The Enemy – Pearl S Buck

Important CBSE Short Answer Questions (30-40 words)

Question1. Why did the General spare the American soldier? (All India 2009)
Answer: The General had his own selfish interest in sparing the American soldier. He
knew Dr. Sadao was indispensable to him and did not want him to be arrested. He
did not trust other surgeons. In his capacity as a General he should have had the
American soldier arrested but he refrained from it in his personal self-interest.

Question 2. Why was Dr. Sadao not sent to the battlefield? (All India 2009)
Answer: Dr. Sadao was a skilled and reputed surgeon who was in the process of
perfecting an invention of rendering wounds totally clean. Moreover, he was treating
the old General who could need an operation. So he was not sent to the battlefield as
his valuable services could be needed at any time in his hometown.
Question 3. Why did the messenger come to Dr. Sadao? What did Hana think about
it? (All India 2010)
Answer: The uniformed messenger comes to Dr. Sadao to inform him that the old
General was in pain again. Hana felt relieved to hear that the messenger had come
only to inform Dr. Sadao about the General’s ill-health. She had earlier feared that
the servants had informed the police who had sent the man in the uniform to their
house.

Question 4. What forced Dr. Sadao to be impatient and irritated with his patient?
(All India 2010)
Answer: His patient was badly wounded and this was a cause of worry, concern and
vexation for Dr. Sadao. Saving him was a challenge for his skills as a doctor and
harbouring him in his house could lead to Dr. Sadao’s arrest and his treatment was
the ultimate test of the doctor’s patience.

Question 5. In what context does Hana remember General Takima? What does she
infer? (All India 2010)
Answer: Hana remembers General Takima who at home used to beat his wife cruelly
though no one now mentioned it ever since he had fought a victorious battle in
Manchuria. She inferred that if a man like him could be so cruel to a woman in his
power, he would be extremely cruel to the wounded American soldier.

Question 6. What was the old gardener’s reaction when Dr. Sadao gave shelter to the
enemy soldier? (Comptt. All India 2010)
Answer: Like all the servants the gardener did not like Sadao’s efforts to save a
wounded American soldier. He felt it was unpatriotic to give shelter to a prisoner of
war. He felt if his master healed what first the gun and then the sea did, they would
be avenged.

Question 7. How did Dr. Sadao ensure that the American sailor left his house but he
himself remained safe and secure? (Delhi 2011)
Answer: Dr. Sadao offered his personal boat with food and extra clothing to the
American soldier when he left his house. He then advised the soldier to go to a
nearby island where no one lived and escape from there by boarding a Korean fishing
boat. Dr. Sadao then informed the General that the soldier had escaped.
Question 8. How did Dr. Sadao plan the American prisoner’s escape? (Comptt. Delhi
2011)
Answer: Dr. Sadao made elaborate arrangements for the prisoner’s safe escape. The
prisoner was made to row to a nearby island where no one lived. All the necessary
things were given to him. He was told to signal two flashes if he ran out of food.
When Dr. Sadao received no signal, he was convinced the prisoner had escaped
safely.

Question 9. In what condition was the American sailor when Dr. Sadao found
him?(Comptt. All India 2013)
Answer: When Dr. Sadao found the American sailor the latter was badly wounded
and unconscious. Blood was flowing freshly when Dr. Sadao touched his wound. On
the right side of the sailor’s lower back Dr. Sadao saw that the gun wound had
reopened and the flesh was blackened with powder.

Question 10. Why did Dr. Sadao treat the American soldier even though it was an
unpatriotic act on his part? (Comptt. All India 2014)
Answer: Dr. Sadao rose above narrow prejudices of race and country and treated the
wounded American soldier. Basic human goodness overpowers him and he treats the
American soldier. Being a doctor, it was his duty to save a dying man even though he
belonged to the enemy’s camp.

