CUET English Chapter For Comprehension-The Enemy

Dr. Sadao was also famous as a scientist because he had perfected a discovery which could render wounds entirely clean.

He was not sent abroad for two reasons. Firstly 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.

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.

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 closer look they saw that it was a white man, an American prisoner of war who had escaped. He was injured badly and was bleeding profusely.

Sadao tried to staunch the fearful bleeding. He packed the wound with the sea moss that was lying near by on the beach. After seeing the miserable condition of the injured man, he had pity on him and in consultation with his wife; he decided to take him home.

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 bullet injury, he required surgery immediately. The man belonged to the enemy’s army and they were conflicting over, whether to save him or not.

They examined his battered cap closely and realized that he was a sailor from an American warship. The words ‘U.S Navy’ were written on the cap in almost faint lettering. They realized that he was an escaped prisoner of war.

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.

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 harboring a prisoner of war and knew that the servants would talk.

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.

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 him could be cruel to his wife in power, he would be very harsh to an escaped soldier like this American.

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. He told him not to speak. He didn’t even want to know his patient’s name and told him so.

The cook of Dr.Sadao declared that the young master was so proud of his skill to save his life that he saves 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 their own country.

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 him but let him bleed when the young man was so near death.

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.

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 21^st of February. He could not bring himself to complete this confession and so, left it in his drawer. He was a law abiding citizen.

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.

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 harboring. 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.

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.

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 humor made him say this to Sadao.

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.

No, the plan to kill the American did not succeed because 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 him killed because he was preoccupied with his own sufferings.

Dr Sadao did not tell Hana about the plan of the General to send his private assassins to kill the young prisoner and dispose off his body. He did this because he knew she was timid and would feel very frightened while the plan was being executed.

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.

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.

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 him killed by assassins.

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.

The general had wanted to reward Sadao for his royalty but at the same time Sadao knew that he had the general in the palm of his hand for he 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.

‘The Enemy’, by Pearl S. Buck portrays the character of an American trained Japanese surgeon, Dr. Sadao Hoki. 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 prisoner of war who was wounded seriously and had been washed ashore. Torn between his duty and 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 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.

‘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 re man-made but love, compassion for human beings was instinctive. One needs to do one’s duty towards fellow human beings before anything else.

b) Dr. Sadao Hoki

a) Father

b) Sadao’s education

b) 22 years old

b) Surgery and medicine

a) An astronomer

a) The General who needed an operation

b) Hana

c) America

c) His American professor

a) Two children

c) His wife

a) fisherman

a) A white man

b) Shot

b) Throw him back in the sea

a) The Russian army

a) Inside their house

b) Endanger all of them

b) Sadao’s father’s room

a) his wounds were washed

a) the servant Yumi

b) they were frightened

d) to let him just die

d) she and Sadao would hand him over as a prisoner after making him conscious

b) Hana

c) to vomit (retch)

a) Anesthetic

c) kidney

d) my friend

d) Hana

b) he was sitting up

c) Were very critical of him

a) Tom

b) He typed out a letter to the Chief of Police

a) all the servants of Sadao left together

d) Hana

d) to call Sadao to the old General’s house

a) Sadao was very skilled

c) Kill the prisoner

b) help him to escape

a) a Korean fishing boat

a) twice

a) raw fish

d) Japanese clothes

c) Selfish for himself

a) The prisoner could escape

a) Racial Prejudice

a) She nursed him through influenza