EnglishCBSE Class 11 · Birth

Birth (A. J. Cronin): Andrew Manson and the Revival of the Baby, Class 11

Updated 17 October 2026 · Draft, not yet fact-checked

In Birth, young Dr Andrew Manson attends Susan Morgan's difficult delivery in a Welsh mining town. When the baby is born lifeless, he first saves the collapsing mother, then revives the baby by plunging it into hot and cold water and working its chest for half an hour. Walking home at dawn, he feels he has done something real at last.

Understand Birth: Andrew Manson and the Revival of the Baby

Andrew before the night. Newly qualified, he is a young doctor in a Welsh mining town. He returns to his lodgings near midnight and, while waiting by the kitchen fire, is troubled by thoughts of unhappy marriages and by his love for Christine.

The dilemma. At about dawn the child is born lifeless, and Susan collapses, almost pulseless. Torn between reviving the baby and saving the mother, he hands the baby to the nurse and saves Susan with an injection. A life is in danger on both sides, and the choice is made quickly.

The revival. He finds the baby, white and limp, under the bed, where the frightened midwife has put it. The whiteness tells him it is suffering from asphyxia pallida. Recalling a treatment he once saw at the Samaritan hospital, he plunges the child alternately into cold and hot water, rubs it and presses its chest. For half an hour nothing happens, and the midwife cries that it is stillborn. Still he persists, until the tiny chest heaves, the skin turns pink and the baby cries.

The meaning. He tells Joe that both are all right and walks home among the miners at five in the morning. He thinks that he has "done something real at last". The experience gives his work a purpose after his earlier doubts and shows the gap between textbook medicine and real practice.

Qualities. Dedication, presence of mind, perseverance and compassion. Neighbouring topics (summary and setting) are on the chapter page.

Key quotations

Short lines worth knowing by heart: who says them, when, and why they matter.

Don't fret, mother, I'll not run away.
Andrew: Assuring Susan's mother.
Shows his kindness and sense of duty.
She's awful set upon this child, Doctor, bach.
Susan's mother: About the family's hopes.
Shows how much the baby means to them.
I've done something real at last.
Andrew: Walking home at dawn.
He finds purpose in saving a life.

Birth: Andrew Manson and the Revival of the Baby: key facts

Order of events: Lifeless birth
Mother saved
Baby found
Revival; Sequence of the climax.
Treatment: Cold water
Hot water
Rubbing
Chest pressure; Half an hour of effort.
Qualities: Dedication
Presence of mind
Perseverance; Link each to an action.

How to answer Birth: Andrew Manson and the Revival of the Baby questions

Use this for any question on Andrew's character or the climax.

1Give Andrew's situation: newly qualified, full of doubts.
2State the dilemma at the birth.
3Describe the revival with the two basins and the half hour.
4Name the qualities with proof.
5End with "something real" and what it means.

Birth: Andrew Manson and the Revival of the Baby in real life

The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

A first rescue

Suppose a young trainee nurse stays beyond her shift to help a patient who collapses, using a technique she once saw only once. When the patient recovers, she walks home thinking her training finally means something.

Which feature of the story does this match?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

A trainee acts with limited experience.
A technique recalled from the past works.
The person finds a sense of purpose.

Answer: It matches Andrew recalling the treatment he saw at the Samaritan and, after success, feeling that he has done something real.

Memory hook: Learning becomes life.

Tricks to remember Birth: Andrew Manson and the Revival of the Baby

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

M-B-H-C
Mother, Baby, Hot and Cold.
Use it when: The order of the rescue.
D-P-P
Dedication, Presence of mind, Perseverance.
Use it when: Andrew's qualities.

Birth: Andrew Manson and the Revival of the Baby: solved examples

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.

Example 1: The condition · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

The baby's condition was known as
(a) jaundice (b) asphyxia pallida (c) fever (d) fracture

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

The white, limp baby had asphyxia pallida (1 mark).

Answer: (b)

Example 2: Why the mother first · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level

Why did Andrew attend to Susan first and not the baby? Answer in 30-40 words.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Susan had collapsed, almost pulseless (1).
She could die at once (1).
He gave the baby to the nurse (1).

Answer: Susan had collapsed and was almost pulseless, so she could have died at once. Andrew handed the baby to the nurse and saved the mother with an injection before turning to the baby.

Example 3: Reviving the baby · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level

Describe how Andrew revived the baby. (40-50 words)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Cold and hot basins (1).
Rubbing and chest pressure (1).
Half an hour of persistence until it cried (1).

Answer: Andrew plunged the baby alternately into hot and cold water, rubbed it and pressed its chest. For half an hour nothing happened, and the midwife cried that the baby was stillborn. Still he persisted, until the chest heaved, the skin turned pink and the baby breathed and cried.

