About the Author
Archibald Joseph Cronin was
a Scottish novelist, dramatist, and non-fiction writer. He was born on July,
1896 in Dunbartonshire, Scotland, in 1896. In 1914 he entered Glasgow
University to study medicine, but his studies were interrupted by World War I,
in which he served in the British Navy as a surgeon sub lieutenant. He received
his M.B. and Ch.B. in 1919, and took a job as a ship's surgeon on a passenger
liner. He afterwards took positions at several hospitals, and in 1921 he
married Agnes Mary and moved to south Wales to start a medical practice. He
received his MD degree in 1925 from the University of Glasgow, and he moved to
London to start a practice there. In 1926, Cronin opened a medical practice in
London’s fashionable West End, but soon after ill health forced him to take a
leave of absence. In 1930 he was diagnosed with an ulcer, and ordered to take
six months complete rest on a milk diet.
A.J. Cronin was one of the
most renowned storytellers of the twentieth century. His best-known works are
The Citadel and The Keys of the Kingdom, both of which were made into
Oscar-nominated films. He also created the Dr. Finlay character, the hero of a
series of stories that served as the basis for the long-running BBC television
and radio series entitled Dr. Finlay's Casebook.
Cronin died on 6 January
1981 in Montreux, Switzerland.
Introduction
This chapter is an extract from A.J Cronin’s novel "The Citadel”. This extract describes how a young doctor revives a child that is born lifeless.
Joe Morgan and his wife
are a middle -aged couple. They have been married for 20 years, but have not
get any child so far. Now Mrs. Morgan is expecting her first child.
Both her husband and her mother are feeling very nervous because the delivery
of the child is going to be before time. A young doctor
named, Andrew is called in. The doctor has to put in hard labour in
the delivery of the child. When the child is born, it seems to be still-born.
This shock could be too much for the Morgans to bear.
While the doctor is
attending to the mother, the nurse places the baby under the bed among dirty
newspapers. After assuring himself that the mother is safe, the doctor looks
for the baby. Finding it under the bed, he at once pulls it out. It was a boy,
perfectly formed. The body was warm but was not breathing. At once the doctor
sets to revive the child’s breath. After half an hour’s terrible effort, he is
at last successful. He thanks god and hands the child to the nurse.
Characters
1. Dr. Andrew Manson - Newly qualified, takes a
job as assistant to Dr. Page in a small mining town. On arrival, he finds to
his surprise that Page is partly paralyzed and will never work again. This
means Dr. Andrew Manson will have to do most of the clinic’s work in this
mining town at a meagre pay.
2. The Midwife – an experienced nurse to help
in the birth of the child. The midwife and Andrew
are contrasting personalities. The midwife is a foil to Andrew. She feels
hopeless, resigned, helpless, fearful and untrained. On the other hand, Andrew
proves to be more optimistic, diligent, efficient, self-sufficient, spontaneous
and well-trained.
3. Joe Morgan – a well-built person in
forties, lives in a small Welsh town of Blaenelly, works as a driller at the
mines, he has been married for 20 years, but have not got any child so far.
4. Mrs. Morgan - wife of Joe Morgan, is
expecting her first child, Both her husband and her mother are feeling very
nervous because the delivery of the child is going to be before time.
5. Christine - a school teacher, Andrew falls
in love and contemplates marrying her.
6. Morgan’s mother – a tall, grey-haired woman
of nearly seventy.
1. Andrew returns home after
a disappointing visit with his lady love, Christine Barlow.
2. Exhausted, he finds Joe
Morgan, anxious and somewhat scared, waiting for him.
3. Morgan's wife was in
labour, before the expected date. This is their first child in a marriage of
nearly twenty years.
4. Andrew reaches the house
of Morgan and waits in the kitchen.
5. The labour leads to a
stillborn baby.
6. He instinctively decides
to save the mother first, handing the baby over to the midwife.
7. The midwife, who has had
no medical training, sees the body in her arms as a lifeless lump and places it
under the bed among sodden newspapers.
