The Enemy

By- Pearl S. Buck

The author advocates universal brotherhood and highlights that service to the wounded is the best service
to humanity. The story underlines the message that doctors have no nationality. They must rise above all
petty issues like Sadao did and make all possible efforts to save human life.
SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
1. Why did the author say that Dr. Sadao was also famous as a scientist?
Dr. Sadao was also famous as a scientist because he had perfected a discovery which could render
wounds entirely clean.
2. Why was Dr. Sadao not sent abroad with the troops?
He was not sent abroad for two reasons. He had perfected a discovery which would render wounds
entirely clean. Moreover, the General was in some sort of danger and might have needed an operation and
Dr. Sadao was the most skilled doctor available.
3. How did Hana come into the life of Sadao?
Sadao had met Hana at his professor’s house in America. She had also gone there to study. He had liked
her but they had both fallen in love with each other after making sure that they belonged to the same
background and that they were ‘pure’ Japanese. Sadao married her with the approval of his father.
4. Who was the person they saw while standing in the verandah? What had happened to him?
Sadao and his wife were standing in the verandah when they saw a man who had been flung up out of the
ocean by a wave. At first, they thought him to be a fisherman but on looking closely they realised that it
was a white man with. long yellow hair. His young face had a rough yellow beard. He was an American
prisoner of war who had escaped. He was injured badly, was unconscious and was bleeding profusely.
5. What did the doctor do on seeing him in the dreadful state?
Sadao tried to staunch the fearful bleeding. He packed the wound with the sea moss that was lying
nearby on the beach. After seeing the miserable condition of the injured man, he in consultation with his
wife decided to take him home.
6. What was the dilemma for them?
The dilemma they faced was that if they sheltered the white man, they would be arrested and if they
turned him over as a prisoner he would certainly die. He had lost a lot of blood due to a bullet injury. He
required immediate surgery. The man belonged to the enemy’s army and they were contemplating
whether to save him.
7. How did they come to know him as an American?
They examined his battered cap closely and realized that he was a sailor from an American warship. The
words `U.S Navy’ was written on the cap in almost faint lettering. They realized that he was an escaped
prisoner of war.
8. Why did they not put him back into the sea?
They were not able to bring themselves to drop him back into the sea because of their compassionate and
humane nature. Moreover, Sadao, being a doctor himself knew how to save lives and thought it unethical
to let the soldier die if he could prevent it.
9. Why were they afraid of taking him to their house?
Dr. Sadao and his wife Hana were afraid of taking him to their house because of the servants who would
refuse to work for them for the fear of getting into trouble themselves. They were afraid of harbouring a
prisoner of war and knew that the servants would talk.
10. How did Yumi react when Hana asked her to obey the command of her master?
Yumi had refused to wash the white man saying that she had never done such a thing before and would
not do it now especially for this man who was so dirty. But when Hana asked her to obey the master,
there was a fierce look of resistance upon her face. She said she would have nothing to do with him and
that it was not her business to clean him.
11. Why did Hana remember such men as General Takima?
Hana was looking at the recovering young soldier when she remembered General Takima whose triumphs
on the battlefield were not worth remembering in comparison to the cruel treatment he gave to his wife. If
a man like the General could be cruel to his wife, he would be very harsh to an escaped soldier like this
American.
12. What did Dr Sadao say when the soldier asked him what he was going to do with him?
Dr. Sadao answered by confessing that he himself didn’t know what he would do with him. He thought
perhaps he would hand him over to the police as he was a prisoner of war.
13. Why were, according to the servants, Dr Sadao and his wife saving the American?
The cook of Dr Sadao declared that the young master was so proud of his skill as a doctor that he would
save any life. Yumi even told Hana that they would not stay if they would continue to hide the man. She
accused Sadao and Hana of having a soft corner for Americans after staying in America and having
forgotten to think their own country first.
14. What did the gardener say about his master?
The gardener who had worked with flowers in Sadao’s house all his life said that the old master’s son
knew very well what he ought to do. He said that the master shouldn’t have saved the enemy but let him
bleed when the young man was so near death.
15. What did the cook say about his master?
The cook said with some contempt that the young master was so proud of his skill to save lives that he
saves any life even if it was an enemy in this case.
