Who was Dr Sadao ? Where was his house ?
Dr Sadao was a famous Japanese surgeon and scientist. His house was on a spot of the Japanese coast where as a little boy he had often played. It was set upon rocks. It was well above a narrow beach that was outlined with bent pines.
Where did Sadao’s father often take him when he was a little boy ? What would he do there ?
There were some little islands near the Japanese coast. Sadao’s father often took him to those islands. There he would point towards the islands and say to the little boy, “Those islands yonder, they are the stepping stones to the future for Japan.”
What was the chief concern of Sadao’s father and what did he do for it ?
Sadao’s education was the chief concern of his father. He never joked or played with the boy. He worried about his education only. When Sadao was twenty-two, he was sent to America to learn all he could of surgery and medicine.
What was the dream of Sadao’s father ? How did Sadao realize it ?
Sadao’s father had a dream to see his son as a highly educated man. Sadao realised his father’s dream. He went to America to learn surgery and medicine. He became famous not only as a surgeon, but as a scientist also.
Why was Dr. Sadao not sent to the battlefield ?
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Why was Dr Sadao not sent abroad along with the troops ?
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Why did the General not send Dr Sadao to the war front where he was most needed ?
Dr. Sadao was a famous surgeon and scientist. He was perfecting a discovery that could make wounds entirely clean. Moreover, he was treating the old General medically, and the General could need an operation also. That was why Sadao was not sent abroad along with the troops.
Who was Hana ? Where had Sadao met her ?
Hana was Sadao’s wife. Sadao had met her in America at the house of a professor where some foreign students lived. But he had waited to fall in love with her until he was sure she was a Japanese.
How did the foreign students feel at Professor Harley’s house ?
Professor Harley and his wife were kind people. They were anxious to help their few foreign students. But the students felt bored there. The rooms there were very small and the food was also no good. And the professor’s wife was very talkative.
How did Sadao’s marriage with Hana come to take place ?
Sadao met Hana in America. He liked her but he waited to fall in love with her. He wanted to be sure that she was a Japanese. His father, too, was very particular in such matters. Both Sadao and Hana came back to Japan after finishing their studies. Their marriage was arranged in the old Japanese way.
What role did the American professor play in bringing Hana and Sadao together ?
When Sadao went to America for his further studies of surgery and medicine, he stayed there at the house of Mr Harley who was an American professor. A few other foreign students also lived there. Hana was one of them. Sadao fell in love with her. But he married her only when he was sure that she was a Japanese.
How does the writer indicate that Dr Sadao’s father was a very traditional and conventional man ?
Like a traditional and conventional person, Sadao’s father did all he could for the education of his son. Even in the marriage of his son, he was very traditional and conventional. He accepted Hana as his daughter-in-law only when he found that she was of the pure Japanese race. He arranged the marriage in the old Japanese way.
What did Sadao and Hana see when they were standing at their door one misty night ?
They saw something black come out of the mists. It was a man. He was flung out of the ocean. A breaker put him to his feet. He staggered a few steps. Then they saw him crawling on his hands and knees. Then he fell on his face and lay there.
In what condition did Dr Sadao find the American soldier on the seashore ?
The man was wounded. The sand on one side of him had a stain of blood soaking through. He lay motionless. His face was in the sand. He was in wet rags. An old cap stuck to his head. Sadao turned the man’s head. He saw that it was a white man.
What did Sadao notice about the white man’s wound ? How did he stop its bleeding ?
Sadao noticed that it was a gun wound that had reopened. The man had been shot some days ago and had not been tended. Now a rock had struck the wound and it had started bleeding. Sadao took some sea moss lying on the beach. He packed the wound with it and thus stopped the bleeding.
What did Sadao and his wife want to do with the white man after he had stopped his bleeding ? Why ?
Japan was at war with America. Thus if Sadao and his wife sheltered the white man in their house, they would be arrested. But if they turned him over as a prisoner, he was sure to be killed. Therefore, they thought the best thing would be to put him back into the sea.
“The kindest thing would be to put him back into the sea.” Who says this and why ?
