LUCKNOW PUBLIC SCHOOL

CHAPTER:- BIRTH
CLASS:- 11th

INTRODUCTION:-"Birth" is an excerpt from "The Citadel" that revolves around Andrew

Manson who just graduated out of medical school. It is an account of how the newly
graduated medical practitioner helped in bringing Joe and Susan’s child into this world
despite going through a tough time with his girlfriend Christine

MAIN THEME:-The theme of the story is about a young doctor, Andrew dealing with a
critical birth case. The baby is born lifeless. He takes certain decisions that prove quite
successful. Not only he succeeds in saving the mother who is in critical condition after the
delivery but also succeeds in reviving the child. So the baby born lifeless is born again owing
to the efforts of the dedicated doctor. Hence the title is perfectly appropriate and justified

SUMMARY:- The lesson begins with Joe walking towards his home after having an
unpleasant time with his girlfriend Christine. Upon reaching home at around midnight, he
finds Joe Morgan outside his house waiting for him. Joe and Susan had been expecting a
child. Upon reaching, Joe tells Andrew that he is too anxious to be going inside, so Andrew
walks in alone. He realises that there is still some time left. Susan’s mother, who is wise but
tense at the moment, offers him some tea. While he is sipping his tea, he begins thinking
about his girlfriend. He recalls how his friends too are having a hard time in their
relationships. On the other hand, he feels that marriage is meant to be something peaceful
and cheerful. Thus, he finds himself in a conflict. Susan’s mother tells him how worried
Susan is for the child because the situation is complicated. After performing the procedure,
the child is born, but is lifeless. Confused between addressing the child or the mom, who
herself laid unconscious at the moment, he chooses to look after Susan first. He injected her
with a few medicines and when he realised that her heart was regaining its strength, he
turned towards the child. It was a boy in perfect shape. He suddenly remembered that it was
a case of restricted oxygen supply and thus, he instructed the nurse to get hot and cold
water. The nurse, reluctant at first, got him what he needed and he juggled the child in hot
and cold water simultaneously. After all his efforts, the child still lay lifeless. All others had
already lost hope, while he continued with the procedures. Finally, the child heaved and got
his breath. His body was no longer still, leaving everyone surprised. The nurse muttered
words of prayer while holding the child. The grandmother was also praying, while Susan still
laid unconscious. Exhausted, Andrew left while informing Joe that all is well. While he was
walking home at around five in the morning, his heart was full at having accomplished
something real in his life.

LESSON AND EXPLANATION:- THOUGH it was nearly midnight when Andrew reached
Bryngower, he found Joe Morgan waiting for him, walking up and down with short steps
between the closed surgery and the entrance to the house. At the sight of him the burly
driller’s face expressed relief.

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTION:-

Question 1.
Why was Joe Morgan waiting for Andrew?
Answer:
Joe Morgan and his wife had been married nearly twenty years and were expecting
their first child. At nearly midnight, Joe was worried and walked up and down, waiting
for Andrew to reach Bryngower.

Question 2.
“Andrew now felt dull and listless.” Give two reasons.
Answer:
On Joe Morgan’s call, Andrew, along with Joe, set out for Joe’s house. The night air
was cool and deep with quiet mystery but Andrew felt dull and listless because it was
past midnight and he was reflecting about his own relationship with Christine, the girl
he loved.

Question 3.
What did Andrew notice as he entered Joe’s house?
Answer:
As Andrew entered the door of Number 12, he saw a narrow stair which led up to a
small bedroom, clean but poorly furnished, and lit only by an oil lamp. Here, Mrs
Morgan’s mother, a tall, grey-haired woman of nearly seventy, and a stout, elderly
midwife waited beside the patient.

Question 4.
What was the old woman’s fear? How did Andrew reassure her?
Answer:
When the old woman returned with a cup of tea, Andrew smiled faintly. He noticed the
old woman, her wisdom in experience, and realized that there had been a period of
waiting. She was afraid he would leave the case, saying he would return later. But he
assured her that he would not run away.