16. What did the letter of Dr. Sadao mean?
Dr. Sadao had led the prisoner on the road to recovery. One day he went to his office and typed a letter to
the chief of police reporting the whole matter. He just mentioned that he had found the escaped prisoner
in front of his house on the 21st of February. He could not bring himself to complete this confession and
so, left it in his drawer. He was a law-abiding citizen.
17. What happened on the seventh day after Dr Sadao had typed the letter?
Two things happened on the day the letter was typed. The cook, the gardener and Yumi had packed up
their belongings and left together. Though the servants cried, Hana put up a brave front. The second thing
that happened was the arrival of a messenger to tell Sadao that he had been called to the palace as the
general was in pain again.
18. How did Hana feel when she saw a messenger in official uniform?
Her hands went weak and she could not draw her breath. She thought the servants had already told the
police about the young prisoner they were harbouring. She ran to Sadao gasping and unable to utter a
word. They were relieved to know that the messenger had come to deliver a message from the general.
19. Why was the general not in favour of Sadao’s arrest?
Sadao’s skill at operating on the prisoner with success, made the general believe only more firmly that he
was indispensable to him. He did not want to have him arrested because Sadao was the only person who
could save him if he had another of his attacks and required an operation.
20. What were the two foreign elements the general wanted Dr Sadao to combine?
The general wanted Dr Sadao to combine the German ruthlessness with the American sentimentality.
Then only he would be able to turn over the prisoner for execution and yet not murder the general while
he was being operated. His unusual sense of humour made him say this to Sadao.
21. What did the general suggest to get rid of the American?
The general suggested that the prisoner could be quietly killed by his own private assassins. He would
send two of them to Sadao’s house and all he had to do was to leave the outer partition of the white
man’s room open while he was sleeping. He even offered to have the body removed quietly.
22. Did the plan to kill the American succeed? Why or why not?
For three consecutive nights, Sadao kept awake, feeling a little disturbed but all the three nights no
assassins came and the young prisoner was still there. Later the general confessed to Sadao that he had
forgotten his promise of having the prisoner killed because he was preoccupied with his own sufferings.
The plan did not succeed.
23. Did Dr Sadao take Hana into confidence in the matter of the plan? Why or why not?
Dr. Sadao did not tell Hana about the plan of the General to send his private assassins to kill the young
prisoner and dispose of his body. He did this because he knew she was timid and would feel very
frightened while the plan was being executed.
24. What did Sadao do to get rid of the American soldier?
Sadao decided to help the American soldier to escape to safety. He told him to go to an island nearby and
wait for a Korean fishing boat to pass by. He even gave him a boat, some food and bottled water. He kept
two quilts for him and gave him clear instructions so that this plan would not fail.
25. What measures did Sadao take for the safety of the American?
He gave the American a stout boat, put food, bottled water and two quilts in it. He returned to the
prisoner’s room, checked his temperature, the condition of his wound, his heart and his pulse. He decided
to even give him his flashlight after a bit of hesitation. He told him how to catch fish and then use the
flashlight to signal to him if he needed food etc.
26. Why was Sadao not able to ask the General about the assassins?
Sadao did not ask the General about the assassins because he knew that they had never come. He had
operated upon the General and had not been sure if he would live. But the General himself confessed that
he was so pre-occupied with his own health that he had forgotten his promise to have the prisoner killed
by assassins.
27. How did the American behave while departing?
The young man first tried to understand all the instructions given to him by Sadao and then dressed in the
Japanese clothes Sadao had given him, he shook his hand warmly and left for the island from which he
had to escape.
28. The General wanted to reward Sadao. But Sadao had another reward. What was that
reward?
The General had wanted to reward Sadao for his loyalty but at the same time, Sadao knew that he had
the general in the palm of his hand, for the latter too, had shown dereliction of duty. Sadao was rewarded
in a different way by destiny. His prisoner was able to escape to safety on the very first night. All his
efforts had borne fruit.
29. How does the writer indicate that Dr Sadao’s father was a very traditional and conventional
man?
Even though Sadao’s father had sent his son to America at the age of twenty-two to learn all that could be
learned in surgery and medicine, he loved the Japanese race, customs and manners. Sadao married Hana
only after confirming that she was a Japanese, as his father would not have received her unless she had
been pure in her race.