Sadao’s wife Hana says these words. They have all pity for the man but they can’t give him shelter in their house. They can be arrested for it. But if they turn him over as a prisoner, he is sure to be killed. So she thinks the kindest thing would be to put him back into the sea.
How did Sadao conclude that the white man was an American and a prisoner of war who had escaped ?
Sadao looked at the man’s battered cap. He could read the words ‘U.S. Navy’ on it. Thus it was clear that he was a sailor from an American warship. He had a gunshot in his back. It showed that he was a prisoner of war who had escaped.
Hana told Yumi to wash the soldier. How did Yumi react ?
Yumi refused to wash the soldier. She said that she had never washed a white man. And she said that she would not wash so dirty a man as he was.
How did Dr Sadao perform his duty as a patriotic Japanese ?
Dr Sadao’s duty as a patriotic Japanese demanded that he should inform the police about the presence of the enemy soldier in his house. Accordingly, he told the General everything about the enemy soldier to perform his duty as a patriotic Japanese.
Why did the servants leave Dr Sadao’s house ?
Dr Sadao had given an enemy soldier shelter in his house. None of his servants liked it. They looked upon all white Americans as their enemies. When they saw that Dr Sadao was not going to hand over the man to the police, they left his house.
Who was it that washed the wounded man before the operation ?
Yumi had refused to wash the white man. After she had gone, Hana herself started doing it. She washed his face and the upper part of his body. But she dared not turn him over. In the meantime, Sadao came in with his surgeon’s bag. With Hana’s help, he turned the man over and washed his back carefully.
In what context does Hana remember the cruel nature of General Takima ?
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In what context does Hana remember General Takima ? What does she infer ?
Hana remembered how cruelly the General used to beat his wife at home. Now a terrible image of this man rose in Hana’s mind. If a man could be so cruel to a woman in his power, how cruel he could be to the helpless prisoners of war !
Why did the General spare the American soldier ?
The General was in great pain and had to be operated on. In his own pain, he forgot all about the American soldier. So we can’t say that he spared the American soldier. He had only forgotten about him.
What showed that the white man had been tortured ? Who could have tortured him ?
There were deep red scars on the white man’s neck, just under the ear. It showed that he had been tortured. General Takima was a cruel person. He could have tortured this prisoner of war.
How did Sadao take the bullet out of the white man’s body ?
Sadao performed an operation. His wife helped him with anesthetic. While probing, Sadao felt the tip of his instrument strike against something hard. It was dangerously near the kidney. Then he probed with his fingers, and took the bullet out in the cleanest manner.
How did Hana feel on seeing the messenger in official uniform ? What had the messenger come for ?
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Why did the messenger come to Dr Sadao ? What did Hana think about it ?
Hana went pale with fear. She thought the man had come to arrest them. Her hands went weak and she could not draw her breath. But the messenger had come from the palace. He said that the old General was in pain and had sent for Sadao.
How did the old General offer to help Sadao in getting rid of the white man ?
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What secret plan did the General have about the American sailor staying under the care of Dr Sadao ?
The General said that he had his private assassins. He would send two of them any night. He said, “They are very capable assassins — they make no noise and they know the trick of inward bleeding. If you like, I can even have them remove the body.”
How did Dr Sadao ensure that the American sailor left his house but he himself remained safe and secure ?
The American’s stay at Dr Sadao’s house any longer could have proved very dangerous for the doctor himself. Therefore, he arranged for the American’s escape from his house. Dr Sadao had a boat of his own. One night, he put it on the shore. There was a little island not far from the coast. Nobody lived there. Dr Sadao asked the prisoner to row to that island and thus save himself.
How was the plan of the prisoner’s escape executed in the story, ‘The Enemy’ ?
Dr Sadao had a boat of his own. One night, he put it on the shore. He put in it some food and extra clothing. There was a little island not far from the coast. Nobody lived there. Dr Sadao asked the prisoner to row to that island and thus save himself.
What forced Dr Sadao to be impatient and irritated with his patient ?
The servants of the house had refused to work while an enemy was being kept hidden in the house. And then there was the danger of Sadao himself being arrested. That was why he became impatient and irritated with his patient.
