CBSE Class 12 English Vistas The Enemy Worksheet

 

Gist of the Lesson:- Dr. 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. 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 soldiers life. After the soldier is out of danger Dr. Sadao helps him to escape from his house to safety.

 

Took him to the islands and said they were ‘stepping stones’ to the future of Japan. Sadao realized education is important. At 22 went to America to study surgery and medicine. Returned at 30, as a famous surgeon and scientist.

 

By chance. At professorHarley’s house in America. Professor and wife kind helped foreign students. Sadao met Hana there. Married after completion of studies. Marriage finalised in the traditional way after his father had seen her. Happy together.

 

Hana and Sadao leaning on the railing, one foggy evening, saw a man crawling on hands and knees. Fell on the face. Rushed thinking — fisherman. Saw a white man with the reopened gunshot wound, badly hurt. US Navy insignia on the tattered uniform- realised he was a prisoner of war.

 

As a doctor, he should attend to a dying man and stop the bleeding.As a patriotic person, he should put him back in the sea or hand him over to the authorities.Decided not to be callous and took him in.

 

Would be arrested for sheltering an enemy- a white man, would endanger the lives of their children.

 

Frightened. Felt they should not heal him — gardener felt he should die or he’d take revenge. Cook felt pride in his skill made him save the American soldier. Felt their years in America had made forget to think of their country first. Left on the seventh day.

 

Washed him. Helped Sadao operate. Gave anaesthesia. Felt nauseated but continued. General Takima-Cruel Man Known to beat his wife mercilessly. Hana feared how he would deal with an enemy. Retained Sadao in Japan as he could need an operation.

 

Felt reassured Sadao had the capability to save. Wanted to save doctor as he would need his services. Suggested he would send two private assassins at night-capable men, familiar with the trick of inward bleeding, would take the soldier’s body away too. Sadao waited three nights, realised General had forgotten.

 

Sadao gets to hold on him. Convinces Sadao- not lack of patriotism or dereliction of duty —was selfabsorbed as he was suffering. Promised to reward Sadao.

 

Put his boat on the shore at night, with food, bottled water, extra quilts and extra clothing. Told him to row to an island near the coast. He instructed him to stay there till a Korean fishing boat was seen passing by. Gave him a flashlight- Instructed him to signal with two flashes before sunset, if he ran out of food. Warned him to eat fish raw, as cooking over the fire would be noticed. Wrapped a black cloth about his blond head and dressed him in Japanese clothes.

 

(i) professor at whose house he met Hana.

(ii) his teacher of anatomy.

(iii) his fat landlady. Recalled how difficult it was to find a place to live in as Americans were prejudicedhad been difficult to live amidst such feelings. As a Japanese, he felt he was superior. Hated the ignorant,dirty woman who rented him a room and looked after him when he was sick. He despised her and could not feel grateful to her. He felt he found all white faces, disgusting and wondered why he could not kill the prisoner.

Humanitarian considerations override man-made barriers of culture and nationality.

 

Servants — simple, superstitious, patriotic-consider harbouring an enemy to be a crime. Fear for lives, insular. Do not understand the higher level of reasoning, humanitarian considerations. Sadao and Hana- Had been exposed to other nationalities, more tolerant. Feel it is unethical for a doctor to let a person die if he can be saved. Even an enemy is a human being first.

 

‘The Enemy’ is an apt title that has the Second World War as the background. Dr Sadao, being a skilled surgeon saved the life of an escaped American prisoner of war, his enemy, who was wounded seriously and had been washed ashore. Torn between his duty and his integrity as a doctor, he chooses to save the enemy’s life first and then hand him over to the police. His inner conflict and professional ethics makes him choose the first option. His servants too, desert him for fear of getting into trouble. He is fully aware of the fact that harbouring a prisoner of war would endanger his own life as well.

 

The doctor’s professional ethics urge him to treat the ‘enemy’ as a patient. Neither Dr Sadao nor Hana, at any stage consider him their friend. Yet they treat him as a fellow human being should be treated. The title is therefore appropriate.

 

 

The story deals with the conflict between a man’s duty towards the state and towards his own conscience. In fact, the story raises questions about the ethics of a human being at the time of war. Dr Sadao has been brought up in a traditional and patriotic environment and he dislikes Americans. But, at the same time, he is a doctor and cannot let the American bleed to death. The story condemns racial discrimination and hails the superiority of humanity above any other thing. Universal human values must take precedence over narrow considerations like nationalism. The bond uniting all human beings must transcend the difference between nations.

