Chapter 4 The Enemy Solutions
Question - 11 : - What explains the attitude of the General in the matter of enemy soldier ? Was it human consideration, lack of national loyalty, dereliction of duty or simply self-absorption ?
Answer - 11 : -
A messenger came to Dr. Sadao’s house and said that Dr. Sadao should come to the palace as the General was in pain again. Dr. Sadao told the General about the young man and said that he cared nothing for the man. The General said that Dr. Sadao could not be arrested because he might be needed for his operation. The General told Dr. Sadao that it was very unfortunate that this man should have washed up on his doorstep.
Then the ; General said that it would be best if the young American was quietly killed. He said that he had his own private assassins who would kill him tonight or any night. He told Sadao that he should leave the outer partition of the white man’s room open for this purpose. Sadao said that it is left open every night. But the assassins promised by the old General did not come.
Dr. Sadao wanted to get rid of the young American boy. So he arranged for his escape. But he told the General that the young man had escaped. The General had grown quite weak because he had been operated upon a week ago. It was an emergency operation to which Sadao had been called in the night.
The General said that he had promised Dr Sadao that he would kill the young American. The General admitted that it was certainly very careless of him. He told Dr. Sadao that he should understand that it was not lack of patriotism or negligence of duty. But the General said that he was suffering to a great extent. He admitted the truth that he thought of nothing but himself. As such I think it was due to his self- absorption.
Question - 12 : - While hatred against a member of the enemy race is justifiable, especially during wartime, what makes a human being rise above narrow prejudices ?
Answer - 12 : -
Though all human beings come from the same stock, yet by the passage of time they are divided into the narrow walls of nation, religion, caste and creed. When organised wars started, more and more deadly weapons were used and the feeling of animosity grew stranger.
Gradually hatred with the enemy country became an accepted feeling and it was considered to be justifiable. This feeling of justifying the hatred grew stronger during wartime. Now hatred against a member of the enemy race is considered totally justifiably, more so during war time. That is why the prisoners of war are treated in such an inhuman way.
But still we find a few exceptional human beings who rise above these narrow prejudices. Survival of humanity and of human beings is of paramount importance to them. Still we can find a large number of people in the whole world those not only want to safeguard human values but they are against wars also.
They feel that possession of deadly atomic weapons can totally destroy the world. That is why Dr. Sadao despite being deadly against the prisoner of war, who belonged to an enemy country, treats him and saves his life. His medical profession had trained him to save the life of a human being, as far as he could do so. This bond of humanity makes a human being rise above the narrow prejudices.
Question - 13 : - Do you think the doctor’s final solution to the problem was the best possible one in the circumstances ?
Answer - 13 : -
Dr. Sadao found by chance a very badly wounded young American prisoner of war in front of his house. Firstly, he thought of throwing him back into the sea because he could be arrested for giving shelter to a prisoner of war. Then he thought that if he would hand over him to the police, the wounded young man would definitely die. His medical training did not allow him to let a man die if he could save his life. So he brought him home, operated upon him and thus saved his life.
But for this Dr. Sadao had to undergo hardships. His servants left him. He was always in danger of being arrested. He was treating the old General. He told the General about the circumstances under which he had to treat the young man. Dr. Sadao said that he did not care at all for the man. The General told him that he would send his private assassins to Dr. Sadao’s house to kill the man quietly.
Dr. Sadao waited for so many days, but the assassins did not come. Dr. Sadao desperately wanted to get rid of the young American. So he arranged a boat for him to escape to a secluded island. I think the doctor’s final solution was the best possible are under the circumstances.
Question - 14 : - Does the story remind you of “Birth” by A.J. Cronin that you read in Snapshots last year ? What are the similarities ?
Answer - 14 : -
The story ‘The Enemy’ reminds us of another story ‘Birth’ by A.J. Cronin. In the story ‘The Enemy’ we find how a distinguished doctor of Japan Dr. Sadao saves the life of a young American boy, though he is a prisoner of war. Dr. Sadao brings the young man to his house, performs operation and takes out the bullet from his body. Gradually the young boy recovers. Thus his life is saved by Dr. Sadao, otherwise he was sure to die.
In the story ‘Birth’ we find how Dr. Andrew Manson, fresh from Medical college, saved two lives—as Susan Morgan and her new born baby. Dr. Andrew Manson was in low spirits because his girl friend Christine had ditched him. It was midnight when Joe, the husband of Susan met Andrew Manson. But he readily accompanied Joe to his house. Susan was going to deliver a baby. Her mother and a midwife were attending on her.
Andrew had to wait till 5 am. The male-child was born. It was well-formed but stillborn. The mother was also sinking. He first revived the mother. Then he lifted the stillborn baby. He gave it a cold and steam bath. He tried hard to revive it. With his persistent efforts, the child gave out a cry. Thus in both the stories human lives were saved by two doctors. Both Dr. Sadao and Dr. Andrew Manson did so irrespective of their stressed mental condition.
Question - 15 : - Is there any film you have seen or novel you have read with a similar theme ?
Answer - 15 : -
The theme of the story ‘The Enemy’ is that whether a doctor should try to save the life of a person irrespective of the fact that he is wanted by the law or belongs to an enemy country. This dilemma was faced by Dr. Sadao who had to take a hard decision whether he should hand over a seriously wounded prisoner of war to the police as a patriot or he should try to save his life as a doctor.
Dr. Sadao thinks that as a doctor he was trained to try to save the life of a human being as far as he could. So despite the danger of being arrested, he brings the young escaped prisoner of war to his house and operated upon him. Thus the life of the young American boy is saved.
Similarly in the Hindi Bollywood film ‘Achanak’, a criminal wanted by law comes to the clinic of a doctor. If the doctor hands over the criminal to the police, he was sure to die. So he decides to treat him to save his life. He is successful in doing so. But the law takes its own course when he is under police custody.
Question - 16 : - What did Sadao’s father tell him about the islands of South Seas ?
Answer - 16 : -
Sadao’s father had taken him quite often to the islands of South Seas. He would always say to his little boy Sadao that those islands there, they are the stepping stones to the future for Japan.
Question - 17 : - What was Sadao’s father’s chief concern ?
Answer - 17 : -
Sadao was the only son of his parents. Sadao’s education was his father’s chief concern. For this reason Sadao had been sent to America, when he was twenty-two, to learn that could be learned of surgery and medicine.
Question - 18 : - How was Sadao married to Hana ?
Answer - 18 : -
Sadao had met Hana in America and fell in love with her after knowing that she was a Japanese. After their studies, they came back to Japan. With the approval of Sadao’s father, their marriage was arranged in the old Japanese way.
Question - 19 : - How did Dr. Sadao come to know that the wounded young man was an American and a prisoner of war ?
Answer - 19 : -
Dr. Sadao felt that the wounded young man looked like an American. From his cap where ‘U. S. Navy’ was inscribed, it was confirmed that he was a sailor from an American warship and a prisoner of war.
Question - 20 : - How was the wounded young man got washed ?
Answer - 20 : -
Dr. Sadao wanted that the wounded young man should be washed first. He ‘ himself wanted to wash him but Hana said that Yumi would do so. When Yunmi did not wash him, Hana and later on Sadao got him washed.