Did hana think that the Japanese torture their prisoners of war ? Why ?
Yes, Hana did think that the Japanese tortured their poisoners of war. The American who was a fugitive prisoner of war had deep red scars on his neck. It showed he had been tortured brutally by the Japanese.
What happened on the seventh day after Dr Sadao had typed the letter ?
On the seventh day, Hana found that none of the servants had done their job. Hana paid them off with thanks. In the afternoon, a messenger came in official uniform. She thought he had come to arrest her husband. But actually he had come to take Sadao to the old General. He was in pain again.
How did Hana react when her servants decided to leave the house ?
When the servants came to know that their master was helping an enemy soldier, they protested and bluntly refused to do anything for him. When Yumi refused to wash a white man, Hana cried at her severely. She decided to stand by her husband and nursed the enemy soldier herself.
What opinion do you form of the character of the General ?
The General was a ruthless and self-absorbed person. He used to beat his wife mercilessly. He thought of nothing but his own life. Because he needed Dr Sadao for his own operation, he didn’t send him abroad with the troops.
What efforts did Dr. Sadao and Hana make to save the American soldier ?
Dr Sadao and his wife Hana took the wounded soldier into their house. Dr Sadao operated the soldier to take out the bullet from his body. Hana gave Dr Sadao all help in doing so. She washed the soldier herself and nursed him throughout his treatment.
Why was Dr. Sadao not arrested on the charge of harbouring an enemy ?
Dr Sadao did not want to give shelter to the enemy. He merely did his duty as a doctor. He told everything plainly to the old General who assured him that he would send his assassins to get rid of the American soldier. Dr Sadao had saved the life of the ailing General. Besides this, he was a patriot to the backbone. He was a renowned and respected citizen of his country. Therefore, the possibility of his arrest was very remote.
Dr. Sadao and servants were only partly loyal to their country. Comment.
Dr. Sadao had saved the life of an enemy considering it his duty as a doctor. However to save himself from the guilt of national disloyalty, he told the General about it. His servants refused to work when Sadao brought an enemy soldier to his house. But they remained loyal to their master and didn’t inform the police about it.
Sadao’s acceptance of the General’s plan to assassinate Tom was counterproductive to having put him on the path of recovery. Substantiate with reason/s.
As a doctor, Sadao had done the same as he had been trained. He didn’t let a man die if he could help it. So obviously if he had now accepted the General’s plan to kill the enemy Tom, it would really be counterproductive to saving his life and helping him in his recovery.
There are moments in life when we have to make hard choices between our roles as private individuals and as citizens with a sense of national loyalty. Discuss with reference to the story, ‘The Enemy’.
As private individuals, we have our own ideas. We have our own likes and dislikes. But as citizens of a state, we have a duty to be loyal and law-abiding. But sometimes a conflict arises in our mind. There is one thing we want to do as an individual. But our national loyalty demands from us quite the opposite. The choice becomes hard to make on such occasions. This is what happens with Sadao in the story, ‘The Enemy’. As a doctor, he has been trained not to let a man die if he can help it. A doctor is not supposed to kill a patient even if the patient happens to be his enemy. But as a loyal citizen of Japan, he must not give shelter to an enemy. He must hand him over to the police at once. All through the story, Sadao struggles with this conflict. He himself admits, “In fact, I do not know why I am doing it.”
Dr Sadao was compelled by his duty as a doctor to help the enemy soldier. What made Hana, his wife, sympathetic to him in the face of open defiance from the domestic staff ?
Dr Sadao had been trained as a doctor not to let a man die if he could help it. That is why he feels it his moral duty to help the wounded white man though he is an enemy. His wife is also no different from him. She has spent a good part of her life with her husband and loves him deeply. She knows the feelings of her husband and fully cooperates with him in whatever he does. She helps Sadao during the operation and even feeds the man with her own hands. Yet she hates him as an enemy. She hates the very touch of him. She wants him to be handed over to the police. She wants to get rid of him as soon as possible. But she is a soft-hearted woman. She sees the red scars on the man’s neck. She can understand that he has been tortured. She also knows that if he is handed over to the police, he is sure to be killed. Like her husband, she wants to get rid of the man but doesn’t know how.