 

Introduction ....two sentences...- name of the lesson and author, and the theme......body (1 - 2 paragraphs)

 

Answer : A conflict of interest arises in a situation when someone like a doctor has conflicting interests- Japanese doctor- dislikes Whites- as a Japanese patriot –his duty was to hand over the escaped prisoner to the police-Sadao risks his safety and saves an enemy- fears the consequences of harbouring an enemy- overcomes his hatred of the Americans- like a hero stands up for what he believes in and doesn’t calculate the repercussions-in spite of conflicts- is human and lives up to the oath of being a doctor.

 

Question. Dr. Sadao was compelled by his duty to help the enemy soldier. What made Hana, his wife,sympathetic to him in the face of open defiance from the domestic staff? 

Answer : When Sadao and Hana saw the prisoner of war they were in a dilemma for a moment- but the doctor in him surfaced- even Hana knew that if he were left there he would die- in the bedroom- she covered him with a quilt- and also washed him when Yumi refused- she helped Sadao operate- was afraid lest the servants report about them hosting an enemy- when the soldier regained consciousness-served him and reassured him- perhaps both Hana and Sadao, because of their stay in America were not as parochial as the rest.

 

Question. How would you explain the reluctance of the soldier to leave the shelter of the doctor’s home even when he knew he couldn’t stay there without risk to the doctor and himself? 

Answer : As the American recovered after the operation- he was weak and terrified- Hana reassured him- fed him and comforted him- Sadao tended to him as a doctor giving him the utmost care- soon the soldier began trusting them- he says, ‘If all the Japs were like you there wouldn’t have been a war’ – when the assassins were to be sent- Sadao spent sleepless nights- after telling the soldier of his plan of escape- reluctant to escape –Sadao also told him how to safeguard himself.

 

Summary 
It is the time of the World War. An American prisoner of war is washed ashore in a dying state. He is found at the doorstep of a Japanese doctor. He treats his wound and let him go. Humanism transcends all man-made prejudices and barriers. Dr. Sadao upholds the ethics of medical profession in treating an enemy.

Multiple choice question

Question. Why did Dr. Sadao go to America?
(a) to study medicine
(b) as a tourist
(c) to find a wife
(d) none of these

Answer : A

Question. Why did Dr. Sadao treat the soldier when he was from the enemy's nationality?
(a) he was a doctor
(b) it was against his professional ethics
(c) as a doctor he could not let anyone die
(d) all of these

Answer : D

Question. Who was Dr.Sadao?
(a) an Iranian Doctor
(b) an American doctor
(c) a Japanese doctor
(d) none of these

Answer : C

Question. How did Hana help Dr. Sadao?
(a) by assisting him
(b) by giving him money
(c) by giving him tools
(d) by working as a nurse

Answer : D

Question. Why did the General not pass orders to arrest Dr. Sadao for sheltering a white man?
(a) he was ignorant
(b) he was a traitor
(c) General needed his services
(d) none of these

Answer : C

Question. What does this chapter revolve around?
(a) Japan USA War
(b) China Japan war
(c) India Japan war
(d) all of these

Answer : A

Question. Where did Dr. Sadao meet Hana?
(a) in Japan, at school
(b) at a neighbour’s house
(c) at a relative’s house
(d) in USA, at a professor’s house

Answer : D

Question. In the end, what is Dr. Sadao reminded of?
(a) the general’s promise
(b) faces of the Americans in his life
(c) his family .
(d) none of these

Answer : B

Question. Why was Dr. Sadao irritable with the man who lay like dead under his knife?
(a) he was not able to attend to Hana
(b) he could not cure the man
(c) the kids needed him
(d) none of these

Answer : A

Question. Why did Hana wash the wounded man herself?
(a) she refused to take Yumi’s help
(b) she was a trained nurse
(c) her servants refused to help an American enemy soldier
(d) none of these

Answer : C

Question. Why did the servants refuse to help ?
(a) they were scared
(b) they were patriots
(c) the soldier was an American
(d) all of these

Answer : D

Question. How did Dr. Sadao ensure that the American Soldier had left safely?
(a) by escorting him
(b) by seeing no signal of flashlight
(c) by giving him a call
(d) none of these

Answer : B

Question. What kind of person was Dr. Sadao's father ?
(a) a serious man
(b) a jolly good man
(c) very strict
(d) a true patriot and traditional person

Answer : D

Question. Why did the messenger come to the doctor?
(a) to meet him
(b) for check up
(c) to inform about the General's pain
(d) all of these

Answer : C

Question. Seeing the messenger, what was Hana's reaction?
(a) she got frightened
(b) she thought he had come to arrest her husband
(c) she was worried that the servants had informed the police
(d) all of these

Answer : D

Question. What kind of person was the General?
(a) a kind hearted man
(b) a wise man
(c) a selfish man
(d) None of these

Answer : C

Question. Why did the General spare the White American soldier?
(a) to spare his own life
(b) he himself was in pain
(c) needed Dr. Sadao's help
(d) all of these

