Here is a comprehensive guide to Chapter 4, “The Enemy,” from the VISTAS textbook, created to help you prepare thoroughly for your upcoming AHSEC Class 12 exams. This guide includes a summary, complete textual answers, previous years’ AHSEC questions, and other important questions.
The Enemy
by Pearl S. Buck
Summary Note
“The Enemy” by Pearl S. Buck explores the conflict between a person’s duty as a doctor and their duty as a citizen during wartime. Dr. Sadao Hoki is a famous Japanese surgeon and scientist living in Japan during World War II. One night, he and his wife, Hana, discover a wounded American prisoner of war who has washed ashore near their house. The man has been shot and is bleeding badly.
This discovery places them in a terrible dilemma. As patriotic Japanese citizens, their duty is to hand the man over to the army. However, as a doctor, Sadao’s professional ethics compel him to save a dying man, regardless of his nationality. He chooses his duty as a doctor. He takes the man into his house and operates on him, successfully removing the bullet.
Their decision has consequences. Their servants, who are fearful and patriotic, leave them. Sadao and Hana are left in constant fear of being discovered and arrested as traitors. Despite the risk, Hana nurses the American soldier back to health. Sadao informs the old General of the army about the prisoner. The General, who trusts only Sadao for his own medical needs, promises to send his private assassins to kill the American secretly. However, the General forgets his promise.
After waiting for three nights, Sadao realizes he must take matters into his own hands. He gives the American soldier, Tom, a boat, food, water, and a flashlight, and instructs him to row to a nearby island and wait for a Korean fishing boat to rescue him. The soldier escapes successfully. The story ends with Sadao reflecting on the experience, wondering why he, a patriotic Japanese man, could not kill his enemy.
Complete Textual Question and Answer
1. 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 you have just read.
Answer: The story “The Enemy” perfectly illustrates this conflict. Dr. Sadao Hoki faces a profound dilemma when he finds a wounded American prisoner of war. As a loyal Japanese citizen during wartime, his duty is to hand over the enemy soldier to the authorities. However, as a private individual and a doctor, his conscience and professional ethics demand that he save a dying man. He chooses his humanity and his duty as a doctor over his national loyalty. He risks his life, reputation, and his family’s safety to operate on and save the man. This choice shows that individual conscience and human values can sometimes transcend the demands of national loyalty.
2. 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?
Answer: Initially, Hana was hesitant and frightened about sheltering an enemy soldier. However, her sympathy grew for several reasons. Firstly, she was a compassionate person and could not bear to leave a wounded man to die. Secondly, her husband’s unwavering commitment to his duty as a doctor influenced her. When the servant Yumi refused to wash the soldier, Hana, despite her reluctance, washed the wounded man herself. Her sympathy deepened as she nursed the young soldier and saw his vulnerability. Her loyalty and love for her husband also made her stand by his decision, even when their servants openly defied them and left.
3. 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?
Answer: The American soldier’s reluctance to leave is understandable given his situation. He was a prisoner of war who had escaped and was severely wounded. In Dr. Sadao’s home, he found not only medical care and shelter but also a surprising amount of kindness from his “enemies.” He was weak, vulnerable, and terrified of being handed over to the Japanese army, where he would face certain death or torture. When Sadao tells him he is well enough to leave, the boy is terrified and asks, “Are you going to hand me over?”. His reluctance stemmed from the fear of the unknown and the relative safety he felt under the care of the doctor who had saved his life.
4. What explains the attitude of the General in the matter of the enemy soldier? Was it human consideration, lack of national loyalty, dereliction of duty or simply self-absorption?
Answer: The General’s attitude was primarily driven by self-absorption. He did not have Dr. Sadao arrested because he trusted only Sadao to perform an operation that he might need. He told Sadao, “Suppose you were condemned to death and the next day I had to have my operation?”. He promised to send his private assassins to kill the American soldier, not out of national loyalty, but to protect Dr. Sadao, his indispensable surgeon. He then forgot his promise, admitting to Sadao, “The truth is, I thought of nothing but myself.” This shows that his actions were not based on human consideration or lack of loyalty, but on his selfish need to keep his doctor safe for his own medical security.
5. While hatred against a member of the enemy race is justifiable, especially during wartime, what makes a human being rise above narrow prejudices?
Answer: The story suggests that a shared sense of humanity and professional ethics can make a person rise above narrow prejudices. For Dr. Sadao, his training as a doctor, which taught him that his primary duty was to save a life, was stronger than his feelings of national hatred. He tells his wife, “I have been trained not to let a man die if I can help it.” As he and Hana care for the wounded man, they begin to see him not as an abstract “enemy,” but as a vulnerable human being. This shared humanity and compassion are what enable them to overcome the prejudices of wartime.
6. Do you think the doctor’s final solution to the problem was the best possible one in the circumstances?
Answer: Yes, the doctor’s final solution was the best possible one under the circumstances. Handing the soldier over to the police would have meant certain death for him. Keeping him in the house indefinitely was a constant risk to Sadao and his family. The General had failed to act on his promise to have the man killed. Therefore, by providing the soldier with a boat, food, and instructions to escape to a nearby island, Dr. Sadao found a way to resolve his dilemma. This solution saved the soldier’s life while also removing the threat to his own family, allowing him to fulfill his humanitarian duty without being condemned as a traitor.
