VISTAS

PROSE 4- THE ENEMY

BY PEARL S. BUCK

THEME OF THE STORY

 The story de- glorifies war and sets fellow feeling as against national loyalty.
 It proves that humanity is above patriotism and therefore indirectly condemns war.
 It also illustrates the conflict of a person who has to make difficult choices.

CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS:

1. Important for Sadao Hoki

1.1 His father's statements and priorities
1.2 His wife's background
1.3 American professor Harley

2. The shadow from the sea

2.1 Staggering, Crawling, Falling
2.2 A fisherman perhaps
2.3 A white man!
2.4 Shot and bleeding

3. What to do next- a dilemma

3.1 Put him back in the sea
3.2 An escaped American POW
3.3 Decision to carry him into the house

4. Taking care of POW

4.1 Refusal of the Yumi, the servant
4.2 Hana washes the man
4.3 Sadao operates
4.4 Hana thinks of his perils

5. Recovery period of POW

5.1 His fears, their problems
5.2 The servants rebel/condemnation
5.3 The man heals, Sadao confused

6. The seventh day

6.1 The servants left together
6.2 A messenger arrives
6.3 Sadao summoned
 7. At the General's Palace
7.1 Sadao's confession
7.2 General's suggestion

8. Waiting for assassins

8.1 Restless nights for Sadao
8.2 Sadao's decision

9. The Prisoner escapes

9.1 Arrangements made by Sadao
9.2 The prisoner gone
9.3 The servants return
9.4 The General operated and saved

10. Sadao's final observation about the General

10.1 Lack of dutifulness
10.2 Sadao knows General's weakness gives him upper hand

REFERENCE TO CONTEXT QUESTIONS:

1. Hana cried at her severely. “You will do what your master commands you!” There
was so fierce a look of resistance upon Yumi’s round dull face that Hana felt
unreasonably afraid.

a. What did the master command Yumi to do?

b. Why was there a fierce look of resistance upon Yumi’s face?
c. Why did Yumi’s reaction make Hana feel afraid?
d. Why did Hana do the task herself later?

2. “It would be best if he could be quietly killed,” the General said.

a. Who was to be killed quietly and by whom?

b. Why was killing quietly the best solution, according to the General?
c. What does this reveal about the General?
d. Why did Sadao agree to this plan?

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS (40- 50 words):

1. Who was Sadao? Give a brief description of his house.
 A Japanese doctor/ surgeon and a scientist
 House built on Japanese coast- low, square stone house, set on rocks, above
narrow beach, bent pines

2. Why was Sadao not sent with Japanese troops?

 General might need to be operated upon any time
 Perfecting a discovery to render wounds entirely clean
3. Why had Sadao not heedlessly marry Hana when he loved her on the first sight?
 Respectful and obedient son
 Father would not allow him to marry a girl who was not a pure Japanese, so he
wanted to ensure that

4. How did Sadao and Hana establish “the misty figure” that was washed ashore?
 A white man with yellow hair and rough yellow beard
 Faint letters on his cap- US Navy

5. What moral dilemma did Sadao and his wife face?

 Difficult choice between humanity and national loyalty
 For Sadao, conflict between his duty as a citizen and as a surgeon

6. “We must think of the children and your position.” Who says this and why?
 Hana says this
 because for helping an enemy they could be arrested which will affect the future
of his children and Sadao’s reputation as a surgeon.

7. Why was the prisoner of war a menace- living or dead?

 If he’s dead, humanity fails
 If he’s alive, they will be termed as traitors and arrested

8. Do you think Sadao was justified in helping the enemy?

 His duty as a doctor
 For a doctor, a patient is neither a friend nor a foe
 So, he was justified in operating upon a near dying person rather than leaving him
to die

9. What was the reaction of the servants to the presence of the enemy in the house?
(can be asked as a long question also)

 Superstitious belief of the gardener and later he said that his master should have
let the man bleed to death rather than bringing him to the house
 The cook criticised the master for using his skills for saving anybody’s life
 Yumi was most worried about the fate of the children

10. What two things happened on the seventh day after Sadao decided to write a
report to the police officials?
 All the servants left
 A messenger came from the General whom Hana mistook as a police officer who
had come to arrest Sadao

11. Why did the messenger’s visit surprise Hana?

 Mistook him as a police officer who came to arrest Sadao
 Thought that the servants must have informed the authorities
 Though the messenger had come only to seek medical assistance for the General
 12. What is an absolute state? Why are assassins necessary in such a state?
 Absolute state is one which is dictatorial and where resistance of any kind is not
tolerated
 During World War-II, Japan was such a state, necessary for rulers to keep
assassins in order to silence any rebellion, so was the case with the General in the
story

13. Although the General assured Sadao that he would send assassins to take care of
the American, why was Sadao not able to sleep?

 Anxious, nervous
 Worried about his wife as she did not know about the assassins
 Perhaps he himself was uncomfortable with this idea, although agreed

14. Why did Sadao feel that the General was within the palm of his hand?

 Sadao explained everything about the presence of the enemy at his house to the
General, who promised him to send assassins to kill the prisoner of war and also
to remove his body
 But the General forgot about such an important issue
 Hence, he was more at fault and that’s how the General was in the palm of his
hands

15. What is the central idea of the story?

 The story de- glorifies war

 It coneys the message that the need is to kill the enemy that lies within us and
transcend the barriers of castes, creed and nationality because before belonging to
any specific nation, we all are fellow human beings and we need to co- exist in
love, kindness, peace and brotherhood.

LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS (120- 150 words):

1. Write a character sketch of the General.

 Ailing health
 Self- centered
 Irresponsible
 Not duty- conscious
 Forgetful

2. Write a character sketch of Hana.

 Intro- how Sadao met her

 Hana as a wife- loving, caring, understanding, obedient, superstitious- didn’t eat
before him
 As mistress of the house- dignified, graceful, didn’t let out her emotions in front
of the servants
  Capable of switching over to any role effortlessly (gave anaesthetic, took care of
the house and kids)
 Though she is scared and tensed, she maintains calm in times of conflict
 True human being first, then a Japanese

3. Was Sadao not a true patriot?

Sadao was a true patriot

 Despite the fear of being arrested, he still told everything about the presence of an
American prisoner of war in his house to the General of the Japanese army
 A traitor is a person who cheats his country but Sadao had nothing against his
nation, no personal liking for the enemy
 Even when Hana and he took the prisoner inside their home as they could not
leave him in a dying state, they decided to hand him over to the police later.
 Sadao had no objection to the assassins killing the prisoner
 As a doctor, his nationality is mankind itself. The ethics of his profession have
taught him to save a dying man.
 So, we conclude that Sadao was a dedicated surgeon as well as a dedicated citizen
 In the end also, he did not plan the escape of the American with an intention of
saving his life but because he wanted to get rid of his constant nagging presence in
the house.