Answer : D

Question. How did Dr. Sadao get rid of the American Soldier?
(a) by giving him instructions
(b) by giving him flashlight to use in times of distress
(c) by asking him to row to the island
(d) all of these

Answer : D

Question. Why was Dr. Sadao not sent to the battlefield?
(a) because he had no interest
(b) he didn't love his country
(c) he was supposed to take care of the General
(d) all of these

Answer : C

Question. Why did Dr.Sadao give his flashlight to the enemy soldier?
(a) he wanted to throw the flashlight
(b) to get rid of him
(c) so that he could send him signal in case of any distress
(d) all of these

Answer : C

Question. What was General's plan for getting rid of the American soldier?
(a) to help him escape through the sea route
(b) to inform his country
(c) to get him assassinated by some private assassins
(d) none of these

Answer : C

Question. Why did the servants leave the Doctor's house?
(a) they did not get the salary
(b) they were mistreated
(c) the doctor had sheltered an American soldier
(d) all of these

Answer : C

Question.- Where did Dr. Sadao find American soldier?
(a) in the park
(b) in the battlefield
(c) outside his house
(d) none of these

Answer : C

Question. What idea do you form of Dr. Sadao after reading the lesson?
(a) compassionate person
(b) excellent doctor
(c) sincere and responsible
(d) all of these

Answer : D

Question. How many years did Sadao spend in America?
(a) 5 years
(b) 8 years
(c) 6 years
(d) 3 years

Answer: B

Question. Sadao made the prisoner dress up in
(a) Korean clothes
(b) Chinese clothes
(c) American clothes
(d) Japanese clothes

Answer: D

Question. The young soldier was asked to flash light ifhis food ran out
(a) Thrice
(b) once
(c) twice
(d) not at all

Answer: C

Question. Sadao‘s land lady nursed him through
(a) Influenza
(b) pneumonia
(c) fever
(d) an injury

Answer: A

Question. What kind of a man was Sadao‘s father ?
(a) An Educationalist
(b) a true patriot
(c) very humanistic
(d) very modern in his outlook

Answer: B

Question. What prompted Dr Sadao to help the wounded American soldier?
(a) His duty as a doctor
(b) his respect for humanity
(c) his obligation towards his American professor
(d) his sympathy

Answer: A

Question. Who refused to wash the American soldier?
(a) Yumi
(b) Hana
(c) Gardener
(d) Sadao

Answer: A

Question. Sadao removed the bullet from very close to the soldier‘s
(a) Lungs
(b) heart
(c) Liver
(d) Kidney

Answer: D

Question. The American soldier was nursed by
(a) Hana
(b) Yumi
(c) Sadao himself
(d) The Gardener

Answer: A

Question. The first treatment Sadao gave to the wounded soldier was
(a) he was operated upon
(b) he was fed
(c) his wounds were dressed
(d) his wounds were washed

Answer: C

Extract Based Questions:

I. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
"Yes, yes" the General sai(d) "It only makes me feel you more indispensable to me. Evidently you can save anyone- you are so skilled…………Then certainly I can allow nothing to happen to you," the General said with anxiety. His long pale Japanese face became expressionless, which meant that he was in deep thought. You cannot be arrested ,‖ the General said, closing his eyes.

Question. The old General is………..
(a) Patriotic
(b) self-centered
(c) curious
(d) caring

Answer: B

Question. "It only makes me feel you more indispensable to me.‖ Who is indispensable?
(a) The General
(b) Sadao
(c) Hana
(d) the soldier

Answer: B

Question. The old General expresses ………..
(a) Confidence
(b) his faith in Sadao
(c) his love for Sadao
(d) patriotism

Answer: B

II. "Even the servants see more clearly than we do. Why are we different from other Japanese?‘‘

Question. What does the speaker refer to here?
(a) Treating the American soldier
(b) patriotism
(c) both (a). and (b).
(d) none of these

Answer: C

Question. Identify the speaker?
(a) Hana
(b) Sadao
(c) Sadao‘s father
(d) none of these

Answer: A

Question. Whom does the speaker address?
(a) Sadao
(b) Yumi
(c) both (a) and (b).
(d) none of these

Answer: A

III. Sadao had taken this into his mind as he did everything his father said, his father who never joked or played with him but who spent infinite pains upon him who was his only son. Sadao knew that his education was his father‘s chief concern. For this reason he had been sent at twenty two to America to learn all that could be learned of surgery and medicine.

Question. Sadao respected his father in every aspect. This statement is…..
(a) Partially true
(b) True
(c) Cannot be inferred
(d) Partially false.

Answer: B

Question. What all can be inferred from the passage given above?
(a) Sadao‘s father was a very serious man.
(b) His father as very credulous.
(c) He had concern for his son.
(d) Both a and c

Answer: D

Question. Choose the correct alternative from the following options for assertion (A) and reason (R).
Assertion (A): Sadao did everything his father said.
Reason (R) : He had been sent at twenty two to America.
(a) Both (A) and (R) are true .But(R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
(b) (A) is true but (R)is false.
(c) (A) is false but (R) is true.
(d) Cannot be inferred.