7. Does the story remind you of ‘Birth’ by A.J. Cronin that you read in Snapshots last year? What are the similarities?
Answer: Yes, “The Enemy” has similarities to “Birth” by A.J. Cronin. Both stories revolve around a doctor facing a difficult and critical situation that tests his professional skills and dedication. In both narratives, the doctor works tirelessly against the odds to save a life (or lives). The central theme in both is the supreme value of human life and the commitment of a doctor to his profession, placing the well-being of the patient above all else.
8. Is there any film you have seen or novel you have read with a similar theme?
Answer: Yes, films like “Hacksaw Ridge” or “The Bridge on the River Kwai” explore similar themes. “Hacksaw Ridge” tells the story of a combat medic during World War II who, despite being a conscientious objector, saves dozens of soldiers (both American and Japanese), showing that the duty to save human life can transcend national conflict. These stories, like “The Enemy,” highlight the conflict between duty to one’s country and one’s personal conscience or professional ethics during wartime.
Previous Year AHSEC Question Answers (2015-2025)
Short Answer Questions (2 Marks)
1. Who was Dr. Sadao? Where was his house? (AHSEC 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022)
Answer: Dr. Sadao Hoki was a famous Japanese surgeon and scientist. His house was built on a spot on the Japanese coast, set upon rocks well above a narrow beach that was outlined with bent pines.
2. Will Dr. Sadao be arrested on the charge of harbouring an enemy? (AHSEC 2016, 2018)
Answer: No, Dr. Sadao will not be arrested for harbouring an enemy. He confessed everything to the old General, who, out of self-interest, promised to handle the matter secretly. The General needed Dr. Sadao for his own medical treatment and therefore protected him by ensuring the matter never came to light.
3. Who was Hana? What did she and Dr. Sadao see one night? (AHSEC 2020)
Answer: Hana was Dr. Sadao’s wife. One night, while standing on their veranda, she and Dr. Sadao saw “something black come out of the mists.” It was a man who had been flung up out of the ocean by a wave. They saw him stagger a few steps and then fall on his face, motionless.
4. What will Dr. Sadao and his wife do with the man? (AHSEC 2023)
Answer: Dr. Sadao and his wife, Hana, decided to carry the wounded man into their house. Despite their fear and conflict, Dr. Sadao, bound by his duty as a doctor, decided to operate on the man to save his life. Hana, though initially reluctant, agreed to help him.
Long Answer Questions (5-7 Marks)
1. What dilemma did Dr. Sadao face? How did he resolve it? (AHSEC 2016, 2019)
Answer: Dr. Sadao faced a severe dilemma when he found the wounded American prisoner of war. As a patriotic Japanese citizen, his duty was to hand the enemy over to the army. However, as a doctor, his professional ethics compelled him to save a dying man. This created a conflict between his national duty and his humanitarian duty. He resolved this dilemma by prioritizing his role as a doctor. He took the man into his house, operated on him, and saved his life. Later, to resolve the ongoing risk, he helped the soldier escape by providing him with a boat and supplies, thus fulfilling his human compassion without openly defying his country.
2. How did Dr. Sadao help the American prisoner of war to escape? (AHSEC 2017, 2020, 2023)
Answer: Dr. Sadao helped the American prisoner escape by devising a careful plan. He gave the soldier his boat and put food, bottled water, and two quilts in it. He instructed the man to row to a small, uninhabited island nearby. He told him to live there until he saw a Korean fishing boat pass by, as they often passed near the island. He also gave the man his own flashlight and a signal system: two flashes if food ran out, and one flash if he was still there and all right. He told him not to signal in darkness as it would be seen. With these provisions and instructions, the soldier was able to escape safely.
Most Important Question Answers
1. Why was Dr. Sadao not sent abroad with the troops?
Answer: Dr. Sadao was not sent abroad with the troops for two main reasons. Firstly, he was “perfecting a discovery which would render wounds entirely clean.” Secondly, the old General was suffering from a medical condition for which he might need an operation, and he trusted only Dr. Sadao to perform it. Therefore, Dr. Sadao was being kept in Japan for these two reasons.
2. Why did the servants leave Dr. Sadao’s house?
Answer: The servants left Dr. Sadao’s house because they were afraid and believed that sheltering an American enemy was an act of treason. The old gardener said, “The master ought not to heal the wound of this white man.” They feared that if the authorities discovered what their master had done, they would all be in danger. Their patriotism and fear were stronger than their loyalty to Dr. Sadao and his family.
3. Describe the character of the old General.
Answer: The old General was a powerful but cruel and self-absorbed man. He was known to be ruthless, as Hana remembered hearing that he “beat his wife cruelly.” His primary concern was his own health and security. He protected Dr. Sadao not out of kindness but because he needed him as his personal surgeon. He was also forgetful and inefficient, as he completely forgot his promise to send assassins to deal with the American prisoner, admitting later that he was only thinking of himself.
4. At the end of the story, Sadao wonders, “I wonder why I could not kill him?” What does this tell us about him?
Answer: This final thought reveals the internal conflict that still exists within Dr. Sadao. On one hand, he is a patriotic Japanese who sees Americans as his enemy. On the other hand, his actions were guided by a deeper human instinct and his professional training as a doctor, which compelled him to save a life. His question shows that he is still grappling with the fact that he, a loyal citizen, helped his “enemy.” It highlights that his fundamental humanity and identity as a healer triumphed over the hatred and prejudice fostered by war.