How would you explain the reluctance of the soldier to leave the shelter of the doctor’s home even when he knew he couldn’t stay there without risk to the doctor and himself ?
The soldier was an American. He was a prisoner of war who had escaped. He had a gunshot in his back. As a doctor, Sadao felt it his duty to save the man’s life. But when he came to know that the white man was an American enemy, he wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible. Giving shelter to an enemy soldier could cost him dearly. However, he continued giving him proper treatment and at last the man was almost normal. He was deeply impressed by the way the doctor and his wife had nursed him. He knew his staying there could be a risk to the doctor and himself. Yet he was reluctant to leave the place. He said to Sadao, “If all the Japs were like you, there wouldn’t have been a war.” The soldier had become almost certain that the doctor would not hand him over to the police. So he seemed to have left it to the doctor to find a way of his escape from there.
What explains the attitude of the ruthless General in the matter of the enemy soldier ? Was it human consideration, lack of national loyalty, dereliction of duty or simply self-absorption ?
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What was the General’s plan to get rid of the American prisoner ? Was it executed ? What traits of the General’s character are highlighted in the story ‘The Enemy’ ?
The General was a ruthless person. He had private assassins to have anyone killed. He told Sadao that he would send two of them to get rid of the American soldier. But later he says that he forgot his promise. He does not think it was a lack of patriotism or dereliction of duty. Then what was it ? I think it was pure selfishness and self-absorption. The General thought of nothing but his own life. He needed Sadao for his operation and didn’t want any trouble should come to him. I don’t think he forgot his promise. He did not want to involve himself in the matter. That is why he says to Sadao, “If the matter should come to light, you would understand that.” In fact, he wanted Sadao to kill the soldier himself and have his body removed. He wanted Sadao to have the German ruthlessness in the case of the soldier but American sentimentality in his own case. He was surely a very self-absorbed person.
While hatred against a member of the enemy race is justifiable, especially during wartime, what makes a human being rise above narrow prejudices ?
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Individuals who belong to enemy countries tend to hate each other even if they do not know each other personally. At times, it is seen that some of them rise above such prejudices. What makes a human being do so ?
Love and hatred are there in almost every human heart. Hatred arises when we think of the harm that has been done to us. We hate an enemy because we think of the harm he can do to us. We would like to kill him out of revenge. We would like to kill him before he can kill us. Such an emotion of hatred is justifiable. But when our enemy is already wounded and at the point of death, our hatred loses all its sharpness. Then we tend to see him as a human being. A natural sympathy springs in our heart. We would like to nurse him and remove his pain. It is the divine sympathy in the human heart that comes alive at such a moment. It raises us above narrow prejudices. Then we begin to see man as a fellow human being, not as an enemy.
Do you think the doctor’s final solution to the problem was the best possible in the circumstances ?
In the very beginning of the story, Sadao agrees with Hana when she says, “The best thing that we could do would be to put him back into the sea.” But he finds that the man is badly wounded. He has a gunshot in his back. As a doctor, he has been trained not to let a man die if he can help it. And this is what he does. He takes the man into his house and does all he can to save his life. At the same time, he never forgets that he is an enemy. He wants to get rid of him as soon as possible. He thinks of handing him over to the police but can’t do so. He is certain that they would kill him. He is in a fix what to do. At last, he adopts a course that could be the best under the circumstances. He helps the man to escape in a boat. Thus he gets rid of him without having him killed. Dr Sadao rises above narrow prejudices and acts in a truly humanitarian manner.
How did Dr Sadao rise above narrow prejudices of race and country to help a human being in need ?
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Dr Sadao planned and helped the enemy soldier to escape. Comment.
Dr Sadao was a famous Japanese surgeon and scientist. One night, he found a wounded man on the seashore. The man was an American. At that time, Japan was at war with America. But the man was so badly wounded that he would certainly die without medical aid. As a doctor, Dr Sadao had been trained not to let a man die if he could help it. And this was what he did. He took the man into his house and did all he could to save his life. At the same time, he never forgot that the man was an enemy. He wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible. He thought of handing him over to the police but could not do so. He was certain that they would kill him. He was in a fix what to do. At last, he adopted a course that could be the best under the circumstances. He helped the man to escape in a boat. Thus he got rid of him without having him killed. In this way, Dr Sadao rose above narrow prejudices and acted in a truly humanitarian manner.
