THE ENEMY

Q1. 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.

Q2. 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.

Q3. 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 and rough beard. He was an American prisoner of war who had escaped. He
was injured badly and was bleeding profusely.

Q4. What did the doctor do on seeing him in the dreadful state?

Dr. Sadao tried to stop 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 decided to take him home.

Q5. What was the dilemma for Dr. Sadao and his wife?

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.

Q6. 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.

Q7. 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
human 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.

Q8. 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.
Q9. 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 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 attacks and required an operation.

Q10. 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
them to Sadao’s house and all he had to do was to leave the white man’s room open while he was sleeping. He
even offered to have the body removed quietly.

Q11. 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.

Q12. 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 to learn surgery and medicine, he loved the Japanese
culture and manners. Sadao married Hana only after confirming that she was Japanese as his father would not
accept her as her daughter in law unless she had been pure in her race.

Q13. Why does Sadao wonder why he could not kill the young enemy?

Sadao found it strange that he could not kill 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.

Q14. In what condition did Dr Sadao find the American soldier at the seashore?

The American soldier was badly wounded. On the right side of his lower back Sadao saw that a gun wound had
been reopened. If immediate treatment was not given to the man he would certainly die.

Q15. Why did Dr. Sadao treat the American soldier even though it was an unpatriotic act on his part?

As a doctor Sadao was trained that he should never let a person die before him. Thus it was nothing unpatriotic
on part of Dr Sadao. He even told the old General about the soldier. Dr. Sadao only performed his duty and
saved the life of a human being not an American.

Q16. Why had Hana to wash the wounded man her-self?

Hana asked the governess, Yumi to help her to wash the man. But Yumi refused saying she had never washed
a white man and would never wash one. Moreover that man was their enemy. Therefore Hana had to wash the
man herself.
Q17. Why did the servants leave Dr. Sadao’s house?

Dr. Sadao had given shelter to an enemy soldier. According to the servants, it was an unpatriotic act. They
looked upon the Americans as their enemies since Japan and America were at war. When they found that
Sadao had decided to treat him, they decided to leave his house.

Q18. Why was Dr Sadao not sent to the battlefield?

Dr Sadao was a famous surgeon and scientist of Japan. He was perfecting a discovery to make the wounds
completely clean. Besides, he was treating the old General. The General might need an operation any time.
Therefore, Dr. Sadao was not sent to the battlefield.

Q19. How did Dr. Sadao get rid of the enemy soldier and help him to escape?

Dr. Sadao had saved the man with great efforts. He didn’t want him to hand over to the police and get him killed.
Therefore he decided to help the man get away in his boat. He loaded his boat with sufficient provisions. He
asked the man to row the boat to a nearby island.

Q20. Why do you think that the General spare the American soldier?

The old General was very selfish. He knew if the matter about the enemy soldier had come to light, Dr. Sadao
would come to a great trouble. He might be arrested. The General did not want it happen. He needed Sadao for
his treatment.

LONG ANSWERS

Q1. To choose between professional loyalty and patriotism was a dilemma for Dr. Sadao. How did he
succeed in betraying neither?

As a doctor, Sadao was taught that he should never let a person die. One evening he found a badly injured
enemy soldier on the sea beach near his house. The man could die if not given immediate medical aid. Now, Dr
Sadao decided to perform an opertation to save his enemy. He tended him well and took great care of him.

In this way Dr. Sadao was able to maintain his professional loyalty. But Dr. Sadao was a patriotic man. He knew
it was an act of treason to shelter an enemy soldier. Therefore, he wrote a letter to the authorities about it and
put it in his drawer. He even told the old General everything about the enemy soldier. It is other thing that the
General did not take any action against the enemy soldier. But Dr. Sadao was able to maintain a perfect
balance between his professional loyalty and patriotism.

Q2. Explain the reaction of the servants in Sadao’s house when he decided to give shelter to an enemy.

The servants in Dr. Sadao’s house did not like the idea of giving shelter to an enemy soldier. Yumi, the nurse of
the doctor’s child refused to wash the white man. She said that she would never wash a white man. The old
gardener was a superstitious man. He said that there was no business in saving the man.

The gardener told Hana that the white man need not to be saved. First he had been shot. Then the sea had
caught him. But when they found that Dr. Sadao was not going to hand over the man to the authorities, they
decided to leave his house.
Q3. Why did Sadao help the American soldier to escape? How did he do it?

After saving the life of the American soldier Dr. Sadao could not hand him over to the police. If he did this his
whole purpose of saving a dying man would be defeated. So, Dr. Sadao decided to help the soldier to escape.
He made all arrangements for the soldier’s safe escape. He loaded his own boat with all necessary things. He
asked the man to row the boat to a nearby island.

He was also instructed not to signal in darkness for it could be seen. He was to wait for a Korean fishing boat
and not to take the help of any other boat for his escape. Finally when Dr. Sadao received no signal from him at
the appointed hour, he was convinced that the soldier had escaped safely.