Certainly! Here’s a summary of the chapter “The Enemy” and answers to your questions, with easy-to-understand explanations and emojis 🤩.
Summary of “The Enemy” 🎌🤝🇺🇸#
“The Enemy” by Pearl S. Buck tells the story of Dr. Sadao Hoki, a skilled Japanese surgeon and scientist, during the time of the World War. His house, built on the Japanese coast, is where he often played as a boy, and it was his father’s vision for Japan’s future. Sadao had been sent to America at twenty-two to learn surgery and medicine and returned at thirty, becoming famous for perfecting a discovery that would make wounds entirely clean. He was kept in Japan because the old General might need an operation, so he wasn’t sent abroad with the troops.
One night, while standing with his wife, Hana, they discover a wounded white man flung up from the ocean onto their beach. They quickly realise he is an American prisoner of war – their enemy. The man has a severe gun wound in his lower back, which has reopened.
A profound moral dilemma arises: as Japanese patriots during wartime, their duty is to hand over an enemy soldier to the authorities. However, as medical professionals, their duty is to save a dying man. Sadao initially thinks of putting him back in the sea, and Hana agrees, but neither can bring themselves to do it. Despite their mutual hatred for Americans, Sadao feels he cannot let a wounded man die.
They decide to carry the unconscious man into their house. Their servants are terrified and openly defy them, fearing divine revenge and condemnation for harbouring an enemy. Yumi, the children’s nurse, refuses to wash the white man, forcing Hana to do it herself, overcoming her revulsion. Sadao performs a complex operation, removing the bullet, despite Hana’s fear and discomfort at assisting with anaesthesia.
The young American, named Tom, slowly recovers under their care. The servants eventually leave due to their fear and disapproval. Sadao is then summoned by the old General, who is in pain and might need an operation. Sadao reports the prisoner’s presence to the General, who, being self-absorbed and valuing Sadao’s skill, promises to send his private assassins to kill the American quietly. Sadao agrees to leave the outer partition of the room open.
However, the assassins never come. After three nights of anxiety and waiting, Sadao decides to take matters into his own hands. He prepares his boat with food, bottled water, and two quilts. He instructs the young American to row to a nearby small island and signal him with a flashlight if he needs help or is safe, waiting for a Korean fishing boat. The American escapes successfully.
Later, the General admits he simply forgot to send the assassins because he was suffering and only thought of himself. Sadao feels safe knowing the General is reliant on him. Ultimately, Sadao reflects on his difficulty in killing the man, despite his prejudices against Americans, indicating that his professional ethics and human empathy prevailed over national hatred.
Answers to Questions ❓#
What will Dr Sadao and his wife do with the man? 🏡🩹 Initially, both Dr. Sadao and his wife, Hana, consider putting the wounded American back into the sea. Sadao even explicitly states, “The best thing that we could do would be to put him back in the sea”. Hana agrees, saying, “The kindest thing would be to put him back into the sea”. However, despite their initial thoughts and their fear of the consequences, neither of them moves. Sadao’s professional training as a doctor, which compels him not to let a man die if he can help it, ultimately leads them to the decision to carry the man into their house. They intend to treat his wounds and then hand him over to the police. This decision is driven by Sadao’s ingrained medical ethic, as he states, “He will die unless he is operated on”, and he acts on this conviction, performing the surgery himself.
Will Dr Sadao be arrested on the charge of harbouring an enemy? 🚔🚫 Dr. Sadao is indeed at significant risk of arrest for harbouring an enemy, especially since his servants are aware of the situation and express concern about him forgetting his country first. Hana herself fears they will be arrested if they shelter a white man. The cook and the gardener even discuss how Sadao might be “condemned as a traitor”. Hana anticipates his arrest when she sees an official messenger come to the door, though it turns out the General merely needs him for medical reasons. However, Sadao is ultimately not arrested. This is due to the General’s extreme self-absorption and dependence on Sadao’s surgical skills. The General needs Sadao for a potential operation and explicitly states, “You cannot be arrested… Suppose you were condemned to death and the next day I had to have my operation?”. He admits he forgot to send assassins to kill the American because he “was suffering a good deal” and “thought of nothing but myself”. This oversight, born of the General’s selfishness, inadvertently secures Sadao’s safety from charges of disloyalty.
What will Dr Sadao do to get rid of the man? 🛥️🍎 After the assassins promised by the General fail to appear for three nights, Dr. Sadao takes decisive action to get rid of the man safely without directly harming him, prioritizing his own and Hana’s safety while fulfilling his medical obligation to save the man’s life. He devises a plan to help the American prisoner escape:
- He tells the young man to row his private boat to a small, uninhabited island nearby.
- He equips the boat with food and bottled water that he bought secretly.
- He also provides extra clothing and two quilts bought from a pawnshop.
- He gives the prisoner his small flashlight and instructs him on a signalling system: two flashes if he runs out of food before catching a boat, or one flash if he is safe but still on the island.
- He advises the young man to catch and eat raw fish on the island, warning him not to make a fire that could be seen.
- He wraps a black cloth around the young man’s blond head to help him go unnoticed. Sadao’s meticulous plan allows the young American to escape successfully, removing the threat from Sadao’s household and resolving his dilemma.