Question:
Why do you think that the peddler was a great philosopher? (from 'The Rattrap')
Why do you think that the peddler was a great philosopher? (from 'The Rattrap')
Updated On: Sep 24, 2026
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Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Context:
In 'The Rattrap' by Selma Lagerlöf, the peddler sees the whole world as a giant rattrap, with riches, joys, and comforts as tempting bait that ensnare people.
Step 2: Why he can be called a philosopher:
The peddler's rattrap analogy is a genuine, original philosophy of life — he observes that just as a rat is tempted into a trap by cheese, human beings are lured into traps of greed, comfort, and desire, only to lose their freedom. This is a profound, insightful way of understanding human nature and temptation, showing that despite his poverty and lack of formal education, he possessed genuine wisdom about life.
Final Answer:
He can be called a great philosopher because his simple rattrap metaphor captures a deep, universal truth about human temptation and the loss of freedom — genuine philosophical insight born from his own hard experience of life.
In 'The Rattrap' by Selma Lagerlöf, the peddler sees the whole world as a giant rattrap, with riches, joys, and comforts as tempting bait that ensnare people.
Step 2: Why he can be called a philosopher:
The peddler's rattrap analogy is a genuine, original philosophy of life — he observes that just as a rat is tempted into a trap by cheese, human beings are lured into traps of greed, comfort, and desire, only to lose their freedom. This is a profound, insightful way of understanding human nature and temptation, showing that despite his poverty and lack of formal education, he possessed genuine wisdom about life.
Final Answer:
He can be called a great philosopher because his simple rattrap metaphor captures a deep, universal truth about human temptation and the loss of freedom — genuine philosophical insight born from his own hard experience of life.
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Top UP Board XII English Questions
- Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
It is clear that language is used for more than one purpose. The man who hits his thumb nails with a hammer and utters a string of curses is using language to relieve his feeling and needs no audience but himself. But when a philosopher uses language to clarify his ideas on a subject, he is using it as an instrument of thought. When two women gossip over the fence or two men exchange greetings as they pass in the street, language is being used to strengthen the bonds between the members of society. Language, it seems, is a multipurpose instrument. One function, however, seems to be basic — language enables us to influence people's behaviour and thereby makes human co-operation possible. Some animals co-operate especially the social animals like bees and ants, but human co-operation is more thorough, more detailed, more effective than that found anywhere in the animal kingdom. The human co-operation would be unthinkable without language.
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It is clear that language is used for more than one purpose. The man who hits his thumb nails with a hammer and utters a string of curses is using language to relieve his feeling and needs no audience but himself. But when a philosopher uses language to clarify his ideas on a subject, he is using it as an instrument of thought. When two women gossip over the fence or two men exchange greetings as they pass in the street, language is being used to strengthen the bonds between the members of society. Language, it seems, is a multipurpose instrument. One function, however, seems to be basic — language enables us to influence people's behaviour and thereby makes human co-operation possible. Some animals co-operate especially the social animals like bees and ants, but human co-operation is more thorough, more detailed, more effective than that found anywhere in the animal kingdom. The human co-operation would be unthinkable without language.
(b) For what purpose does a philosopher use language? - Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
It is clear that language is used for more than one purpose. The man who hits his thumb nails with a hammer and utters a string of curses is using language to relieve his feeling and needs no audience but himself. But when a philosopher uses language to clarify his ideas on a subject, he is using it as an instrument of thought. When two women gossip over the fence or two men exchange greetings as they pass in the street, language is being used to strengthen the bonds between the members of society. Language, it seems, is a multipurpose instrument. One function, however, seems to be basic — language enables us to influence people's behaviour and thereby makes human co-operation possible. Some animals co-operate especially the social animals like bees and ants, but human co-operation is more thorough, more detailed, more effective than that found anywhere in the animal kingdom. The human co-operation would be unthinkable without language.
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It is clear that language is used for more than one purpose. The man who hits his thumb nails with a hammer and utters a string of curses is using language to relieve his feeling and needs no audience but himself. But when a philosopher uses language to clarify his ideas on a subject, he is using it as an instrument of thought. When two women gossip over the fence or two men exchange greetings as they pass in the street, language is being used to strengthen the bonds between the members of society. Language, it seems, is a multipurpose instrument. One function, however, seems to be basic — language enables us to influence people's behaviour and thereby makes human co-operation possible. Some animals co-operate especially the social animals like bees and ants, but human co-operation is more thorough, more detailed, more effective than that found anywhere in the animal kingdom. The human co-operation would be unthinkable without language.
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It is clear that language is used for more than one purpose. The man who hits his thumb nails with a hammer and utters a string of curses is using language to relieve his feeling and needs no audience but himself. But when a philosopher uses language to clarify his ideas on a subject, he is using it as an instrument of thought. When two women gossip over the fence or two men exchange greetings as they pass in the street, language is being used to strengthen the bonds between the members of society. Language, it seems, is a multipurpose instrument. One function, however, seems to be basic — language enables us to influence people's behaviour and thereby makes human co-operation possible. Some animals co-operate especially the social animals like bees and ants, but human co-operation is more thorough, more detailed, more effective than that found anywhere in the animal kingdom. The human co-operation would be unthinkable without language.
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