Example 4: Something real · 6 marks · Long answerHarder board level

Explain what Andrew means by "I've done something real at last". (120-150 words)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

His doubts before (1).
Dilemma and action (2).
Revival (1).
Meaning of "real" (1).
Conclusion (1).

Answer: Andrew begins the night full of doubts about love and marriage and perhaps about his work as a young doctor. At the birth he faces a dilemma, saves the mother with an injection, and then finds the lifeless baby under the bed. Recalling a treatment he once saw, he works on the child with hot and cold water for half an hour, even when the midwife says it is stillborn. When the baby cries, he feels he has done something real: not a routine or a textbook exercise, but a deed that saved a life. The remark shows that practice gave his work a purpose and meaning that he had not felt before.

Example 5: Textbook and practice · 3 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency

"Real practice differs from textbook medicine." Support with evidence from the story. (3 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Textbook: asphyxia pallida recalled from a demonstration (1).
Practice: improvisation with basins and persistence (1).
Judgement (1).

Answer: I agree. Andrew recalls the treatment from a case he saw, but in a small, poorly furnished room he has to improvise with basins, endure the midwife's despair and decide quickly between mother and baby, which a textbook cannot prepare one for.

Where students lose marks in Birth: Andrew Manson and the Revival of the Baby

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

Mistake: Ignoring the dilemma
It is a key point.
Wrong working
He revived the baby and then the mother.
Right working
He first saved the mother, then the baby.
Do this: State the order.
Usually costs: 2 marks of 6.
Mistake: Calling the baby stillborn at the end
Facts changed.
Wrong working
The baby did not survive.
Right working
The baby breathed and cried.
Do this: Check the ending.
Usually costs: 1 mark of 3.
Mistake: Skipping "something real"
It is the climax.
Wrong working
Andrew was happy.
Right working
Andrew felt he had done something real, a purposeful deed.
Do this: Quote and explain.
Usually costs: 2 marks of 6.

Exam tips

Give the order: mother, then baby.
Mention hot and cold water and the half hour.
Quote "something real" in character answers.
Name the qualities with proof.
Keep a 3-mark answer to 40-50 words and a 6-mark answer to 120-150 words.

Practice questions on Birth: Andrew Manson and the Revival of the Baby

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
Where did Andrew find the baby?
(a) in a cradle (b) under the bed (c) in the kitchen (d) with Joe
Hint
The midwife had hidden it.
Answer
(b)
Q2 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Why did Andrew's mind wander during the long wait? (40-50 words)
Hint
Think of Christine and marriages.
Answer
During the long wait, Andrew thought about the unhappy marriages he knew of and about his love for Christine. His doubts about marriage troubled him, so the night became a time of personal reflection as well as medical work, before the crisis of the birth began.
Q3 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
What does the midwife's reaction show about the situation? (40-50 words)
Hint
She cried that it was stillborn.
Answer
The midwife, frightened and hopeless, cried that the baby was stillborn after half an hour of effort. Her reaction shows how desperate the situation seemed to everyone in the room, and it makes Andrew's persistence stand out sharply against her despair and the apparent lack of hope.
Q4 · 6 marks · Long answerHarder board level
Write a character sketch of Andrew Manson. (120-150 words)
Hint
Include doubts, kindness, dilemma and persistence.
Answer
Andrew Manson is a newly qualified doctor in a small Welsh mining town. He is kind: he reassures Susan's mother that he will not run away, and his calm manner inspires trust in Joe and the anxious family. He is troubled by personal doubts about marriage and love. At the birth he shows presence of mind by saving the mother first, then perseverance by working for half an hour on the lifeless baby with hot and cold water, ignoring the midwife's cries of despair. When the baby breathes, he is overjoyed and quietly proud. He walks home at dawn among the miners after a long night, with the thought that he has done something real, which shows that he values purposeful work. He is dedicated, resourceful, persevering and humane.
Q5 · 3 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency
What might have happened if Andrew had given up after fifteen minutes? How does the story use time to build tension? (3 marks)
Hint
The half hour is key.
Answer
The baby would probably not have survived, as the first response only came after half an hour. The long wait without any sign builds tension, and the success at the end becomes more dramatic.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1.Who wrote Birth?Show answer
A. J. Cronin.
2.In which novel does it appear?Show answer
The Citadel.
3.Where does Andrew work?Show answer
In a Welsh mining town, where he has lodgings at Bryngower.
4.Who is the baby's father?Show answer
Joe Morgan.
5.How long did he work on the baby?Show answer
Half an hour.

Birth: Andrew Manson and the Revival of the Baby: frequently asked questions

What is the main theme?

Dedication and perseverance, and the value of human life.

Why did Andrew save the mother first?

She had collapsed and was almost pulseless.

Who is Christine?

The girl Andrew loves.