BIRTH (Snapshots)

By A.J. Cronin 

A.J. Cronin, in full Archibald Joseph Cronin, (born July 19, 1896, Scotland—died Jan. 6, 1981, Montreux, Switz.), Scottish novelist and physician whose works combining realism with social criticism won a large Anglo-American readership.

Cronin was educated at the University of Glasgow and served as a surgeon in the Royal Navy during World War I. He practiced in South Wales (1921–24) and then, as medical inspector of mines, investigated occupational diseases in the coal industry. He opened medical practice in London in 1926 but quit because of ill health, using his leisure to write his first novel, Hatter’s Castle (1931; filmed 1941), the story of a Scottish hatmaker obsessed with the idea of the possibility of his noble birth. This book was an immediate success in Britain.

Cronin’s fourth novel, The Stars Look Down (1935; filmed 1939), which chronicles various social injustices in a North England mining community from 1903 to 1933, gained him an international readership. It was followed by The Citadel (1937; filmed 1938), which showed how private physicians’ greed can distort good medical practice. This story is an excerpt from The citadel, Andrew Manson newly out of medical school has just begun his medical practice as an assistant to Dr. Edward Page in the small Welsh mining town of Blaenelly.

The Keys of the Kingdom (1942; filmed 1944), about a Roman Catholic missionary in China, was one of his most popular books. Cronin’s subsequent novels include The Green Years (1944; filmed 1946), Shannon’s Way (1948), The Judas Tree (1961), and A Song of Sixpence (1964). One of his more interesting late works is A Thing of Beauty (1956), a study of a gifted young painter who must break free of middle-class conventions to realize his potential.


1.“I have done something: oh, God! I’ve done something real at last”. Why does Andrew say this? What does it mean?

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 on 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.


2. There lies a great difference between textbook medicine and the world of a practicing physician. Discuss. 

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 burn-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.


3. How did Doctor Andrew save the life of Susan and her new born baby.

The story ‘Birth’ highlights the importance of practical experience in the medical field. It proves sometimes more effective in saving lives or in curing deadly diseases. Dr Andrew applied hot and cold water technique to restore life in a new born baby. The baby appeared to be stillborn, lifeless, boneless and lax. The nurse put it beneath the patient’s bed as she came to a conclusion that the baby is dead, while the young doctor was making efforts to save the mother who was sinking. Then he turned to the midwife and asked for the child. He pulled it out from under the bed and dipped it alternately in hot and icy cold water. Then he pressed the little chest gently and released it. He too had nearly accepted defeat. But his last effort did the miracle. The baby started breathing and getting oxygen. Its white skin turned pink and it gave out a cry. Everybody thanked God for the miracle. Overworked Andrew also had the greatest satisfaction of his medical career. He had done something real.