DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL

Sail Township, Ranchi

AISSCE 2024-25

ENGLISH PROJECT

THE RATTRAP
Submitted By:-
Name: Anshuman
Mimani
Class: XII Sec: J
Roll No.:
 Certificate

This is to certify that Mr. Anshuman Mimani

of XII ‘J’ has completed his English Core
(Code - 301) project work for AISSCE 2024 -
25 successfully as per the academic
guidelines issued by CBSE under the guidance
of Mrs. Kaushiki Banerjee for the academic
session 2024-25.

I certify this project has fulfilled my

expectations and as per the norms laid down
by CBSE.

Internal Examiner External Examiner

Mrs. Kaushiki Banerjee
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my greatest gratitude to

the people who helped and supported me
throughout my project report.

I am grateful to my English Core (Code - 301)

teacher Mrs. Kaushiki Banerjee whose valuable
guidance has been the one that helped me
patch this project report and make it full proof
success. I would also like to thank our
honorable Principal Dr. R.K. Jha Sir.

Lastly, I would like to thank my parents and

friends who helped me a lot in finalizing this
project report within the limited time frame.

Anshuman Mimani
XII ‘J’
 INDEX

SL. PAGE
TITLE
NO. NO.

1 ABOUT THE AUTHOR 5

2 INTRODUCTION 6

3 CHARACTERS 7-8

4 TITLE JUSTIFICATION 9

5 THEME 10

6 ANALYSIS 11-12

7 SUMMARY 13-14

8 MESSAGE OF THE STORY 15

9 CONCLUSION 16

10 BIBLIOGRAPHY 17
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Selma Lagerlof (1858-1940) was a Swedish

writer whose stories have been translated into
many languages. A universal theme runs
through all of them – a belief that the
essential goodness in a human being can be
awakened through understanding and love .

This story is set amidst the mines of Sweden ,

rich in iron ore , which figure large in the
history and legend of the country. The history
is told somewhat in the manner of a fairy tale.
 INTRODUCTION
The Rattrap is a short story written by Selma
Lagerlof about a man who lives a
downtrodden life as a vagabond and a poor
rattrap seller. He looks at the world though
spectacles of cynicism and misery because of
the situation in which he finds himself.

He thinks of the world as a rat trap, where we

are pulled in by the rattrap of materialistic
things. In the story, he resorts a petty thievery
and selling rat traps to sustain himself.
However, this is not enough, as he still needs
an improvised life.
 CHARACTERS
THE PEDDLER : The peddler was a beggar who led a
nomadic way of life. He was quite imaginative. He
wore rags, had sunken cheeks, and his eyes gleamed
from hunger. He roamed around the town selling wire
rattraps that he made himself. He possessed certain
human flaws, such as the need to steal and beg to
meet his basic necessities. He spent his evenings
wherever he could find shelter because he had
nowhere to stay during the day. He believes that the
entire universe resembles a giant rat trap. It merely
exists in order to attract others with bait. He believes
that all wealth, happiness, food, clothing, and shelter
are merely traps. The rattrap shuts on the person
who touches the bait if and when he does.

THE CROFTER: An old man who lets the peddler

spend the night at his house. The old man is clearly
lonely and glad to have company, and provides the
peddler with food, tobacco, and conversation. He
used to be a crofter (someone who rents and works a
small farm) at Ramsjö Ironworks, but now survives by
selling the milk from his “extraordinary” cow. The old
man is kind and generous, but the peddler repays his
generosity by stealing thirty kronor from him after
the crofter shows him where he keeps the money.
THE IRONMASTER: The Ironmaster was the owner of
Ramsjo Ironworks. He thought the man selling
rattraps was an old friend from the army. He lacked
the ability to make accurate conclusions about
others. He was a kind and gentle man. He welcomed
the street vendor to his home to look after him. He
gets furious when he realizes that he had mistaken
the stranger to be an old friend. He not only invited
the peddler to spend the night at his house, but also
provided him with a dinner of porridge. It was on his
daughter’s insistence that he let the stranger remain
at their house for Christmas festivities. He was a
loving caring father who could see things from his
daughter’s perspective.

EDLA WILLAIMSON: Edla, the ironmaster’s daughter,

is characterised as being “not at all attractive, but
humble and extremely shy. Even after it is
established that the peddler is not Captain von
Stahle, she is incredibly kind, convincing him to come
to her house and then persuading her father to let
him stay for Christmas Eve. Edla is more smart and
observant than her father, as seen by the fact that
she can identify the peddler’s fear and the likelihood
that he has done a crime that he is evading right
away. She is the most admirable character in the
story and her kindness and charity bring about a
change in the peddler’s heart.
 TITLE JUSTIFCATION
The literal meaning:
The title of the story 'The Rattrap' is justified by the
fact that the protagonist of the story is a seller of
rattraps. His life is similar to that of a rat, who is
trapped in a rattrap. He is wandering from place to
place, just like a rat who is always in search of food
and shelter.

Symbolic meaning:
The rattrap in the story represents life. Just like a rat
is trapped in a rattrap, humans are also trapped in
the never-ending cycle of life. The protagonist of the
story, the rattrap seller, is also trapped in the cycle of
poverty and hopelessness. He is always in search of
money, just like a rat is in search of food.