30. Hana told Yumi to wash the soldier. How did Yumi react? What did Hana do?
Hana told Yumi to fetch hot water. Yumi put down the wooden bucket but refused to wash the dirty white
man. Yumi said that she had never washed a white man and she would not wash a dirty one. Yumi added
that she was a poor person and did not want to associate with the man. The fierce look of resistance upon
Yumi’s dull face made Hana afraid. Under these circumstances, Hana had no option but to wash the white
man herself.
31. How did Hana wash the wounded man?
First, Hana untied the knotted rugs that kept the young American covered. She dipped a small clean towel
into the steaming hot water and washed his face. She continued washing him until the upper body was
clean. She cleaned him but refrained from turning him over for fear of the wound.
32. What did Sadao learn about the white man’s wound?
The young prisoner of war was unconscious. There was a gun-wound that had been reopened on the right
side of his lower back. The flesh was blackened with powder. The man had been shot recently and in his
attempt to escape, a rock had struck the wound and reopened it. Later Sadao felt the bullet in the wound.
The bleeding was not superficial and the young man had a lot a lot of blood. The bullet was near the
kidney.
33. What forced Dr Sadao to be impatient and irritable with his patient?
Hana had never seen an operation and went outside to throw up. Sado heard Hana retching in the garden
and said that it would be better for her to empty her stomach. Her distress and his inability to go to her at
once made him impatient and irritable with the American prisoner of war.
34. How did Hana help Sadao during the operation?
As the young American began to stir he had to be administered the anaesthetic. She took the bottle and
some cotton in her hand. Sadao instructed her to saturate the cotton with anaesthetic and hold it near the
man’s nostrils. She had to move it away a little when he breathed badly.
35. What did Sadao’s old American professor of Anatomy tell him?
Sadao’s old American professor of Anatomy told his students that ignorance of the human body was the
surgeon’s cardinal sin. He would impress upon them to have as complete knowledge of the body as if they
had made it. To operate with anything less than that meant murder.
36. Why does Sadao wonder why he could not kill the young enemy?
Sadao found it strange that he had spared his enemy. The Americans were full of prejudice and he found
it bitter to live there. The white people were repulsive even in their kindness. Yet he had operated upon
the enemy and let him escape. As a trained medical practitioner, Sadao had risen above narrow prejudices
to save the enemy’s life.
37. Did Hana think that the Japanese tortured their prisoners of war? Why?
Hana had heard rumours that the Japanese torture the prisoners of war. She also remembered that
people like General Takima often beat their wives. She was convinced that if these people could beat their
wives and be cruel to them, then they would certainly torture their enemies. This became evident when
she saw scars on the body of the American soldier.
38. Why had Hana to wash the wounded man herself?
Hana had ordered her maid Yumi to wash the American soldier. But Yumi bluntly refused to do so and said
that she had nothing to do with a white man. She even threatened to leave the job if forced to wash the
American. So Hana had to wash the wounded man herself.
39. What help did Dr Sadao seek from Hana while operating on the wounded man?
Dr Sadao needed the assistance of Hana while operating. The wound was so deep that the man was to be
given anaesthesia. Dr Sadao asked Hana to help him by giving anaesthesia to the man during the
operation. Though Hana had never done this before even then she managed to help Dr Sadao in his
operation.
40. How nearly had Dr Sadao missed marrying Hans?
Dr Sadao met Hana at a party at Professor Harley’s house in America. The Professor and his wife had
invited their foreign students home. Students used to get bored there. Dr Sadao was not in a mood to go
to the Professor’s house that night because the rooms were very small and the food was very bad.
Moreover, Professor’s wife was voluble. But he had gone and there he met Hana. Had he not gone to the
Professor’s house that night, he would have missed the meeting and finally marrying Hana.
41. What made a cool surgeon like Dr Sadao speak sharply to his wife and what was her
reaction?
When Dr Sadao asked his wife to help him in operating the man by giving him an anaesthetic, Hana
turned pale out of nervousness. She had never seen an operation before. When Dr Sadao saw her he
sharply said, ‘Don’t faint’. It was his dedication to his work as a surgeon. He wanted to save the life of the
man and at this point of time, the only concern in his mind was the success of the operation. Hana knew
him well so didn’t react rather got ready to give an anaesthetic to the patient.
