The Ratcatcher is a short story written by the very famous Roald Dahl. Dahl was always fascinated with rats as shown in his other books such as “Boy” and “The Witches. ” The Ratcatcher revolves around one character who is, quite obviously, a rat catcher. He is a very unusual person with strange behaviour and mannerisms. He gets quite cocky at times in the story, especially when he has his “audiences” attention and knows lots about rats, constantly repeating the phrase:”You’ve got to know rats on this job. ” He says this on page 116. The people around him are constantly conscious of this strange eerie yet gripping character.
The ratcatcher is described in a detailed way on page 114, as he enters the action. He has a sharp fa
...ce, two long, sulphur coloured teeth that press his lower lip inward, and thin pointed ears set far back on his head, close to his neck. He has black eyes that look piercing but have a flash of yellow when he is looked at. On page 115 it says: “He nodded his repulsive head. ” The book also says he has a long neck and stringy fingers and on page 120 it says his nose twitched. He wears a large black jacket with huge pockets. This physical description almost echoes that of a rat.
It is not just the appearance of the ratcatcher that is similar to that of a rat, he also acts like one and has similar mannerisms. He thinks like a rat as well. He is proud to know about killing them with plaster of Paris. Some of his mannerisms are that he cranes hi
head forward while speaking, he twitches his nose and he leers. Evidence to support this is given throughout the book. An unusual factor about this strange man is that he enjoys inflicting pain on rats. After he fails to capture any rats on the second day, he tries to boost his reputation back up by doing some strange tricks involving rats.
He takes out a rat from his pocket and a ferret from the other, he opens his shirt and drops the rat in, followed closely by the ferret, who chases the rat round and round, just like cat and mouse until the ferret kills the rat. Throughout this the rat man stands with his arms hanging limp. He then gets another rat out after making a bet with two men that he kill it without limbs, hands, feet or squashing and ties it to a car windscreen wiper, the rat squirms but cannot get away. He then gets a mad look in his eyes and slowly edges up to the rat.
The rat eventually just lies flat on the bonnet, terrified, the rat man gets closer and closer, then, he strikes. The rat lies dead on the car, the rat man takes his money and leaves, first checking he no longer has the attention of his “audience. ” The rat man inflicts pain on rats for unusual reasons, he wants to be the top rat but first and foremost he is a showman, a performer. He prowls away, leaving the men in shock at what they have just seen. It is like watching a film or TV programme, it is revolting but you have to see
what is going to happen. You regret it afterwards but you just have to see it.
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