The metaphorical meaning:

The rattrap can also be seen as a metaphor for
temptation. In the story, the rattrap seller is lured
into stealing money from a man who showed him
kindness. The temptation of money is like a rattrap
that traps the seller and leads him to his downfall.
 THEME
The theme of the story is that most human beings are
prone to fall into the trap of material benefit. However,
every human being has an essential goodness that can
be awakened through understanding and love. A
human being has the tendency to redeem himself from
dishonest ways. The theme is developed with the help
of the metaphor of the rattrap. The peddler of rattraps
calls the world a big rattrap. The material benefits like
riches and joys, shelter and food, heat and clothing are
temptations that that allure a person to fall into the
rattrap of the world exactly as the bait of cheese and
pork attract a rat to fall into the rattrap. Once someone
takes the bait, the world closes in on him and then
everything is lost. The peddler is tempted by the thirty
kronors of the old crofter. He steals the money. Now he
is afraid of being caught and moves through the woods.
It is the kind, sympathetic, loving and generous
treatment given by Edla Willmanson that helps him get
himself free from the rattrap of the world.
 ANALYSIS
With "The Rat Trap," Selma Lagerlöf gives her reader a
traditional, didactic tale. Unlike in fairy tales, nursery
rhymes, or fables, there is no magic or talking animals.
There is, however, a warm, feel-good message, a
holiday theme, and a few formal elements that align
this tale with those aforementioned genres. The first
and most recognizable of these formal conventions is
the first line of the story, which begins with the words
"Once upon a time" (66). By beginning this way,
Lagerlöf earnestly telegraphs to her reader that this is a
story that likely adheres to a familiar, widely
recognized structure.

By repeating the phrase "even so" in the opening

paragraph, Lagerlöf emphasizes the desperate nature
of the vagabond's situation. Even in his most ideal of
circumstances, where he is able to scrounge materials
and make and sell his traps, "his clothes were in rags,
his cheeks were sunken, and hunger gleamed in his
eyes" .

Lagerlöf establishes the theme of loneliness and

alienation early on in the narrative. In the second
paragraph of the story, she writes, "No one can imagine
how sad and monotonous life can appear to such a
vagabond, who plods along the road, left to his own
meditations."
 Though the Ironmaster's plans for the vagabond
greatly change after he realizes he is not his captain
friend, he continues to treat him with dignity, at the
urging of his daughter. “First of all," he says, "we must
see to it that he gets a little flesh on his bones... And
then we must see that he gets something else to do
than to run around the country selling rat traps" (70)—
this is before he realizes the vagabond is a stranger. By
including this bit of dialogue, Lagerlöf demonstrates
how much power the Ironmaster wields as a wealthy
landowner to improve someone's situation—but only
when he feels so inclined.

Nonetheless, the moral of the story remains, as

demonstrated so plainly by the vagabond's gift and
letter to Edla, that people will often rise or shrink to the
expectations set for them by others. Since the
Willmanssons treated him like a captain, the vagabond
rectified his actions and leaves inspired to live a life
befitting a captain. Of course, it's a simplistic and
optimistic conclusion to apply to the extreme poverty
Lagerlöf ascribes to the vagabond, but it is nonetheless
the moral being proposed.
 SUMMARY
The Rattrap is a story about a rattrap seller who
leads a very poor life as his earnings are very low.
He has to resort to thievery and begging to make
both ends meet. He is alone in this whole world
and leads a miserable life. So he starts knitting up
various kinds of thoughts. One of these thoughts
is of supposing the whole world as a big rattrap.
His views are that the world offers us various
types of baits in the form of comforts of life. This
in return traps us into the rattrap of the world and
leads us to various types of miseries.

Every night, the peddler had to search for shelter

as he has no home. One evening he was offered
shelter by an old crofter. The next morning he
stole the crofter’s money which he had earned by
selling his cow’s milk. To safeguard himself, the
peddler chose the path through the forest which
was secluded, but soon found himself trapped in
the forest as he wasn’t able to find the way out of
the dense forest. Later on, he finds a way to a
forge and takes shelter there
 . Something unusual happens. The ironmaster
mistakes him as an old friend and invites him to
his house. The poor peddler rejects the offer due
to the fear of being caught. Soon he is invited by
the ironmaster‘s daughter. The next morning he is
somehow stopped by the ironmaster’s daughter
for Christmas Eve even after being caught that he
was a peddler and not Captain Stalhe.

. The next day after Christmas, when the

ironmaster and his daughter visit the church, they
come to know that the man is a thief who had
stolen money from the old crofter. The iron
master and his daughter repent for sheltering a
thief and wonder at what all things he would have
stolen by that time. Here comes a twist as instead
of stealing, the peddler gifts the ironmaster’s
daughter a rattrap. She finds a letter of thanks and
the stolen money inside the rattrap. The peddler
thanks Edla for her kindness and requests her to
return the stolen money to the crofter. This story
gives us the message that goodness in a human
being can be awakened at any time with your own
good deeds.
 MESSAGE OF THE STORY
The Story “The Rattrap” highlights human
predicament. The peddler is struck by an idea. The
world is nothing but a rattrap. It sets bait for
people. The riches and joys, food, shelter ,heaps
and clothing are just baits .The moment one is
tempted to touch the bait the rattrap closes in on
him. The peddler steals the money of the old
crofter and is lost in a big confusing forest. He has
let himself be folded by the bait and bow it is his
turn. The metaphor of the rattrap comes alive.

We understand that when one is given the respect

they deserve , they live up to it too. It is love,
compassion, understanding and respect that
makes life worth living, and not materialistic things
such as riches, fame and objects.
 CONCLUSION
The Rattrap is, in essence, the tale of a man who
discovers that real happiness comes from the inside
out, from love, respect, and appreciation, not from
worldly possessions.

The character's life, which includes living in a humble

environment without a roof over his head or any
warm clothing, serves as the story's vehicle for
addressing the social problem of poverty. The only
way he is able to live is by continuing to sell rat traps.

The Rattrap's summary makes it clear that when

someone is treated with respect, they also live up to
it. Not worldly things like wealth, fame, or material
possessions, but rather love, compassion,
understanding, and respect are what make life
worthwhile.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
NCERT Class 12 Flamingo Book
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