42. In what context Hana remembers the cruel nature of General Takima?
While Hana was helping Dr Sadao in operating upon the American, she noticed a red scar. She wondered if
this man had been tortured by the Japanese army. She also remembered that people like General Takima
beat their wives and were cruel to them. She was convinced that if these people were cruel to their wives,
they would certainly be cruel to their enemies.
43. What solution did Hana offer to resolve Dr Sadao’s predicament?
When Dr Sadao and Hana saw the wounded American soldier, at first they thought of throwing him back
into the sea. But they could not do so. Finally, Hana resolved the problem by saying that they should carry
him into the house. She suggested that the man should be treated and then given to the poke.
44. How did Hana react when she saw a messenger at the door in official uniform?
Hana got nervous and scared when she saw a messenger at the door in official uniform. Her hands went
weak and she could not draw her breath. She thought that the servants must have told about the
American man and the man had come to arrest Dr Sadao.
45. Why did the General not order immediate arrest of Dr Sadao who had sheltered a white
man?
The General was very worried about his own health as he was suffering a lot. He desperately wanted Dr
Sadao beside him and trusted only him for his medical treatment. If Dr Sadao was arrested, then Et there
was no one else who could have operated upon him and saved his life. So he didn’t order for the
immediate arrest of Dr Sadao.
46. Why did Dr Sadao treat the American soldier even though it was an unpatriotic act on his
part?
Dr Sadao was an expert Surgeon. He was devoted to his work. When he saw the wounded soldier, his
professional ethics compelled him to give the man medical treatment and save his life. Though he was a
loyal and patriotic citizen, humanity and compassion are the supreme emotions which compelled Dr Sadao
to treat the American soldier.
47. In what conditions did Dr Sadao find the American soldier at the seashore?
When Dr Sadao saw the man at the seashore, he was unconscious and bleeding profusely. He was in wet
rags, had yellow, long hair which was not cut for many weeks and sported a rough yellow beard.
48. What role did the American professor play in bringing Hana and Dr Sadao together?
It was at the American professor’s house that Dr Sadao met Hana for the first time. The professor and his
wife, in order to show their kindness to the foreign students, had called them to their house. Though Dr
Sadao didn’t want to go there, he went and there he met Hana who was a first-year student.
49. Who did Dr Sadao think the survivor from the sea was when he first saw him?
When Dr Sadao saw the man on the seashore, he thought him to be a fisherman from a nearby village
who had been washed from his boat. There were fishing villages, a mile or two away on either side.
50. Why did Dr Sadao seek Hana’s help to treat the US soldier?
The US Soldier was badly wounded. He had a deep wound which was to be operated immediately. Dr
Sadao needed some assistance at the time of operation. The most important task was to give anaesthesia
to the patient at the time of operation so as to stop his movement. Dr Sadao could not call anyone from
outside as he had to keep the presence of the US Soldier in his house a secret. So he asked Hana to help
him during the operation and give anaesthesia to the patient.
51. On the seventh day, after the American soldier was found by Dr Sadao two things
happened. Why did Hana feel scared of the second?
The second thing that happened on the seventh day was that a messenger came in official uniform to call
on Dr Sadao. When Hana saw the official, she got scared. She thought that the servants might have
complained to the police about the white man and so the officers had come to arrest Dr Sadao.
52. Give two reasons why Dr. Sadao was not sent abroad with the Japanse soldiers.
The General was very ill and he was being treated by Dr Sadao. He needed an operation and for that, he
trusted only Dr Sadao. Moreover, Dr Sadao was doing research to render ‘the wounds entirely clean’. That
is why he was not sent abroad with the Japanese soldiers.
53. Give a character sketch of Dr Sadao’s father.
Dr Sadao’s father was a traditional man. He was a serious and stern man and a very concerned father. He
never played with Dr Sadao but had been very keen on providing the best to him. He was mainly
concerned about Dr Sadao’s education, that is why he sent Dr Sadao to America to study. But at the same
time, he wanted him to come back to his country and serve his people. He had great respect for his
culture and traditions.
54. How did the General offer to help Dr Sadao in getting rid of the American?
The General offered to send his private assassins to help Dr Sadao in getting rid of the American. These
assassins would kill the white man noiselessly and also dispose of his body.
55. What was the dilemma faced by Dr Sadao and Hana after encountering the injured
American soldier?
