The Rattrap-prose

Which literary technique is central to the development of the plot and themes in "The Rattrap"?

1. Flashbacks revealing the peddler's past military career.
2. Extended symbolism and situational irony centered on the rattrap metaphor.
3. Stream-of-consciousness narration detailing Edla's thoughts.
4. Epistolary structure using letters between the ironmaster and the sheriff.

What primary thematic message does Selma Lagerlöf convey through the redemption of the peddler?

1. Strict legal penalties are necessary to reform dishonest citizens.
2. Essential human goodness can be awakened in anyone through genuine love, trust, and understanding.
3. Wealthy individuals have a moral obligation to provide money to vagrants.
4. Poverty inevitably leads people into a life of crime regardless of their upbringing.

How does the peddler sign his name in his final farewell letter to Edla Willmansson, and why?

1. "The World's Tramp," acknowledging his permanent status as an outcast.
2. "Captain von Ståhle," showing that her respect raised him to the dignity of an officer.
3. "The Rattrap Maker," accepting his humble role in society.
4. "An Anonymous Friend," protecting his identity from the police.

What unexpected discovery awaits Edla when she and her father return home from the church?

1. The peddler had fled with their valuable silver spoons and fine clothes.
2. The peddler had left behind a small package containing a rattrap, the stolen money, and a letter.
3. The peddler had fallen asleep in the kitchen after preparing a meal for them.
4. The peddler had been arrested by the sheriff on the manor grounds.

What alarming news do Edla and her father learn while attending the morning service at the church?

1. The Ramsjö Ironworks had gone bankrupt due to missing funds.
2. A former crofter had been robbed by a vagabond selling wire rattraps.
3. A local gang of thieves was targeting grand manor houses in the district.
4. The local sheriff had issued a warrant for the arrest of a fake captain.

What argument does Edla use to persuade her father to let the peddler stay for Christmas Eve despite the mix-up?

1. She argues that he could serve as an assistant at the ironworks.
2. She reminds him that they promised the poor man a day of peace, warmth, and Christmas cheer.
3. She points out that the local sheriff would penalize them for turning a homeless man away.
4. She claims that the peddler is related to a wealthy regional family.

How does the ironmaster react when he sees the peddler cleaned up in broad daylight the next morning?

1. He apologizes for his poor hospitality and offers him a job at the mill.
2. He realizes his mistake, grows angry, and threatens to hand him over to the sheriff.
3. He laughs off the error and invites him to stay through the New Year.
4. He quietly pays him thirty kronor and asks him to leave without a fuss.

What quality in Edla Willmansson enables her to convince the reluctant peddler to accompany her to the manor?

1. Her strict, authoritative tone that demands immediate obedience.
2. Her genuine compassion, empathy, and assurance of absolute freedom to leave.
3. Her promise to give him a large sum of money for his rattraps.
4. Her threat to bring the local police to clear the forge.

Why does the peddler decline the ironmaster's initial invitation to come to the manor house?

1. He worries his poor appearance will humiliate the ironmaster's daughter.
2. He fears entering the manor with stolen money is like throwing himself into a lion's den.
3. He prefers the warm, informal environment of the iron forge.
4. He has promised to meet the old crofter early the next morning.

What mistake leads the ironmaster of Ramsjö Ironworks to invite the peddler to his manor house?

1. He recognizes the peddler's face from a newspaper wanted notice.
2. He mistakes the peddler for his old regimental comrade, Captain Nils Olof.
3. He believes the peddler is an inspector sent by the government.
4. He mistakes the peddler for a skilled blacksmith from a neighboring town.

What physical realization strikes the peddler as he collapses from exhaustion on the forest floor?

1. The forest was haunted by the spirits of ancient ironworkers.
2. He had succumbed to temptation and was now caught in the world's rattrap.
3. The crofter had tracked him into the woods and set a trap for him.
4. A severe winter storm was approaching that would freeze him to death.

Why did the peddler choose to turn off the public highway and walk into the dense forest after stealing the money?

1. He wanted to find a shortcut to the coastal port of Ramsjö.
2. He feared being caught by the police on the open public road.
3. He was searching for an abandoned forge to sleep in for the night.
4. He intended to meet a group of fellow vagrants in the woods.

How did the peddler betray the old crofter's trust the morning after staying at his cottage?

1. He stole the crofter's silver watch while he was feeding his cow.
2. He returned to the cottage, smashed a window pane, and stole thirty kronor from a leather pouch.
3. He set fire to the crofter's wooden barn to create a distraction.
4. He replaced the crofter's saved money with counterfeit bank notes.

Why was the old crofter at the roadside cottage so unusually welcoming and generous to the peddler?

1. He recognized the peddler as an old acquaintance from his former regiment.
2. He was lonely, lived without a wife or child, and craved human companionship.
3. He hoped to employ the peddler to look after his cow at the Ramsjö Ironworks.
4. He was required by local village customs to provide hospitality to travelers.

What philosophical metaphor regarding human existence does the vagabond form while wandering through the countryside?

1. The world is a grand theater where everyone plays a predetermined role.
2. The world is a giant rattrap designed solely to set baits and trap human beings.
3. The world is an endless labyrinth where only the righteous find an exit.
4. The world is a market where every virtue has a specific monetary value.