The Surgeon By Roald Dahl Summary,Theme, Characterization and Title
Introduction
Sandy is as a profound surgeon who is not in the business for money. But upon saving a Saudi Arabian prince, he is offered a diamond worth almost a million dollars. He leaves with his wife for the weekend and they hide the diamond at a safe place in their house. When they return, they find their house was broken in and the diamond missing. Will it ever be found?
Outline of the Story
Dr Robert sandy had recently saved the life of a Saudi Arabian prince. And as a reward, he was given a very large diamond. Sandy was amazed when his local jeweller told him it’s worth almost a million dollars. He rushed home to show it to his wife, who was just as excited. Robert and Betty wished to go on a tour to Egypt and Turkey and also Baalbek, and other places. They are going away for the weekend, though, so they decided to freeze the diamond into an ice cube tray in order to hide it from any thieves. When they returned, they were shocked to see that their house had, in fact, been burgled. Everything in their kitchen had been smashed and thrown on the floor, including the contents of the freezer. The police were called and searched them everywhere, but they couldn’t locate the diamond.
The next day, another surgeon at the hospital was operating on a young man with something lodged in his intestine. To the surgeon’s amazement, it was a large diamond. He and one of the hospital theatre sisters took it to the local jeweller to have it appraised. The jeweller recognized it as Dr Sandy’s and called the police. Sandy was also notified, and by the time he got to the spot the surgeon and sister were both in handcuff. Sandy recognized him and they told him their story. He then asked the police to release them and asked them to head to the hospital to arrest the recovering thief.The young hooligan had evidently made himself a drink in Dr Sandy’s house and he had swallowed the ice cube.
Summary
Robert Sandy was a modest, hardworking man. He worked as a general surgeon in England. He was not at all concerned with fame and riches. Sandy enjoyed his work. One night he was the only surgeon available to work on a young man. The patient had been in a car wreck and had sustained massive abdominal injuries. Robert Sandy worked for three and a half hours to save the man’s life. By the next day, the patient was showing signs of recovery. He was the prince of Saudi Arabia and his associates wanted to move him to a hospital with famous surgeons. The patient said that he wanted to stay with the man who saved his life. Seven weeks later, he met with the prince who offered Sandy money, but the surgeon refused the money as always. Then, the prince gifted him a diamond. Sandy, who was quilted into accepting the diamond, came to know from Harry Gold, a jeweller, that the diamond was worth half a million dollars in the trade. The excited surgeon got on his bike and drove straight home to tell his wife Betty.
Betty was ecstatic. Soon they remembered that they were supposed to spend the weekend at their friends’ house. They couldn’t exactly bring the diamond with them, they would be anxious all weekend. They decided to freeze the diamond in a piece of ice and leave it in the icebox. So after they froze the diamond, they packed up and left for the Renshaws. After a pleasant weekend, Robert and Betty came back to find their house in ruins. Everything was smashed and thrown around. The kitchen was the worst of all. Robert and Betty called the police and told them about the diamond. The police looked, but could not find it.
The next day, two surgeons were operating on a young man who had a piece of something lodged in his intestine. William Haddock and a nurse looked at the object and realized it was a diamond. They used glass to test if it really was a diamond. They took it to Harry Gold to get appraised. Harry realized it was Robert’s diamond, and called him. Robert called the police and reached the jewellery store.