Question 5.
What were the only sounds that Andrew heard in the thick of the night?
Answer:
As Andrew sat by the kitchen fire, he noticed that it was a still night. The only sound
that he could hear was the crackle of embers in the fireplace, the slow tick-tock of the
wall clock and Morgan’s footsteps as he moved to and fro in the street outside.

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS:-

Question 1:
“I have done something; oh, God! I’ve done something real at last.” Why does Andrew say
this? What does it mean?
Answer:
The young doctor Andrew Manson had done a commendable work. His exclamation is
justified. He had not only helped the middle-aged lady in the safe delivery of a male child but
also restored them to perfect health. Susan Morgan’s strength was ebbing after the delivery.
She was almost pulse less. Andrew gave her an injection and worked severely to strengthen
her heart.
The major achievement of Andrew was to resuscitate the stillborn child. First, he laid the
child of a blanket and began the special method of respiration. Then he tried the hot and
cold water treatment dipping the baby alternately. He laboured in vain for half an hour. He
then made another last effort. He rubbed the child with a rough towel. He went on pressing
and releasing the baby’s little chest with both his hands. At last the baby responded. His
chest heaved. Andrew redoubled his efforts. The child was gasping now. A bubble of mucus
came from his tiny nostril. The pale skin turned pink. His limbs became hard. Then came the
child’s cry.
Andrew called upon God as witness of his act which was no less than a miracle. It was not
mere theoretical talk but a practical achievement—something real and solid.

Question 2:
‘There lies a great difference between textbook medicine and the world of a practising
physician.’ Discuss.
Answer:
Normally, the medicines prescribed in the textbooks are used by the practising physicians.
However, in extreme cases of emergency, the physician’s experience, resourcefulness and
practical approach become far more important than the theoretical knowledge. For example,
a victim of bum-injury, snakebite or suffocation through drowning needs immediate help. The
nearest available doctor may not have all the facilities needed for the case. In such a
situation first-aid is a must to save the patient’s life before rushing him to the hospital for
proper care. With limited resources at his command, the practising physician exercises all
his practical experience to control the damage to the minimum and check the victim’s state
from further deterioration. A stitch in time does save nine in such cases. The practical help
comes as a boon.

Question 3:
Do you know of any incident when someone has been brought back to life from the brink of
death through medical help? Discuss medical procedures such as organ transplant and
organ regeneration that are used to save human life.
Answer:
Yes, I have seen and heard of incidents where people have been brought back to life from
the brink of death through medical help. Surgical operations, life saving drugs and organ
transplant play a leading role in modem medical science. Leading hospitals in advanced
countries have facilities for medical procedures such as organ transplant and organ
regeneration. Blood bank and eye bank are quite common. Nowadays people willingly
donate various organs of their body to the hospitals after their death. The techniques of
organ regeneration help to preserve them for certain period and use them for transplanting
the defective organ of another patient. Nowadays eye, heart, kidney and liver are being
transplanted. The time is not far off when artificial human organs will be made in laboratories
from non-human sources.

Short Practice Questions :-

Question 1:
Who was [Link]? Why had he been waiting for Dr Andrew Manson?
Question 2:
Where did Joe lead Andrew? Why did he not go in with the doctor?

Question 3:
“Don’t fret, mother, I’ll not run away”. Why do you think Andrew say so?

Question 4:
Why did Andrew decide to remain there until everything was over?

Question 5:
What had Andrew been thinking about? How would you like to describe the state of his
thoughts?

Question 6:
What was Andrew’s view of marriage? Why was he resentful and confused?

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Question 1.
What impression of Andrew Manson do you form on the basis of the story ‘Birth’?

Question 2.
If you work to respect the feelings, yearnings and desires of others, success is always yours.
Explain on the basis of the lesson ‘Birth’ by A. J. Cronin.