11th std. Chapter- Birth

 11th std. Chapter- Birth 

 SHORT ANSWER TYPES

Q1. Who was Joe Morgan? Why was he so tense, and waiting anxiously for Dr Andrew that night?

Answer. Joe Morgan worked as an excavator in Blaenelly, a mining town. He was a tall, robust, heavy-set man in his forties. Joe and his wife were married for nearly 20 years, Susan, was expecting their first child. Joe Morgan was in desperate need of Dr. Andrew’s assistance. Susan, his wife, was in labour. After 20 years of marriage, she was about to give birth to their first child. Joe and Susan were anxious for the baby to arrive safely. So he waited for the doctor with bated breath.

Q2. That night proved unusual and it influenced Dr Andrew’s whole future in Blaenelly. What miraculous thing happened that night?

Answer. Dr Andrew began his medical career in the mining town of Blaenelly. The successful handling of Mrs Joe’s case was a watershed moment in his life. It was nothing short of a miracle that he had restored life in a stillborn child by alternating between dipping it in cold and warm water. He gained not only satisfaction but also name and fame.

Q3. Why were Susan and her old mother so tense that night?

Answer. Susan was about to give birth to her first child after 20 years of marriage. She and her husband Joe were naturally tense. Susan’s elderly mother stood beside her, tense but hopeful.

Q4. Susan’s mother was wise in experience. What hints did she give of her wisdom?

Answer. Susan’s mother was a tall, gray-haired woman who was nearly seventy years old. She knew from personal experience that childbirth would take some time. She was astute enough to suspect that Dr Andrew would not be patient for long. So she tried to persuade him to stay by offering him tea and sitting next to him.

Q5. Name the five central characters in the story Birth who played the key role?

Answer. Joe Morgan, his wife Susan, his elderly mother-in-law, a stalwart midwife, and, of course, Dr Andrew are the story’s five central characters. The doctor was instrumental in saving Susan’s and her ostensibly stillborn baby’s lives.

Q6.Dr Andrew faced the biggest dilemma of his life that night. How did he act and save two lives?

Answer. Dr. Andrew was summoned to oversee Susan Morgan’s first and most crucial delivery. He was tense and sleep deprived. Nonetheless, he chose to wait. He promised Joe and his wife that everything would be fine. However, he became concerned when he discovered that both the mother and her baby were in danger. Susan was first given an injection to calm her down. He then lifted the stillborn child and alternately immersed him in hot and cold water and pressed the child’s chest. Fortunately, he saved both of them.

Q7.Comment on the behavior and role of the midwife attending Susan Morgan.

Answer. Susan’s midwife demonstrated a lack of experience and a professional demeanor. She immediately declared that the baby was stillborn. She tucked it beneath the bed. Even when Andrew was attempting to resuscitate the baby, she expressed her disbelief and even discouraged Andrew from continuing his feverish efforts. Her joy was heightened by the baby’s cry.

Q8.What did the stillborn child look like when Andrew turned his attention to it?

Answer. Although the baby’s body was fully formed and warm, it was devoid of life. It had been placed beneath the bed by the nurse. But Andrew drew the child out. It had a limp warm body that was as white and soft as animal fat. The skin was smooth, but the limbs appeared to be boneless. It was depleted of oxygen.

Q9. How did Dr. Andrew Manson revive the lifeless baby? 

Ans: Andrew initially saved Susan, then attempted to resuscitate the lifeless baby. He wrapped the infant in a blanket and breathed for it artificially. His second attempt was to alternately dip the baby in hot and cold water. He then used a rough towel to rub the slick child. Finally, Andrew pushed and released the baby's chest until it began to breathe, indicating that it had a chance of survival.

Q10. How does Andrew consolidate Susan’s mother? Why does he do so? 

Ans: Susan's mother was reassured by Andrew's words, "Don't worry, mother, I won't run away," because she knew that people wait for a certain amount of time, and the doctor might leave because he had to wait longer than normal.

LONG ANSWER TYPES

1. There lies a great difference between textbook medicine and the world of a practising physician. Elucidate.

Answer. Being a doctor is one of the noblest professions in the world, the great duty of saving a life is a herculean task. Continuous experience is needed to reach to that level. Textbook knowledge is only a part of the journey, it teaches physicians about different diseases their causes and medicines but the real application of the knowledge occurs when dealing with patients. Real Encounters with patients and physicians require much more than  bookish knowledge, courage , perseverance observance , strong nerves , capability to take risks, and physical and mental energy play a major role in the right treatment and in saving lives in serious condition.