8. Andrew draws the baby out
from under the bed and quickly diagnoses the most probable cause for the still
birth i.e. Asphyxia, pallida.
9. He recalls a method he
had once observed through which a child had been successfully resuscitated.
10. He tries the
simultaneous hot and cold dips to shock the body and get the heart to jump
start, then rubs the baby's body with a rough towel crushing and releasing the
little chest.
11. On the verge of giving
up, a miracle happens.
12. The child breathes. Andrew
redoubles his efforts till the baby breathes freely.
13. While leaving the house,
he feels that he has done something 'real', at last.
Detailed
Summary
Andrew Manson was a young doctor. He had newly
passed out of a medical school and joined as an assistant to Dr. Edward Page.
Their clinic was in the small Welsh town of Blaenelly. It was a mining town. Joe
Morgan was a resident of this town. He was a well-built person and worked as a
driller at the mines. He lived with his wife. They had been married for about
twenty years, but so far they didn’t have any child. Now Mrs. Morgan was
expecting her first child.
After spending a disappointing evening with his
ladylove, Christine, Andrew came back home. He found Morgan waiting for him
restlessly. He told the doctor that he had been waiting for him for an hour. He
said that his wife needed his presence because the child was expected to be
born before time.
Together they set out for Morgan’s house. Andrew
was feeling very dull and tired. He had no idea that this night call would
prove unusual and influence his whole future in Blaenelly.
When they reached the door of Number 12, Morgan
stopped outside the door. He said that he won’t go in. Inside, a narrow stair
led up to a small bedroom. It was clean but poorly furnished. It was lit only
by an oil lamp. Mrs. Morgan’s mother was sitting beside the patient. She was a
tall, grey-haired woman of nearly seventy. An elderly midwife was also there.
Both of them watched Andrew’s expression as he moved about the room.
Since there was a period of waiting, Andrew
waited in the kitchen. Soon he was lost in his thoughts about Christine. An
hour later he went upstairs again. He noted the progress made and came down
once more. He sat down by the kitchen fire.
At last the nurse’s voice was heard calling
from the top landing. Andrew looked at the clock. It now showed half-past
three. He rose and went up to the bedroom. He saw that he could now begin his
work. An hour passed. It was a long, hard struggle. Then, as the first rays of
dawn appeared, the child was born, lifeless.
As Andrew looked at the lifeless form, a shiver
of horror went through his body. He couldn’t decide whether to resuscitate the
child first or attend to the mother who herself was in a serious state.
Instinctively, he gave the child to the nurse and turned his attention to Susan
Morgan who now lay collapsed, almost pulseless. He gave her an injection, and
after a few minutes of feverish effort, Susan’s heart gained strength. Now he
could safely leave her.
Swinging round to the nurse, he asked, “Where’s
the child?” When Andrew looked at the child, he at once knew that it was a case
of asphyxia. Instantly he was on his feet. “Get me hot water and cold water,”
he said to the nurse. “And basins too. Quick! Quick!” He took a blanket and
laid the child upon it. Then he began the special method of respiration. The
basins arrived. Andrew put cold water into one basin; into the other he mixed
water as hot as his hand could bear. Then, like a crazy juggler, he hurried the
child between the two basins. Now he plunged it into the icy water, now into
the hot one. Fifteen minutes passed. Sweat was now running into Andrews’s eyes.
His breath was coming pantingly. But no breath came from the body of the child.
A terrible sense of defeat came on him. Having
laboured in vain for half an hour, he still made one last effort. He rubbed the
child with a rough towel. He pressed and released the little chest with both
his hands. Thus he tried to get breath into that limp body.
And then a miracle happened. The little chest
gave a short heave. Andrew continued
with his efforts feverishly. The child had started gasping, deeper and deeper.
A bubble of mucus came from one tiny nostril. The limbs were no longer
boneless. The head no longer lay back spinelessly. The skin was slowly turning
pink. And then, exquisitely came the child’s cry. Andrew handed the child to the
nurse. He went downstairs, and took a long drink of water. He took his hat and
coat and left the house. Outside he found Joe standing on the pavement with a
tense, expectant face. “All right, Joe,” said Andrew. “Both all right.”
