The short story, Birth appears in the English NCERT textbook for grade 11 as an excerpt from the Citadel written by A.J. Cronin. It is a lesson that brings out the importance of self-validation brought after achieving success through one's courage to make decisions based on one's prior learning. In this lesson, Andrew Manson decides to resort to a procedure he had witnessed as a medical student at the Good Samaritan Hospital in which an experienced Doctor planned a stillborn baby into hot and cold water alternatively in order to revive the child. The stillborn child that he had helped deliver was suffering from asphyxia, pallida.
The lesson deals with two very important themes. The first one, as mentioned in the previous paragraph deals with the importance of self-worth, self-validation, and the realisation that one has 'done something' worthwhile. The second important theme deals with understanding the difference between textbook medicine and the practical world of a practising physician. According to textbook medicine, the child born to the Morgans was stillborn, dead to all purposes. However, Andrew Manson remembered a practical procedure that he had seen when he was still a student, and thus he attempted to resuscitate the child, much to the horror of the midwife. Birth is a lesson, therefore, that highlights the need to step beyond the textbook, and rely on practical knowledge.
Question 1 - textbook long answer
The first textbook question on Birth reads, "I have done something; oh, God! I've done something real at last." Why does Andrew say this? What does it mean?
Andrew makes the above statement because he had gone beyond the textbook and attempted to save the life of a stillborn child. By doing so, he had performed a miracle. Everyone looked forward to having the child in the family. Mr. Morgan was advancing in years and he looked forward to being a father. Susan Morgan was also advancing in years and she would soon be past child-bearing age. Sitting 'while there pressed against the wall' was Mrs Morgan's mother. She longed for a grandchild and 'her longing for a grandchild as great as had been her daughter's longing for this child. All dashed away now; futile, beyond remedy...'.
And as he continues with the procedure for reviving the child, 'Beaten, despairing, having laboured in vain...he persisted in one last effort.' It was after more time of struggle by Dr Manson that, 'as if by a miracle, the pigmy chest,...gave a short convulsive heave, another...and ...[he] turned giddy.' What he had done that day was no less than a miracle! He had achieved a high point in his professional life, he had rediscovered a sense of worth in himself, and he had upheld the expectations that the Morgans had from him. But then, one should not forget that Andrew Manson had saved not one, but two lives. The life of the mother and her child together.
Andrew Manson's sense of achievement is driven by his having been able to handle a difficult delivery case with professional expertise, having displayed not just theoretical knowledge but also practical acumen in identifying the problem with the child and then tackling the same accordingly. People often don't like posting in rural areas, but then, some of their best achievements come up while working amongst common people, in this case, miners. One very important message imparted by this lesson is that one should never grumble or cry over not getting one's dream posting, but rather work to one's level best wherever one is posted. One should watch the Bhutanese drama film titled, Lunana-A Yak in the Classroom to appreciate the message in the lesson.
Question 2 - textbook long answer
The second question in the textbook reads- There lies a great difference between textbook medicine and the world of a practising physician. The statement rings true in the case of the lesson Birth by A.J.Cronin. After an hour's 'harsh struggle' with a difficult delivery, he glances with horror at the 'still form' of the newborn. Torn by the dilemma of deciding whom to save first, he hands the stillborn child to the midwife and then turns his attention to the sinking mother.
On having stabilized the mother, Manson turns towards the stillborn child he discovers that the midwife had placed it beneath the bed because she believed that it was beyond saving. 'Fishing amongst the sodden newspapers' Manson pulled out the baby and noticed that the child had a 'white' pallor. He immediately recalled a case he had once seen in the Samaritan Hospital for asphyxia, pallida and started the accepted treatment for it. To the horror of the midwife, he placed the body into cold water and then hot water. According to the textbook, the child was stillborn and thus nothing could be done to revive it. However, there lies a big difference between textbook medicine and practical medicine and so Andrew Manson falls back on his memory of a similar case and he resorts to a procedure that he would have learned in a practical class as a student.
Andrew Manson's ability to go beyond the textbook and rely on a practical procedure makes all the difference in saving the life of a stillborn child. The moral of the whole story is that sometimes textbooks don't have all the answers to questions in life. One needs to, as a professional, resort to the practical knowledge that one might have gained during one's student years. Experience, recollection of lessons learnt, practical knowledge and the ability to persevere against all odds can make a great difference.
Prose Extract-Based Questions
a) Andrew, abruptly recalled from the contemplation of his own affairs, told Morgan to wait. He went into the house for his bag, then together they set out for Number 12 Blaina Terrace. The night air was cooled and deep with quiet mystery. Usually so perceptive, Andrew now felt dull and listless. He had no premonition that this night call would prove unusual, still less that it would influence his whole future in Blaenelly.
1. The words, 'contemplation of his own affairs refer to_________________.
2. Why did they set off for Number 12 Blaina Terrace?
3. How would you explain why 'Andrew felt dull and listless'?
4. What was so important about that night?
b) Andrew smiled faintly. He was that the old woman, wise in experience, realised there must be a period of waiting that, she was afraid he would leave the case, saying he would return later.
1. Who was the old woman in the extract?
2. In what way was she 'wise in experience'?
3. What do the words, 'period of waiting' refer to?
4. What was the old woman afraid of?
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