There lies a great difference between textbook medicine and the world of practising physician. Textbook medicine is purely a Science whereas treating a patient is an art. The world of practising physician requires a different set of skills and knowledge. Textbook medicine no doubt provides the conceptual framework for treatment but no doctor can treat a patient without the use of his or her intuitive practices. In the story, 'Birth' the way Andrew brings back life in the still born child is a testimony to this fact. The nurse at first dumps the child thinking it to be dead. aut Andrews takes a chance and the miracle happens. He in the beginning applies his textbook knowledge but the child does not recover. He doesn't lose heat. He applies his own method and the miracle then happened Treatment is Science and beyond. It is both a science and an art. The story Birth is a realistic fiction. In other words, the elements of the story has been taken from real life experiences and woven in the fabric of fiction.

2. How are Andrew’s emotional, mental, and physical states different from each other? 

Ans: When the novel begins, Andrew is depicted as physically and emotionally exhausted. He'd just returned from a really disappointing occasion with Christine, the girl he adores, where they'd gotten into a heated dispute. He's got a lot on his mind and in his heart. He believed that marriage is a happy state, and he had no recollection of many unhappy marriages. Andrew is physically fatigued at the end of the storey, but emotionally happy and mentally aware. He feels overjoyed and content with himself because he was successful in reviving the mother and infant. He considers what he accomplished to be nothing short of a miracle. This feat aided him in overcoming physical exhaustion and allowing him to forget about his emotional problems and sentiments.

3. What affected Andrew’s performance at Morgan’s house? How did it influence his career? 

Ans: After midnight, Andrew returned to his home. That evening, his encounter with Christine was not pleasant. Moreover, he was saddened by various occurrences of the dismal married couple. Joe Morgan stood outside his house, waiting for the doctor. He took Andrew to his home, where his wife Susan was about to give birth. Both of them were dead intent on having this child. Andrew chose to wait and provide medical assistance. He had no clue that the events of that night would bring him not only great joy but also fame and fortune. He labored tirelessly and precisely to preserve the mother's and her unborn child's lives. 

4. . How are Andrew’s emotional, mental, and physical states different from each other? 

Ans: When the novel begins, Andrew is depicted as physically and emotionally exhausted. He'd just returned from a really disappointing occasion with Christine, the girl he adores, where they'd gotten into a heated dispute. He's got a lot on his mind and in his heart. He believed that marriage is a happy state, and he had no recollection of many unhappy marriages. Andrew is physically fatigued at the end of the storey, but emotionally happy and mentally aware. He feels overjoyed and content with himself because he was successful in reviving the mother and infant. He considers what he accomplished to be nothing short of a miracle. This feat aided him in overcoming physical exhaustion and allowing him to forget about his emotional problems and sentiments.

5. How would you defend that practice and observation makes a man with theoretical knowledge perfect in his field? 

Ans: A man with practical experience and understanding has a better probability of getting the required results. In our daily lives, we come across compounders who outnumber doctors and physicians. A physician who has studied the procedure for administering an injection but has not performed it with his own hands will fail in his effort. A compounder, on the other hand, can outperform a physician due to his practical experience. Similarly, if you have meticulously seen a man performing his work to perfection, you may put that highly practical experience to use and achieve success. Dr. Andrew used his practical expertise and understanding to complete his task quickly and effectively, saving both the mother and the infant. As a result, both bookish knowledge and practical experience are required for success, particularly in the medical area. So, if not seasoned with practical experience, studious information or verbal material may prove useless and of no value.

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

Andrew, the protagonist of the story Birth, utters these words as he is able to bring a still born child back to life which seemed impossible in the beginning. The child is born still to the wife of Joe Morgan. The child is the first child of the couple who has been married for nearly twenty years. The child is born under critical condition. Both the child and the mother are in critical condition requiring urgent attention. The nurse dumps the child thinking it to be still born.

Andrew takes care of the mother first and seeing her in the recovery path turns his attention to the child. Andrew pulls the child out. It is a perfectly formed boy. Its limp white body is white and soft. Its head is hanging loosely on the thin neck. Andrew at once understands that it is a case of asphyxia pallida. He orders the nurse to get him cold water and hot water and basins. He lays the child upon a blanket and begins the special method of respiration. Fifteen minutes passes but no breath comes from the body of the child. In sheer desperation, he rubs the child with a towel, crushes and relaxes the chest with both hands. Then a miracle happens. The little chest gives a short, convulsive heave and then another. Andrew redoubles his effort. The child is now gasping, deeper and still deeper. Then comes the child's cry. He hands over the child to the nurse and climbs down the stair. He utters the quoted words out of deep satisfaction on achieving the seemingly impossible task.

It means that Andrew has been able to do something wonderful. He has been able to apply what ever he learnt in the medical textbooks and even beyond that. It is really a great achievement for Andrew. The above words mean that a doctor is a medium through which God or Almighty grants life to the patients. The miracle happened by the grace of the Almighty. Andrew acknowledges this fact in the above quoted words. These words bring home the fact that saving the life of a patient is the most coveted achievement of a doctor.