It was quite light. Nearly five o’clock. A few
miners were already in the streets. As Andrew walked with them, he kept
thinking unconsciously, “I’ve done something; oh, God! I’ve done something real
at last.”
Short Answer Type Questions
Q1. Why
was Andrew so serious and tense that evening?
Ans. That evening Andrew
was tense and serious. He had a disappointing evening with his girlfriend
Christine. Moreover, he had seen some painful incidents of husbands’ suffering
at the hands of their wives. He was short of sleep as well.
Q2. Who
was Joe Morgan? Why was he so tense and waiting anxiously for Dr. Andrew that
night?
Ans. Joe Morgan was in dire
need of Dr. Andrew's help. His wife Susan was in labour. She was going to
deliver their first child after 20 years of marriage. Joe and Susan were keen
to have the child delivered safely. So he stood waiting anxiously for the
doctor.
Q3. That
night proved unusual and it influenced Dr. Andrew's whole future in Blaenelly.
What miraculous thing happened that night?
Ans. Dr. Andrew had first
begun his medical practice in the mining town of Blaenelly. The successful
handling of Mrs. Joe's case proved a turning point in his life. It was no less
than a miracle. He restored life in a stillborn child.
Q4. Why
were Susan and her old mother equally so tense that night?
Ans. Susan was in labour
after 20 years of marriage. It was natural for her and her husband Joe to be
tense. Susan's old mother also stood beside her tense and hopeful.
Q5. Susan's
mother was wise in experience. What hints did she give of her wisdom?
Ans. Susan’s mother was a
tall, grey-haired woman of nearly seventy. From her personal experience, she
knew that the childbirth would take some time. She was wise enough to fear that
Dr. Andrew might not wait for long. So she tried to make him stay by offering
him tea and sitting beside him.
Q6. Why
and when did a shiver of horror pass over Dr. Andrew?
Ans. Dr. Andrew was shocked
and horrified as he looked at the lifeless newly born baby. He also noticed
Susan sinking. He was in a dilemma, whom to save first.
Q7. Dr.
Andrew faced the biggest dilemma of his life that night. How did he act and
save two lives?
Ans. Dr. Andrew was called
to supervise the first and crucial delivery of Susan Morgan. He was tense and
short of sleep. Still, he decided to wait. He gave a promise to Joe and his
wife that all would be well. But he became nervous to find both the mother and
her baby in trouble. He first gave injection to Susan. Next, he lifted the
stillborn baby, put him in hot and cold water and pressed the child's chest.
Luckily, he saved both of them.
Q8. Comment
on the behaviour and role of the midwife attending on Susan Morgan.
Ans. The midwife attending
on Susan showed lack of experience and professional attitude. She declared at
once that the baby was stillborn. She pushed it under the bed. Even when Andrew
was trying to bring back life into the baby, she showed disbelief and even
discouraged Andrew from making feverish effort. The cry of the baby made her
exclaim with joy.
Q9. What
did Andrew do to restore life in the stillborn child?
Ans. Andrew recalled a
similar case in the past. He gave the same treatment to the stillborn baby. He
asked for hot and icy cold water. He placed it into cold and warm water
alternately. He rubbed the child with a rough towel and pressed and released
the little chest with his hands. The miracle happened. Its skin turned pink and
it cried.
Q10. Describe
the moments when the stillborn child gave a short heave and slowly revived.
Ans. Andrew for a while
felt beaten and disappointed. But he made one last effort. He pressed the
baby’s chest gently and then released. The technique was successful. He felt
the little heart beating. A bubble of mucus came from one nostril. The child
was gasping and then came a cry.
Q11. What
was Andrew's greatest achievement and satisfaction as he walked out of the
House Number 12, Blaina Terrace?