When Hana and Dr Sadao saw the American soldier, they were in a dilemma. They were very loyal to their
country and didn’t want to save the enemy. They wanted to hand him over to the police. gut the man was
wounded and in a pitiable state. Thus, the doctor inside Dr Sadao urged him to save his life. Humanity
rose above patriotism and they thought of first treating him and then handing him over to the police.
56. Why does the General not want to be treated by doctors trained in Germany?
The General trusted Dr Sadao deeply. He didn’t want to be operated upon by anyone other than Dr Sadao.
The General believed that Germans were ruthless and quite cruel. So he was afraid of being operated
upon by them. He believed that the Americans valued life and had sentiments attached to it. So he
wanted to be treated by Dr Sadao who was trained in America.
ESSAY TYPE QUESTIONS
1. Dr. Sadao’s character is an amalgamation of right and wrong. Discuss.
‘The Enemy’, by Pearl S. Buck portrays the character of an American trained Japanese surgeon, Dr Sadao
Hold. Through his character, the author has shown a conflict of ethics between duty towards the country
and compassion towards mankind.
Dr Sadao, being a skilled surgeon saved the life of an escaped American prisoners duty war who was
wounded seriously and had been washed ashore. Torn between his integrity as a doctor, he chooses to
save his life first and then hand him over to the police. His inner conflict and professional ethics makes
him choose the first option. His servants too, desert him for fear of getting into trouble. He is fully aware
of the fact that harbouring a prisoner of war would endanger his own life as well.
Dr Sadao had been a victim of racial prejudice during his stay in America. He was well-known for his skill
as a surgeon, in his own country so much so, that he had not been sent with the troops during the war.
His character, as the story unfolds, depicts an amalgamation of right and wrong. He ignores the ‘wrong’
but assumes the role of a compassionate human being and takes the ‘right’ decision of saving the soldier’s
life. All through his effort; he has the undaunted support of his wife Hana.
The General gave him assurance to get rid of the prisoner but forgot his promise. Eventually, Sadao helps
him to escape. He goes to the extent of calling him ‘my friend’. He rose above narrow prejudices and
political enmity, disregarded the lurking dangers and open defiance of his loyal servants to help the
‘enemy’ escape. He has transcended racial/ political hatred and had heard the voice of his conscience.
2. While hatred against a member of the enemy race is justifiable, especially during wartime,
what makes a human being rise above narrow prejudices?
‘The Enemy’ by Pearl S. Buck raises a few important issues. Call of duty towards nation versus call of duty
towards one’s profession is the major issue in the story. Dr Sadao rescued a wounded prisoner of war who
was washed ashore. The prisoner, in a dying state, according to his call of duty, should have been handed
over to the police yet his profession and his humanitarianism prevented him from doing so. He resolved to
treat him first and then hand him over. However, the patient needed immediate surgery and despite all
odds against him, Dr Sadao went ahead and operated upon him, thus saving his life yet being a traitor to
his own country.
His domestic servants deserted him out of fear but he rose above narrow prejudices to save the wounded
American soldier. Not only that, he helped the soldier to escape to freedom after having nurtured him to
good health. He proved, in the end, that emotions, prejudices and hatred are man-made but love,
compassion for human beings was instinctive. One needs to do one’s duty towards fellow human beings
before anything else.
3. What did Dr Sadao do to get rid of his enemy?
Sadao’s first reaction on seeing the young wounded prisoner of war was to search for the wound and pack
it with sea moss. He then told Hana that the best thing that they could do was to put him back in the sea.
But since he was wounded, Sadao felt they could do was to put him back in the sea. But since he was
wounded, Sadao felt they should not throw him back to the sea. He operated on the man successfully.
During his meeting with the General, Dr Sadao told him about the prisoner of war. The General promised
to send his private assassins to kill the man silently and would even remove the body. Sadao had left the
outer partition of the white man’s room open. He waited for three nights and then Sadao grew restless.
He devised the plan of letting the man escape to the nearest uninhabited island. He first made sure that
the young man, Tom, was completely healed. He offered to put his boat on the shore that night. It would
have food and extra clothing in it. Tom might be able to row to the island not far from the coast. He could
live there till he saw a Korean fishing boat pass by. The island was not fortified. He gave the man his
flashlight. He helped the enemy escape from Japan and also got rid of him.
