‘The Rattrap’ focuses on human loneliness and the need to bond with others. Comment.

The poorly dressed, starving peddler wanders from place to place, making small rattraps, which is a way to earn his living other than begging and stealing. He has never been treated with kindness because of which he has a grudge against world. To imagine others ensnared in the giant rattrap that the world is, gives the petty peddler a sense of satisfaction. However, when, first the crofter and then Edla, show kindness towards him, it affects his conscience to quite an extent. The old crofter’s loneliness is clearly evident in the story. It is because of his loneliness, he invites the peddler into his house to spend the night. The peddler is amazed by the old man’s hospitality and soon starts to feel at home. The crofter too, finds a companion in the peddler; and shares his food, tobacco and some of his secrets as well.

The ironmaster and his daughter bring the peddler home thinking he is an old friend. It is Christmas Eve and they don’t want him to be lonely on Christmas. So they ask him to stay for the Christmas feast. Realising the peddler’s real identity, the ironmaster threatens to inform the sheriff and also asks him to leave. However, Edla insists on him staying and treats him like a guest, like the regimental officer as initially assumed by her father. She offers him food, clothes and shelter. Being treated so, it brings about a total transformation in the peddler. He resolves to pull himself up, to live a life of respect and dignity. Ultimately, The Rattrap is a story focussing on human loneliness and the need to bond with others.

OR

Man is a social animal. He cannot live alone. In every field of life, he needs the help of someone or the other. However, there are a few people who do not live to socialize with others. They stay away from their fellow beings. They shirk the company of their friends and become recluses. They are overpowered by negative feelings. The themes of human loneliness and the need to have someone to share one’s joys and sorrows with, runs throughout the story. To begin with, the reader’s attention is drawn to the peddler who is lonely and in his loneliness, he makes rattraps and is left to his own meditation. When he knocks at the cottage, the crofter welcomes him and entertains him. It is because the crofter is lonely. He wants someone to talk to. He finds in peddler a good companion and tells him a lot about himself and his cow, even though the peddler is a complete stranger to him. Then, we find that the ironmaster and his daughter are also lonely. They live in a big house and have nobody else for company. Therefore, they insisted that the peddler should spend the Christmas Eve with them.

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