraps made of wire.
Question: Did the man make the rattraps himself?
Answer: Yes, the man made the rattraps himself.
Question: When did he make the rattraps?
Answer: He made the rattraps at odd moments.
Question: From where did he get the material to make rattraps?
Answer: He got the material by begging in stores or at big farms.
Question: Was his business profitable?
Answer: No, his business was not especially profitable.
Question: What did he do to survive besides selling rattraps?
Answer: He resorted to begging and petty thievery to survive.
Question: What does the phrase “keep body and soul together” mean in the story?
Answer: It means managing to stay alive with great difficulty.
Question: How were the man’s clothes described?
Answer: His clothes were described as being in rags.
Question: What did his sunken cheeks suggest?
Answer: His sunken cheeks suggested poverty and starvation.
Question: What does “hunger gleamed in his eyes” indicate?
Answer: It indicates that the man was extremely hungry.
Question: How is the man’s life described?
Answer: His life is described as sad and monotonous.
Question: What kind of person was the man?
Answer: He was a poor vagabond.
Question: What does “plods along the road” suggest about his movement?
Answer: It suggests that he walked slowly and wearily.
Question: Why did life seem sad to the man?
Answer: Life seemed sad because he was lonely, poor, and struggled daily to survive.
Question: What was the man often left to do while walking?
Answer: He was often left to his own thoughts and meditations.
Question: What new idea did the man think of one day?
Answer: He thought that the whole world was like a big rattrap.
Question: What inspired him to think of the world as a rattrap?
Answer: His constant thoughts about the rattraps he sold inspired the idea.
Question: What does the “big rattrap” symbolize?
Answer: It symbolizes the world that traps people with temptations like wealth and comfort.
Question: What does “fallen into a line of thought” mean?
Answer: It means becoming deeply absorbed in thinking.
Question: How did the man feel about his new idea?
Answer: He found the idea entertaining.
Question: What does the world consist of according to the man’s thought?
Answer: According to him, the world consists of lands, seas, cities, and villages like a trap.
Question: What overall impression do we get of the rattrap seller at the beginning?
Answer: We get the impression of a poor, lonely, hungry, and thoughtful man struggling to survive.
Answer by Dimpee Bora