4. Good human values are far above any other value system. How did Dr Sadao succeed as a
doctor as well as a patriot?
Fate put Sadao in a trying situation—to uphold his duty to his country or prove his professional loyalty.
With his intelligence and dedication, he managed to prove that he could uphold both. Dr Sadao had given
a new lease of life to the American prisoner of war. He didn’t want to throw him into the jaws of death
again. He asked the young soldier to take his private boat at night. He should row in the cover of darkness
to a little-deserted island nearby. The young American could live there until he saw a Korean fishing boat
pass by. Food, bottled water and two quilts were put inside the boat. If the food ran out, he could signal
two flashes.
He had apprised the General of his harbouring the enemy at his home. The General chose to overlook it.
But we shouldn’t forget that Sadao was a doctor. And for a doctor saving a dying man is the foremost
priority. It doesn’t matter if the dying man is an enemy.
5. To choose between professional loyalty and patriotism was a dilemma for Dr Sadao. How did
he succeed in betraying neither?
Fate put Sadao in a trying situation- to uphold his duty to his country or prove his professional loyalty.
With his intelligence and dedication, he managed to prove that he could upload both. Dr Sadao had given
a new lease of life to the American prisoner of war. He didn’t want to throw him into the jaws of death
again. He asked the young soldier to take his private boat at night. He should row in the cover of darkness
to a little-deserted island nearby. The young American could live there until he saw a Korean fishing boat
pass by. Food, bottled water and two quilts were put inside the boat. Moreover, if the food ran out, he
could signal two flashes.
He had apprised the General of his harbouring the enemy at his home. The general chose to overlook it
but we shouldn’t forget that Sadao was a doctor. And for a doctor saving a dying man is the foremost
priority. It doesn’t matter if the dying man is an enemy.
6. Why did Dr Sadao Hoki go to America? Narrate his experience there.
Dr Sadao Hold was a skilled surgeon and a scientist who was working on his discovery to ‘render the
wounds clean’. Dr Sadao was brought up by his father who was a staunch Japanese. His chief concern was
Dr Sadao’s education. He was sent to America at the age of twenty-two to learn all that could be learnt of
surgery and medicine. He returned at the age of thirty and by that time had become famous not only as a
surgeon but also as a scientist. Dr Sadao had a tough time adjusting at America as he remembered that
Americans were full of prejudice. It had been bitter for him to live there. He had an ignorant and dirty old
woman as his landlady. The best thing at America was to meet Hana, his wife at one of his professor’s
house who was a dull man and his wife a silly talkative woman. Her experience at America had not been
so good as he had to adjust a lot there being a Japanese.
7. What impression do you form about Dr. Sadao as a man and a surgeon on your reading the
chapter `The Enemy’?
Dr Sadao was a skilled surgeon and a famous scientist. His excellence in his professional field was evident
from the fact that the General had full faith in him as regards his health. Dr Sadao was devoted to his
work and to the cause of the needy. When he saw the American soldier in a wounded condition, he was
torn between the natural human instinct to save his life and treat him or as a patriot hand him over to the
police.
Dr Sadao saved the life of the man as per his professional ethics as he could not leave a person to die. It
was his duty to save the life of a person as a doctor. At this point of time, when Dr Sadao saw this dying
man, his spirit of humanity surpassed everything else and so he saved one life irrespective of any colour,
caste or creed.
8. Do you think Dr Sadao’s final decision was the best possible one in the circumstances?
Why/Why not? Explain with reference to the story, ‘The Enemy’.
Dr Sadao had saved the life of an American war prisoner as his professional and humanitarian duty. But
he was very loyal to his country too. He told the General about the white man and the Genera; promised
to send his private assassins to kill him. But due to his self-absorption in his illness, the General forget to
send them. Thus, finally, Dr Sadao decided to help the American soldier escape from there. He gave him a
boat, flashlight, food and water and asked him to go to a nearby unguarded island. He could look for a
Korean boat and escape.
This could be the best solution in the prevailing circumstances. Dr Sadao was in danger of being caught
for harbouring a POW. In that case, he would be questioned for the reason to give this enemy a shelter in
his house. So in order to save his reputation and the life of the white man, there could be no better way
than what Dr Sadao had decided.