Why did Sadao help the American soldier to escape ? How did he do it ?
Dr Sadao was a famous Japanese surgeon and scientist. One night, he found a wounded man on the seashore. The man was an American. At that time, Japan was at war with America. But he was so badly wounded that he would certainly die without medical aid. As a doctor, Dr Sadao had been trained not to let a man die if he could help it. And this was what he did. He took the man into his house and did all he could to save his life. When the soldier became quite healthy, Dr Sadao didn’t want to hand him over to the police. He had done so much to save his life that he couldn’t let all his labour go vain. Therefore, he helped the man to get away with his boat. He also provided him some food and a flashlight.
Describe the difficulties faced by Dr Sadao when he decided to help the enemy soldier.
Dr Sadao had to face many difficulties as a result of his decision to help the enemy soldier. His maid Yumi refused to wash the soldier. She said that she had never washed a white man. Dr Sadao’s wife herself had to wash the soldier. The old gardener said the soldier was fated to die and they had no business to save him. When the servants saw that Dr Sadao was not going to hand over the man to the police, all of them left his house. Dr Sadao knew that by harbouring the white soldier, he had put himself in a grave danger. He could be arrested on the charge of harbouring an enemy. Fearing this, he told everything to the General. The General assured the doctor that he would send his private assassins to kill the soldier and Dr Sadao accepted this offer most unwillingly. He could not sleep for two nights. But when the assassins did not come, he helped the man to get away from there in a boat. In this way, the doctor saved the man’s life after facing many difficulties.
What impression do you form about Dr Sadao as a man and as a surgeon after reading the story, ‘The Enemy’ ?
Dr Sadao was a very noble human being. He was true to his duty. As a doctor, he had been trained not to let a man die if he could help it. Therefore, he performed an operation on the American who was a prisoner of war who had escaped. He saved the American’s life at the risk of his own life. But he was also a loyal citizen of Japan. Therefore, he told the General everything about the American. Since the General forgot all about the American, Dr Sadao himself helped the American to escape from his house. Dr Sadao was also a famous Japanese surgeon and scientist. He was the best surgeon of Japan. Therefore, he was not sent to the battlefield. The General told him, ‘‘Evidently, you can save anyone — you are so skilled.’’
Why did Sadao go to America ? Narrate his experience there.
When Sadao was twenty-two, he was sent to America to learn all he could of surgery and medicine. In America, Sadao lived at the house of an American professor. A few other foreign students also lived there. The rooms there were very small and the food also was no good. Moreover, the professor’s wife was very voluble. But Sadao continued to live there because here he met a Japanese girl named Hana whom he wanted to love if it were at all possible. The two fell in love but did not marry heedlessly in America. Sadao’s father would never have accepted her unless she had been pure in her race. After finishing their studies, they came back to Japan. When Sadao’s father saw Hana, he at once agreed to their marriage. The marriage was arranged in the old Japanese way.
Dr Sadao was a patriotic Japanese as well as a dedicated surgeon. How could he honour both the values ?
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To choose between professional loyalty and patriotism was a dilemma for Dr Sadao. How did he succeed in betraying neither ?
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Good human values are far above any other value system. How did Dr Sadao succeed as a doctor as well as a patriot ?
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How did Dr. Sadao resolve the conflict in his mind between his loyalty to his country and his duty as a doctor ?
Patriotism means devoted love for one’s country and the willingness to defend it against any harm. And a dedicated surgeon is one who does his best not to let a patient die on whom he performs an operation. On the face of it, there seems nothing very difficult to be patriotic as well as to be a dedicated surgeon. But when the surgeon has an enemy soldier as his patient, it is not easy to keep up the feelings of patriotism at the same time. That Dr Sadao honours both the values is no ordinary feat on his part. He knew that the wounded man he had found on the shore was an enemy soldier. But his duty as a surgeon demanded that he should not let the man die if he could help it. And this is what he did. He took the man into his house and did all he could to save his life. His duty as a patriot demanded that he should inform the police about the presence of the enemy soldier. Accordingly, he told the General everything about the enemy soldier. The General told the surgeon that he would send his private assassins to kill the soldier. Dr Sadao could not sleep for two nights. But when the assassins did not come, he helped the man to get away from there in a boat. Thus Dr Sadao honoured both the values of a patriot and of a dedicated surgeon.