Question 11. Why did the General not order immediate arrest of Dr. Sadao who had
sheltered a white man? (Comptt. All India 2014)
Answer: After knowing that Dr. Sadao had operated on the white man with such
success, the General realized how indispensable Dr. Sadao was to him. He was the
only one who could save him. So he could not let Dr. Sadao be arrested lest he
required Dr. Sadao’s medical expertise to save his own life.

Question 12. What was his father’s chief concern about Dr. Sadao? (Delhi 2016)
Answer: Sadao’s education was his father’s chief concern. For this reason he had
sent Sadao to America to learn all that could be learned about surgery and medicine.
Before his death he had seen Sadao become famous not only as a surgeon but as a
scientist.

Question 13. What dilemma did Dr. Sadao face? (Comptt. Delhi 2017)
Answer: Dr. Sadao finds an unconscious wounded white soldier on a lonely coast
near his house. Since Japan was at war with America Dr. Sadao faces a dilemma
between national loyalty and his duty as a doctor. He is confused as to whether he
should hand over the enemy to the Japanese authorities, or being a doctor do his
foremost duty and attend to a wounded man and save his life.

Question 14. Why did Dr. Sadao’s servants leave his service? (Comptt. Delhi 2017)
Answer: Japan was at war with America. Dr. Sadao was nursing a wounded
American soldier. The servants did not approve of Dr. Sadao’s generosity who was
trying to give an American a new lease of life. They thought Dr. Sadao was doing a
treacherous act by helping the enemy, so their patriotic feelings made them leave Dr.
Sadao’s house.
 Important CBSE Long Answer Questions
Question 1. How did Dr. Sadao rise above narrow prejudices of race and country to
help a human being in need? (Delhi 2009)

Answer: An American prisoner of war gets washed away to Japanese doctor, Sadao’s
doorstep. Being a doctor, Sadao gives top priority to saving the life of a dying man
despite the ongoing war between America and Japan and the fact that all Americans
were considered to be their enemies. Being a doctor, Sadao’s duty was to save a dying
man but saving an enemy would be an act of treachery. But the doctor not only
saved him from dying but did not even hand him over to the police. He rose above
narrow prejudices of race and country and helped the young soldier to escape. Basic
human goodness overpowers Dr. Sadao and he helps the wounded soldier first by
saving his life and then by arranging his escape, risking his own life and reputation
in the process.

Question 2. Dr. Sadao was compelled by his duty as a doctor to help the enemy
soldier. What made Hana, his wife sympathies with him in the face of open defiance
from the domestic staff? (All India 2011)

Answer: Hana embodies the concept of the perfect companion who joins hands with
her husband and renders all possible help to him to save the American soldier. When
her servants desert her she easily steps into their place and discharges the duties of
a maid and a governess most gracefully. In spite of all the tension and anxiety, she
displays a great sense of efficiency and knows how to conduct herself without losing
her cool. She is a cooperative and understanding wife who renders all possible help
to her husband to ensure that the operation is a success. The qualities of her
goodness of head and heart enable her to take a humane view about the wounded
soldier even though he is an American. She plays her role of a dutiful wife and the
mistress of the house with a lot of dignity and it was due to her sympathy and
cooperation that Dr. Sadao was able to save the dying enemy soldier.

Question 3. What explains the attitude of the General in the matter of the enemy
soldier? Was it human consideration, lack of national loyalty, dere-lition of duty or
simply self-absorption? (All India 2011)

Answer: The General is a self-absorbed man who is too involved with his own self. He
being a General, his illness and his fear of death are his main concern. It is quite
surprising that he fails to send his private assassins to kill the American soldier at
Dr. Sadao’s house. But here too he fears for his own self because he does not want
the assassins to even accidently cause any harm to Dr. Sadao and his wife as Dr.
Sadao was indispensable for his well-being and survival. So he feigns to be forgetful
and chooses not to send his assassins to eliminate the soldier. It is not neglect of
duty or lack of patriotism which is responsible for the General’s irresponsible attitude
towards the enemy soldier. It is simply his self-interest and self-absorption that make
the General take a lenient attitude towards the j presence and escape of the
American soldier from Dr. Sadao’s house.
Question 4. Draw a character sketch of the old General in the lesson, ‘The Enemy’.
(All India 2011)