9. Explain the reaction of the servants in Dr Sadao’s house when he decided to give shelter to
an enemy in the house.
The servants didn’t like the idea of giving shelter to an enemy in the house. Yumi, the governess of the
children, stubbornly refused to wash the white man and threatened to leave the job if she was forced.
When Dr Sadao told his gardener about the wounded white man, he got upset and even frightened. He
opposed Dr Sadao for treating his enemy. In fact, all the servants in the house were critical of Dr Sadao’s
sheltering the enemy. They refused to help him. They were superstitious and fearful of the wrath of
nature. They tried their level best to send the white man away. Finally, when Dr Sadao didn’t listen to
them and decided to give shelter to the white man in his house, they left the house.
10. What conflicting ideas arise in Dr Sadao’s mind after he has brought the wounded American
soldier home? How is the conflict resolved?
When Dr Sadao brought the wounded American soldier home, he was wondering whether what he was
doing was right. The conflict was between his duty as a doctor and as a loyal citizen. As a doctor, it was
his professional ethics to help and save a dying man. But as a patriot and a loyal citizen of his country, he
was supposed to hand over this man to the police as he was a POW, an enemy. The moment Dr Sadao felt
his wound and found that the man needed to be operated upon immediately, he forgot about everything
else and his humanitarian virtues to save a man’s life as a doctor superseded and he operated the man
and saved his life.
11. How did Dr. Sadao help the American POW to escape? What humanitarian values do you
find in his act?
Dr Sadao gave the American prisoner of war a boat, a flashlight, food and water. He told him to go to a
nearby unguarded island. He should stay there till a Korean boat passed by and the escaped taking refuge
in it. He dressed him in Japanese clothes and wrapped a black cloth on his head. He asked him to signal
him two flashes at the same instant the sun drops over the horizon. He asked him to signal him once if he
was all right till the time he escaped in a Korean boat. He helped the American soldier to escape and save
his life.
This act of Dr Sadao was an act of humanism and compassion. As a doctor, he had saved the life of a man
irrespective of any prejudice.Dr. Sadao had displayed himself as a man, full of compassion and humanity
by this act.
12. Dr Sadao was a patriotic Japanese as well as a dedicated surgeon. How could he honour
both the values?
No doubt, Dr Sadao was a patriotic Japanese as well as a dedicated surgeon. He had honoured both the
values excellently. As a surgeon, his duty was torn save the life of a man irrespective of caste, colour or
creed. For a doctor, his patient is beyond any prejudice. When Dr Sadao saw the white man, he realised
that the man would die if he was not immediately operated upon. So he took the man to his house and
treated him and saved his life. That was his duty as a dedicated surgeon. Dr Sadao was a loyal citizen of
Japan and was a true patriot. So when he went to the General, he told him everything and sought his
help. Dr Sadao had no pity for the white man and considered him his enemy. The General assured to send
his assassins but forgot. So in the end, Dr Sadao had to help the prisoner of war to escape from there.
13. Dr Sadao used his skills as a doctor not only to keep the prisoner alive but also to safeguard
himself. Discuss.
Dr Sadao was an expert surgeon. He saved the life of the enemy by operating upon him. But he was in
danger of being caught as a traitor for sheltering an enemy. Very intelligently, he used his skills as a
doctor to protect himself. He knew very well that the General relied on him for his health and would never
let him have any harm. So he told the General everything and got an assurance from him to get rid of the
white man. But when General forgot to do so, Dr Sadao helped the white man to escape. Knowing that
General would never take any action against him he told him that the man had escaped. It was only due
to his professional skills as a doctor that he could save himself.
14. At what point did Dr Sadao decide that it was time to get the enemy out of his house?
The General had assured Dr Sadao of sending his assassins to kill the white man. Dr Sadao waited for
three nights for those assassins but they didn’t come. Every night was full of stress and anxiety for him.
Hana was overburdened with the household work as all the servants had left. They were in constant
danger of being caught for giving shelter to an American. At this point of time, Dr Sadao decided that it
was time to get the enemy out of his house. He decided to arrange for an escape of the white man in
order to save himself. So he arranged a boat, extra clothing, food and water. He gave a flashlight to the
American and asked him to go to a nearby unguarded island and from there wait for a Korean fishing boat
and escape.