Dr Sadao faced a dilemma : Should he use his surgical skills to save the life of a wounded person or hand an escaped American P.O.W. over to the Japanese police ? How did he resolve this clash of values ?
Dr Sadao is certainly faced with a clash of values. He has with him a wounded person, and it is his duty as a surgeon not to let the man die if he can help it. But at the same time, he knows that the wounded person is an enemy soldier and it becomes his duty to his country to hand the man over to the police. Thus there is a clear clash of values. As a surgeon, he is supposed to save the man, while, as a loyal citizen, he is supposed to have an enemy soldier arrested and punished. Dr Sadao succeeds in resolving this dilemma in a very graceful manner. He does his duty both as a surgeon and as a loyal citizen. He treats the wounded soldier and saves his life. But then he does his duty to his country also. He informs the General of the foreigner’s presence in his house. And when the General fails to do anything about it, the best way out was what Dr Sadao did. He helps the man escape in a boat.
The servants of Sadao and Hana reflect a particular mindset of the general public in society towards the thinking and broad-minded human beings. Elaborate with the help of the story, ‘The Enemy’.
Sadao was a famous surgeon and scientist. He was perfecting a wonderful discovery that could make wounds entirely clean. Hana was his faithful wife who always stood by her husband. They lived near the sea. One night, they were standing at their door. Suddenly, they saw a man who was flung out of the ocean. He was a white man and had been wounded by a gunshot. From his cap, they found that he was an American Pow. Sadao and Hana felt pity for him and took him into their house to treat him. But their servants were superstitious and refused to do anything with the man. They were against helping an American, their enemy. This mindset is usual with common people. But Sadao was full of milk of human kindness. He and his wife cared for the man and brought him out of the jaws of death. Nobility defeated the narrow-mindedness of the common people.
Dr Sadao is not only a competent surgeon but also a noble human being. Comment.
Dr Sadao was a famous Japanese surgeon and scientist. He was the best surgeon of Japan. Therefore, he was not sent to the battlefield. The General once had told him, ‘‘Evidently, you can save anyone — you are so skilled.’’ Dr Sadao was also a very noble human being. He was true to his duty. As a doctor, he had been trained not to let a man die if he could help it. Therefore, he performed an operation on the American who was a prisoner of war who had escaped. He saved the American’s life at the risk of his own life. But he was also a loyal citizen of Japan. Therefore, he told the General everything about the American. Since the General forgot all about the American, Dr Sadao himself helped the American to escape from his house. Dr Sadao didn’t want to hand him over to the police. He had done so much to save his life that now he couldn’t let all his labour go vain. Therefore, he helped the man to get away with his boat. In this way, Dr Sadao rose above narrow prejudices and acted in a truly humanitarian manner. Really he is not only a competent surgeon but also a noble human being.
‘The Enemy’ portrays the victory of humanity in a moment of crisis. Illustrate this fact through the actions taken by Dr Sadao for the enemy soldier.
Dr Sadao was a very noble person. As a doctor, he had been trained to save a man’s life at any cost, if he could. He had with him a wounded person to treat. He knew that the wounded person was an enemy soldier and it was his duty to hand the man over to the police. There was a clear clash of values. As a surgeon, it was his moral duty to save the man, while, as a loyal citizen, he was supposed to have the enemy soldier arrested and punished. He, however, succeeded in getting over this crisis or dilemma in a very graceful manner. He treated the wounded soldier and saved him. But then he did his duty towards his country also. He informed the General Takima of the enemy soldier’s presence in his house. When the General failed to do anything about it, Dr Sadao helped the man escape in a boat. Thus the story well portrays the victory of humanity in a moment of crisis.