Answer: The old General is a man whose personal considerations overweighted all
other considerations. Even though the Second World War was in progress and a
doctor of the calibre of Dr. Sadao would have proved to be a blessing for the wounded
soldiers on the front, he was retained in Japan because he was indispensable to the
General’s health and well being. Despite knowing about the presence of the American
soldier at Dr. Sadao’s house he refrains from sending his private assassins to kill the
enemy soldier. He understands Dr. Sadao’s importance for his own survival and so
does not want to take a chance in case the assassins accidently harm Dr. Sadao or
his wife. The General, therefore, comes across as a strange and selfish person who is
actually too preoccupied with his own self. He being a General, his illness and his
fear of death outweigh all his other considerations, even those towards his country.

Question 5. What impression do you form about Dr. Sadao as a man and as a
surgeon on your reading the chapter, ‘The Enemy’? (All India 2012)

Answer: An American prisoner of war gets washed away to Japanese doctor, Sadao’s
doorstep. Being a doctor, Sadao gives top priority to saving the life of a dying man
despite the ongoing war between America and Japan and the fact that all Americans
were considered to be their enemies. Being a doctor, Sadao’s duty was to save a dying
man but saving an enemy would be an act of treachery. But the doctor not only
saved him from dying but did not even hand him over to the police. He rose above
narrow prejudices of race and country and helped the young soldier to escape. Dr.
Sadao’s basic human values give him the ability to rise above petty prejudices. His
essential love for humanity and his sincerity towards his duty transcend all other
narrow considerations. As a doctor it was his duty to save a dying man so he put
aside all other options and respected the ethics of his profession.

Question 6. What was the General’s plan to get rid of the American prisoner? Was it
executed? What traits of the General’s character are highlighted in the lesson ‘The
Enemy’? (All India 2014)

Answer: The General told Dr. Sadao that the best thing would be to kill the soldier
quietly and volunteered to help Dr. Sadao in it. The General planned to send two of
his own private assassins to Dr. Sadao’s house at night. Dr. Sadao need to know
nothing about it. According to the General’s plan, Dr. Sadao should just leave the
outer partition of the white man’s room open to the garden so as to enable the
assassins to enter his room. The assassins would make no noise and they knew the
trick of inward bleeding and the General would also ensure that they removed the
white man’s body. But the General’s plan was not executed. The General is a selfish
and cruel man with no human consideration. He comes across as a self-centred
person who is solely preoccupied with his own interests. Despite being a General, his
illness and his fear of death overweight all other considerations, even those of his
country.
Question 7. To choose between professional loyalty and patriotism was a dilemma
for Dr. Sadao. How did he succeed in betraying neither? (All India 2017)

Answer: Dr. Sadao is not only a good doctor but also a patriot. As a citizen of Japan
Dr. Sadao was expected to be loyal to his country but as a doctor it was his foremost
duty to save a life. Dr. Sadao was indeed a patriotic Japanese as well as a dedicated
surgeon. An American run away prisoner in a badly wounded condition is washed
ashore on Japanese doctor Sadao’s doorstep. The doctor is initially a little hesitant to
save the prisoner’s life when he discovers the latter’s real identity. But being a
dedicated surgeon he decides to treat the enemy soldier. He is able to save the
prisoner’s life but being a patriotic Japanese he informs a superior Japanese Army
General about the prisoner’s presence in his house and even agrees to have him
killed by the General’s assassins. He waits for the assassins to carry out their job but
when they do not arrive, he gives the prisoner his boat and helps him to escape
safely thus honouring both the values that he was a patriotic Japanese as well as a
dedicated surgeon.