Answer: A

IV. "The master ought not to heal the wound of this white man,‖ he said bluntly to Hana. "The white man ought to die. First he was shot. Then the sea caught him and wounded him with her rocks. If the master heals what the gun did and what the sea did they will take revenge on us.

Question. What is the attitude of the speaker?
(a) impatient
(b) convincing
(c)argumentative
(d) Both (a) and (c)

Answer: D

Question. Identify the speaker of the above lines?
(a) Yumi
(b) the cook
(c) The Gardener
(d) none of the above

Answer: C

Question. The speaker is______
(a) afraid of the enemy
(b) prejudiced
(c) patriotic
(d) both (a) and (b)

Answer: B

Long Answer Type Questions:

Question. What explains the attitude of the General in the matter of the enemy soldier? Was it human consideration, lack of national loyalty, dereliction of duty or simply selfabsorption?
Answer: During his meeting with the General, Dr Sadao told him about the man he had operated on successfully. He explained that he cared nothing for the man. The General appreciated his skill and efficiency and promised that he would not be arrested.
The General thought it quite unfortunate that the man had been washed up to Dr Sadao‘s doorstep and thought it best if he could be quietly killed. He promised to send his private assassins to do so and remove his dead body. He suggested that Dr Sadao should leave the outer partition of the white man‘s room to the garden open at night.
It is evident that the General had no human consideration in this matter. For him an enemy was an enemy and must be wiped out. He wanted the man to be eliminated silently to save the doctor from being arrested. It was neither lack of national loyalty nor dereliction of duty that guided and inspired his decision. It was simply his sense of self-absorption. He ―wanted to keep Dr Sadao safe only for his own sake. He had no faith in the other doctors trained in Germany. He might have to be operated upon anytime and he had full faith in the skill and loyalty of Dr Sadao .
One week after the emergency operation on the General Dr Sadao informed him that the man had escaped. The General admitted that he had forgotten his promise as he had been suffering a great deal and he thought of nothing but himself. He admitted that it was careless of him to have forgotten his promise but added that it was not lack of patriotism or dereliction of duty on his part.

Question. There are moments in life when we have to make hard choices between our roles as private individuals and as citizens with a sense of national loyalty? Discuss with reference to the story you have just read.
Answer: Dr Sadao Hoki faces a dilemma when he finds an unconscious wounded white man lying on the lonely coast with dangerous rocks near his house. His first reaction was that the person was perhaps a fisherman who had been washed from his boat. He ran quickly down the steps. His wife, Hana came behind him. When they came near, Sadao found that the man was wounded and lay motionless. His face was in the sand. As they saw his face, they found that he was a white man with long yellow hair and a rough yellow beard.
Being an expert surgeon, Dr Sadao saw that the man had a gun-wound on the right side of his lower back. He at once packed the wound with sea moss to stanch the fearful bleeding. Since Japan was at war with America, the white man was an enemy. The best thing that they could do was to put him back in the sea. His wife approved of his decision.
Sadao made another observation. If they sheltered a white man in their house they would be arrested and if they turned him over as a prisoner, he would certainly die. Hana still insisted on putting him back into the sea. Sadao then said that if the man was whole he could turn the man over to the police without difficulty. He cared nothing for the man. He was their enemy.
All Americans were their 'enemy‘. Hana understood his dilemma and realised that in the conflict between his sense of national loyalty and his duty as a doctor, it was the latter which proved dominant. Since Sadao too could not throw him back to the sea, the only course left for them was to carry him to their house. Sadao enquired about the reaction of the servants.
Hana said that they would tell the servants that they intended to give the man to the police.
She told Sadao that they must do so.It would endanger all of them if they did not give that man over as a prisoner of war. Sadao agreed and promised that he would not think of doing anything else.

 

 

1. Who was Dr. Sadao Hoki and where did he live ?

 

2. Who was the white man whom Dr. Sadao and Hana found?

 

3. Why did the General overlook the matter of the enemy soldier?

 

4. Why was Dr. Sadao not sent with the troops?

 

5. Why did the servants leave Dr. Sadao’s house?

 

6. How did Hana help Sadao in operating on the wounded prisoner of war ?

 

7. What makes Dr Sadao comment, ‘This man must have extraordinary vitality’.

 

8. How did Hana react when she saw a messenger at the door in official uniform?

 

9. How did the General offer to help Sadao get rid of the American?

 

10. After the General’s assurance of getting the American prisoner slain, the doctor should have felt relieved, but he spends sleepless nights. How do you account for his behaviour?