enemy key theme plot character reference explanation message

Theme message characters plot references explanation

1. The Enemy – Pearl S. Buck

2. ABOUT Author Birth - June 26, 1892, in Hillsboro, West Virginia. Awards - 1932, won the Pulitzer Prize and the Howells Medal in 1935, for ‘The Good Earth’ which was adapted as a major MGM film in 1937. In 1938, won the Nobel Prize in literature, the first American woman to do so. By the time of her death in 1973, Pearl published over seventy books : novels, collections of stories, biography and autobiography, poetry, drama, children's literature, and translations from the Chinese. Pearl buck, the author of “the good earth” believed that all men are brothers. She strongly believed that all people were equal. “The Enemy “is written by her and published in Harper’s Magazine in 1942 confirm her belief in equality for all people .

3. Introduction The story highlights how a Japanese doctor saves the life of an American prisoner of war and rises above narrow national prejudices . He risks his honour , career, position and life by sheltering a war prisoner of the enemy camp and saving his life. The author has beautifully portrayed the conflict in the doctor’s mind as a private individual and as a citizen with a sense of national loyalty.

4. Setting The story takes place on a coastal town of Japan in the year 1941 when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. A war going on between America and Japan. Japanese were hostile to the Americans and ready to kill any American found in their soil.

5. Theme . ‘The Enemy’ gives the message that humanism transcends all man made prejudices and barriers. Dr. Sadao upholds the ethics of medical profession in treating an enemy. The story is a great lesson of peace, love, sympathy, fellow feeling and humanism. Universal human values take precedence over narrow sectarian considerations (racism, nationalism, chauvinism). The bond uniting all human beings transcends (or should transcend) the difference between u s

6. M00D The mood is reflected in the natural weather conditions, which underline the changing and often conflicting emotions of the main characters. At first, the weather is foggy and misty, signifying the uncertainty that faces Sadao and his wife. The weather is windy in the middle section, symbolizing the tension and confusion in Sadao's thoughts. The rain in the end is the natural outcome of the fog and mist of the beginning, and symbolizes reconciliation

7. GIST OF THE LESSON: Sadao , a Japanese surgeon finds a wounded American soldier on the beach near his house. He is unable to throw him back though he was his enemy as he was a doctor and his first duty was to save a life. Hana, his wife, though initially reluctant because it was dangerous for all including the children to keep the enemy in the house, joins her husband in operating and nursing the enemy soldier back to health, even though the servants desert the house. Hana assists Dr. Sadao in operating the soldier in spite of her physical discomfort and hesitation.

8. Cont … Though it was war time and all hands were needed at the front, the General did not send Sadao with the troops as he is an expert surgeon and the General needed him. Sadao tells him about the enemy soldier but he does not take any action as he is self-absorbed and forgets his promise that he would send his private assassins to kill the enemy and remove his body. Taking advantage of the general’s self-absorption Sadao decides to save the soldier’s life. After the soldier is out of danger, Dr. Sadao helps him to escape from his house to safety.

9. THE ENEMY  The story is written with the backdrop of the Second World War. It brings out the sad plight of a prisoner of war from America who makes the reader think of the brutality of war. The story also deals with the conflict that a' doctor couple faces because of sheltering an enemy. Notes Dr. Sadao , a Japanese with professional Education, from America Sadao's childhood was spent in Japan. His father a quiet man and true Japanese who considered islands to be stepping stones for Japan's future. Sadao's education was his chief concern for which he had sent him to America to study surgery and medicine. Sadao's Expertise Sadao was an expert surgeon and a scientist. He had earned great fame in his profession. He was doing research on a discovery to render wounds clean. Thus, he was not sent with the troops during war. Also the general too was unwell and could need his services any time.

10. Sadao , in American, Meeting with Hana Sadao had taken his professional education in America where he had a chance meeting with Hana who was to become his wife. He had lived in prof. Harley's house where he had nearly decided not to go because of bad food, dirty lodgings and an extremely talkative wife of the Professor. Sadao had made sure that Hana was a Japanese and then they had waited to return to Japan to get married according to the rites of their land. Happily married, they had two children and a successful career. American Prisoner of War An American P.O.W was washed ashore on the coast near Sadao's house. He was wounded, bleeding and had been cut by the rocks. He was an enemy soldier on the run and had been shot at while escaping. Hana and Sadao wanted to throw him back into the sea but neither could do so.

11. Sadao and Hana in dilemma If they shelter the POW, they will be considered as traitors. If they hand him over to the police, the man would die. They could not throw him into the sea. They feared that the servants might report the matter. The servants were frightened and were opposed their master's gesture of helping the P.O.W. The old gardener feared that the sea would take revenge from his master. Yumi, the maid servant was worried about the children. Lesson Learnt by Sadao in America The professor of Anatomy had taught his students. Ignorance of human anatomy by a surgeon is a cardinal sin. Operating without full knowledge of human anatomy is no less than murder. This Sadao had imbibed and was perfect in surgeries.

