Rattrap

There was a poor man who sold rat-traps and earned his livelihood. His income from the traps was not enough. So he also begged and stole petty things at times. He was not a born thief as no man is. Necessity compelled him in the petty thieving. He used to sleep at night in the houses of people if someone allowed him or some places like factories like Ramsjo Iron-Works. Once an idea struck him that the world is like a rat-trap full of temptations to trap men. If a man is tempted by the baits of wealth, power, etc. he is trapped like a rat in a rat trap. The man selling rat-traps lived a poor life without enough food or shelter. So he looked upon the world in the light of his own sufferings. Once he took shelter in the house of a man who was the crofter in Ramsjo Iron-Works. The man was lonely without any family. He welcomed the rat-trap man as he would get rid of his loneliness at least for a night.
The crofter told him about his life and showed him the thirty kronor that the crofter had kept near the window. Initially he was happy to get the money but very soon the rat trap began to work. He feared detection and avoided the highway. He walked through the forest and lost his way there. He then saw the forge of the Ramsjo Iron-Works and went there to spend the night near the forge. At that time, the iron-master, the owner of the factory, came in. The iron-master by mistake thought him to be his old friend, Nils Olof, with whom he had served in the regiment. To help his friend fallen on bad days, he invited the peddler to his house. The rat-trap man or peddler realized that the iron-master was making a mistake but he did not correct him in the hope that he might help him a little.
But he did not like to go into his house as he feared that he might be exposed and detected. But the kind-hearted daughter of the iron-master Edla Willmansson was too compassionate and loving to be resisted. She suspected even that the man might have committed some crime. But she ignored that and thought that the man, always haunted by fear and security, must have lived a miserable life. She wanted to give him at least a night's peace and security. She assured the peddler that in her house, he would be safe from ant interference and he would be free to leave anytime. She persuaded him to be her guest on the Christmas Eve. The genuine compassion of Edla gave the man a sense of peace and security. He slept all the while as if he wanted to make up for the sleepless nights he had spent throughout his life.
He ate the Christmas delicacies. The daughter gave him the suit that he was given to wear and she invited him to the next Christmas and assured him of secrecy and security. The rat-trap man was overwhelmed. The next morning, he left the manor house. But before leaving, he left the packet containing the thirty kronor of the crofter. He wrote a letter to Edla asking her to return the money to the crofter. He wrote that she had treated him with respect as if he was a real captain. She had treated him as a man and not as a thief. That genuine regard had induced him to be a better man and giving up stealing. Thus, the genuine compassion and kindness of Edla changed the life of a thief and turned him to a better man.


   

A Devoted Son

Anita Desai's short story is an indepth study of an old father's mind.This story has a universal appeal as the old people feel about their children in particular and about life in general.The old father's complex psycology has well brought out in the story.Rakesh was the devoted son whose parents were illiterate and lived in a small house in dirty surroundings.When he stood first in the medical examination,the first thing he did was to touch his father's feet.He went to study medicines in US and when he back from there the first thing that he did was to touch his father's feet. Rakesh then lived with his parents and started working in the city hospital where due to his skills and hard work earned fame and money an was soon promoted as the director.But he decided that he would open his own clinic and left the job.He set up his own clinic and with the passage of time he not only became a famous doctor but also the richest one in the town.This all was a matter of proud for his father.Meanwhile he(father) got retired and began to go into pieces.His wife's death affected him badly.All the fame became fade and he got ill. He started feeling lonely and neglected.Rakesh spent time with him only in the morning and evening.Rakesh was a busy doctor,a good husband,father but above all he was a devoted son.How he could please everyone was a mystery.But his sparkling personality began to undergo a change at least in his father's eyes.

It was Rakesh who brought him his morning tea in his favorite tumbler and sat at the edge of his bed and read out the morning paper to him.In the evening he persuaded the old man to sit in the garden,have the fresh air and enjoy the evening.On summers he made arrangements for his father to sleep under the stars.All this was gratifying to the old man ; but what was not so gratifying was that his son also surprised his diet.He did not let his father eat halva and other oily food.One day his father insisted to have sooji halva.At this Rakesh came to him doctorly strict and ordered,"no more halva for you papa" and denied anything that was fries at which the old man was rather shocked.It was incredible for him that his own son has refused him the food that he craved.Halwa was only the first thing that was crossed off from his diet,followed by everything fried,sweet and everything that the old man enjoyed.His meals began to be frugal,boiled vegetables,boiled chicken and dry bread.One day the old man bribed her grandson to some jalebis from near by shop.He was found out and was accused of spoiling the child and making him do bad things.There was a big scene as Rakesh shouted at his father who lay in the corpse position but no one cared.After that he began to complain to his friend Bhatia about his son.He complains that his own son weighs the food before giving to him.He also complains the way he treated him,his own father who brought him up,given him an education and made him a doctor.His masterly efficiency was now considered as cold heartedness by the father.Verma found himself giving up all interest in life.He became sick and weak.His food now consisted of powders,pills and tonics.One day when Verma was made to sit in the lawn,feeling terrified of the cricket ball,Rakesh came with a new tonic which Verma swept away saying contemptously,'keep you tonic,I Want Non. I want none.'Old verma lay flat saying God is calling him.We do feel pity for the old father.His son although devoted to him,failed to see the human side.His father has long lost the desire to live.The tragedy is that the son failed to see the boredom,the loneliness,the desire for warmth and affection.He did his duty but his father long ceased to appreciate him.On the contrary,he had developed contempt for his famous son.First and foremost he is a doctor and knows what is good or bad for the delicate conditions of his father.He cannot allow rich diet to be given to him.He has to strict with him.In all other matters he served his father in a very devoted manner like offering him tea,reading for him,nursing him and taking care of his health,but what he overlooked was his father's isolation and his desire for some company which he could not give and which tarnished his reputation in his father's eyes.The father  saw only the negative side of his character,his own son who,in the age when the sons let their parents on their own devoted himself to his parents.I fully sympathise with Rakesh for what he gets in the end for his life time devotion.