Ans. Dr. Andrew was called
to handle a critical case of delivery. He was tired. He felt defeated. He was
in a dilemma because of the sinking condition of Susan and the lifeless form of
her baby. But he saved both the lives. He called it his greatest reward and
success.
Long Answer Type Questions
Q1. Why
was Andrew feeling so dull and listless that evening? How did that evening
influence his whole life and career?
Ans. Andrew returned home after
midnight. His experience with Christine that evening was not happy one.
Moreover, several episodes of unhappy married couples also saddened him.
Outside his house was Joe Morgan waiting anxiously for the doctor. He led
Andrew to his house where his wife Susan was in labour. Both were set upon the
child. Andrew decided to wait and give medical aid. He had no idea that the
incident of that night would give him not only supreme satisfaction but also
name and fame. He worked hard and very intelligently saved the life of mother
as well as her stillborn child.
Q2. What
was Andrew’s dilemma after the delivery? How did he solve the problem so
successfully?
Ans. The child was born at
daybreak. Dr. Andrew was filled with horror as he looked at the lifeless baby.
He had now two patients on his hand. Susan was fast losing her pulse. The baby
was white, lax and lifeless. Andrew was in dilemma whom to give his attention
first. Going by instinct, he gave an injection to Susan and pulled her out of
danger. Then he pulled out the child, with warm body but no breathing. He gave
it an unusual treatment using cold and hot water and the pressure of his hands.
And there was a miracle. He thanked God when the child gave out a cry.
Q3. Narrate
the story in about 100 words of your own. What message does it convey?
Ans. This story narrates an
incident in which a young doctor saves two lives. Both the mother and her still
born baby were in a critical condition. It highlights the miracle that a
physician can perform.
Andrew was a young doctor. He was called upon
to supervise a case of childbirth. Joe and his wife Susan had been married for
nearly twenty years. They were expecting their first child. Two women were
already at Susan's bedside—Susan's old mother and a midwife. Andrew decided to
wait till the work was completed. When Susan gave birth to the baby, her own
condition became critical. The baby was stillborn, limp and boneless. Andrew
first restored the mother to a safe point. Then he picked up the child. He
dipped it into hot and ice cold water alternately. He applied mild pressure on
the little chest. And it came back to life.
Q4. There
is a great difference between textbook medicine and the world of a practising
physician. Discuss.
Ans. Bookish knowledge is
very important as it imparts theoretical knowledge. It teaches a man
intricacies of a problem and its probable solutions. If a man having
theoretical knowledge has no practical experience he may fail in his job. On
the other hand, a man with practical knowledge and experience only may fail to
achieve the desired results. In our day to day life we meet compounders
surpassing the doctors and the physicians. A physician who has read the process
of administering an injection but has not done it with his own hands will fail
in his attempt to administer injection. On the contrary, a compounder can
surpass the physician because he has practical experience. Similarly, if you
have minutely observed a man doing his job to perfection you can apply that
very practical experience based on your keen observation and achieve success.
Dr. Andrew could save the child because he had observed somebody saving an
almost lifeless child. He applied that practical experience and knowledge and
did his job efficiently. So for success especially in medical field especially
both bookish knowledge and practical experience are indispensable.
Q5. "I have done
something, oh, God! I've done something real at last.” Why does Andrew say
this? What does it mean?
Ans. Andrew was fresh from
the medical school. He was still working as an assistant to Dr. Edward Page in
Blaenelly. He had yet to prove his merit. He got a chance soon to test all his
learning. He knew that a doctor's job was to save life. He got a golden
opportunity unexpectedly one evening. He was called upon to supervise the
delivery case of Susan Morgan. He waited all night. But he was horrified to
find the newborn baby almost lifeless. The mother was also collapsing. He first
saved the mother's life by giving an injection. Then he turned to the stillborn
baby. He applied treatment he had once seen at school. He dipped the baby first
in warm water and then in icy cold water. His effort was crowned with success.
The child began to gasp and then cry. Andrew had supreme satisfaction because
he had saved two lives.
Snapshot (Supplementary Reader)
2. The Address
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5. Mother’s Day
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6. Birth
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