12. Sadao performed surgery on the P.O.W and was successful in taking out the lodged bullet. Gradually the American Naval man started recovering. Problems Aggravate for Sadao and Hana The servants, not able to take in any more deserted their master and mistress. In the meantime, Sadao types a letter to the chief of police stating the truth but leaves it half way in the drawer. Sadao is called by the general as the latter is in pain. The doctor confesses to him who in turn offers to send his assassins to kill the P.O.W and to remove his body without Hana knowing anything. General's Promise Forgotten, Sadao's Help It so happened that the general forgot about his promise leaving the doctor felt restless night after night till finally he decided to help the prisoner escape.

13. Arrangements for Tom's Escape Tom was told to row to a little island close by from where if he was lucky, he could escape on a Korean fishing boat. Sadao gave him a flashlight (torch) to flash it only once if he ran out of food. He was provided with food, water, Kimono and a black cloth to cover his head. Sadao's Wonder/Amazement Sadao recalled his time spent in America, the people he met, the teacher who taught him, Miss Harley who hated him yet was kind to him, the Americans with all their prejudices. He wondered why he could not kill Tom, the American prisoner of war.  

14. Justification of Title   “The Enemy” is an apt title for the story that has Second World War as the background that eventually culminates in dropping of atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by America. Under these circumstances an American P.O.W.( sailor) by no chance, could be treated as a friend by the Japanese. The servants in Dr. Sadao’s house vehemently protest against his presence and treat him as their sworn enemy; so much so that they severe their long standing relationship with the Sadaos . For the masses (that constitute majority of the population all the world over), all individuals belonging to the country, their nation is at war with, are their enemies. The Sadao couple too considers Tom to be their enemy; but being educated, they have a broader and more generous view of life, and in spite of reservations, mental conflicts and various other odds they are confronted with, they take a humanistic view. The doctor’s professional ethics also urge him to treat the American sailor as a patient. Neither Dr. Sadao , nor Hana, at any stage consider him to be their friend in spite of the fact that they have spent a number of years in the States. Hence “The Enemy” is a befitting title for the story.    

15. Characters Dr. Sadao Hoki : A Japanese doctor trained by Americans. Sadao’s father: much concerned about his son’s education, a true patriot. Hana: Wife of Dr. Sadao , met in America, became friends and got married in Japan. Tom: An American prisoner of war, a soldier of U.S. Navy. The old General: a sick Japanese army General, needed an operation, trusted only Dr. Sadao . An officer: A messenger of the General. Gardener: an old gardener in the house of Dr. Sadao . Yumi: Hana’s maid servant. The cook: an old cook in the house of Dr. Sadao .

16. DR.SADAO HANA The doctor is a skilled surgeon and scientist, happily married to Hana, father to two children, and a loyal Japanese citizen. He does not fight in the war because his medical services are needed for the General, so he is home when a wounded American prisoner of war shows up on the beach near his home. Though his first inclination is to let the man die, not wanting to offer aid and comfort to the enemy nor to be punished, his training takes over and he successfully operates on the young man, saving his life. While he does not waver in his ambivalence toward the man, constantly wondering why he acts as he does, he remains committed to his profession's expectations and eth ics.   Hana is an intelligent, steadfast woman, wife to Sadao , and mother to their two children. She spent time in America as well, which is where she met Sadao . She is pure-blooded Japanese, which Sadao wanted in a wife. She has a moral compass like Sadao's , meaning she ultimately knows it is best to treat the enemy even though she does not have to like him or help him beyond measure.  

17. TOM,THE P.O.W. THE OLD GENERAL Tom is the "man," the "boy," the "American," and the "prisoner," among other things. He is an escaped prisoner of war, found on the beach with a gunshot wound worsened by the rocks of the sea that he tried to navigate in his escape. Sadao finds him "common" in appearance, and he is probably about 17-20 years old. Upon his waking, he thanks the doctor but expresses casual racism in his remarks, using the slur "Jap" and evincing a simplistic worldview about the war. He is grateful to Sadao for saving his life more than once and follows the doctor's directions about how to escape. The General is an old military official whom Sadao is treating for a serious disease. The General is weary of the obligations of his job but relishes his power. He needs Sadao to treat him and keep him alive, so he is not angry when Sadao confesses that he has sheltered an American prisoner of war. He promises to send assassins to take care of the matter but forgets to do so, as he is too self-obsessed with his illness. When Sadao confesses and tells him the prisoner escaped, the General agrees to keep his secret because exposing Sadao would result in the only physician he trusts to keep him alive being punished.

18. Yumi Yumi is the children's nurse. She loves them and seems like a good servant, but she is simple-minded and stubborn. She refuses to wash the White man. She is opposed to the American's presence in the home and quits with the other servants, though she returns once the American is gone.   Sadao's Father Though he is not alive during the events of the story, Sadao thinks of his father often. The man was elegant, exacting, and stern, and he wanted his son to be successful. He also was very nationalistic, only wanting his son to marry a Japanese woman and requesting for everything in his room to be Japanese in style and make.   Gardener The old gardener, who is also a servant, is very opposed to the American's presence and thinks Sadao and Hana should have let him die. He quits with the rest of the servants, but he returns once the American is gone.