The Enemy Main Point Explanation and Summary
The Enemy Main Point Explanation and Summary
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.
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.
- 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
The Enemy Main points to remember:
- The story is set in the times of World War II. Dr. Sadao is a Japanese doctor who is an expert surgeon and scientist. He finds an American prisoner of war, at his threshold, who is bleeding and on the verge of death. Initially, Dr. Sadao and his wife Hana think of throwing the unconscious man back into the sea but cannot do so. Finally, they bring him home. Dr.Sadao operates upon him with the help of his wife. They both have to face the protests of the servants as they refuse to clean the man and leave their job in protest.
- The man starts recovering slowly. One day, Dr. Sadao had to go to see the General. Dr. Sadao, while treating the General, tells him about the American in his house. The General promises to send his personal assassins to quietly kill the American. Dr. Sadao does not tell his wife about this plan and keeps on waiting for the assassins for three nights. But they do not turn up.
- By this time, the American had recovered. Now Dr. Sadao decides to send him to an unguarded island in the sea. He gives him a boat, a torch, lots of food and water and a flashlight. He instructs him to stay on the island and wait for a Korean boat. He also tells him to signal him two flashes if he runs outof food, before he takes a boat.
- Dr. Sadao is again called by the General and this time, he has to be operated upon. Dr. Sadao tells tells the General that the American has escaped. The General keeps quiet about all this. Finally, Dr. Sadao does not see any flash of light and realizes that the prisoner has escaped safely
The Enemy Important Expressions:
YONDER - At some distance in the direction pointed at
KIMONO: A traditional Japanese garment
Staggered: Walk unsteadily
Solemn : Serious and concerned
Beachcomber: A vagrant who makes a living by
searching beaches for articles of value and selling them
Stupor: A state of unconsciousness
Stupor: A state of unconsciousness
The Enemy Introduction
It is the time of World War. An American
prisoner of war is washed ashore in a dying state and is found at the doorstep
of a Japanese doctor. Should he save him as a doctor or hand him over to the
Army as a patriot?
The story is set during the Second World War.
A Japanese doctor finds an American POW at his doorstep. He is in a dilemma
that being a doctor, should he save the wounded man or being a Japanese, should
he hand over the enemy to the army.
The Enemy Theme of the Lesson
The short tale “The Enemy” by Pearl S. Buck tackles the subject of
prejudice and its damaging impact on interpersonal relationships. The plot
centres on the connection between a Chinese doctor and an American soldier, who
are originally strangers, amid a period of American war on Japan during the
second world war. Despite their difference in nationality, the Japanese has to
remain loyal to his profession and thus, saves the life of the injured enemy
soldier. However, this does not go well with his fellow men who consider him
not to be loyal towards his country. The narrative shows us how the Japanese
doctor, Sadao balances these two duties and emphasizes on the importance of
humanity over everything else.
The short tale “The Enemy” by Pearl S. Buck tackles the subject of
prejudice and its damaging impact on interpersonal relationships. The plot
centres on the connection between a Chinese doctor and an American soldier, who
are originally strangers, amid a period of American war on Japan during the
second world war. Despite their difference in nationality, the Japanese has to
remain loyal to his profession and thus, saves the life of the injured enemy
soldier. However, this does not go well with his fellow men who consider him
not to be loyal towards his country. The narrative shows us how the Japanese
doctor, Sadao balances these two duties and emphasizes on the importance of
humanity over everything else.
The Enemy Summary in English
The Enemy is a story written by Pearl
Sydenstricker Buck. It is about a Japanese surgeon, Sadao. He went to study in
America and meets a Japanese girl, Hana, there. He marries her and brings her
back to Japan to settle down. This was the time of World War II. Thus, all the
doctors were called upon to serve the Japanese army. However, they allowed
Sadao to stay back. It was because he was tending to the old General who was on
his death bed. However, one night, an incident changes his life. He
encounters an American Navy-man who is injured by a gun-shot and dying.
Although Sadao was in no mind to help
the enemy, he takes in the young soldier and provides him with medical
assistance. He keeps him at his house to avert any danger coming his way.
However, he knew he has opened doors to danger by helping the enemy. His
servants decide to leave Sadao too. As the days kept passing, the soldier was
now beginning to gain his health back. Now that the soldier was no longer
Sadao’s patient, he decides to kill him off in his sleep. He informs the
General of the American and thus the General reciprocates. They decide to send
private assassins to kill the American soldier.
While waiting for the assassins,
Sadao starts noticing it was delaying. However, during this course, humanity in
Sadao arises. He realizes that he is a human being at the end of the day. He
now recognizes the value of human life as well as universal brotherhood. Thus,
this opens his mind which was limited to race, boundaries, and wars. Finally,
he comes to the conclusion that the American soldier is not his enemy just
because he belongs to another country. Thus, he rises above his prejudices and
does the right thing by helping the American soldier escape, thus saving his
life.
Conclusion of The Enemy
To sum up, The Enemy summary, we
learn how love and compassion can make us better human beings as opposed to
prejudices and biases against other people with whom we do not share anything
but the bond of being humans.
The Enemy Lesson Explanation
Passage:
Dr Sadao Hoki’s house was built on a
spot of the Japanese coast where as a little boy he had often played. The low,
square stone house was set upon rocks well above a narrow beach that was
outlined with bent pines. As a boy Sadao had climbed the pines, supporting
himself on his bare feet, as he had seen men do in the South Seas when they
climbed for coconuts. His father had taken him often to the islands of those
seas, and never had he failed to say to the little brave boy at his side,
‘‘Those islands yonder, they are the steppingstones to the future for Japan.’’
‘‘Where
shall we step from them?’’ Sadao had asked seriously.
‘‘Who
knows?’’ his father had answered. ‘‘Who can limit our future? It depends on
what we make it.’’
Word
Meaning: Yonder: at
some distance in the direction pointed at
Explanation
of the above passage:
The writer introduces the main character of the story –Dr.SadaoHoki. Dr.Sadao’s
house was situated on the coast of Japan. He had been living there since his
childhood. The house had a low height and was made of stone. It was set upon the
rocky beach which had a boundary line made with pine trees that were tilted
towards one side. When Dr.Sadao was a child, he would climb up the pine trees.
On his visits to the South Seas, He would see men do so in order to get
coconuts from the trees. He would accompany his father to the islands of the
South Seas often. His father would point towards the islands and would
say that those were the stepping stones towards the future of Japan. Dr.Sadao
would question him childishly that where would they reach from those islands.
His father would reply that it was not known as it depended on the future. The
future had no limits. It depended on mankind how it shaped its future.
Passage:
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. He had come back at thirty, and before his father died he had seen
Sadao become famous not only as a surgeon but as a scientist. Because he was
perfecting a discovery which would render wounds entirely clean, he had not
been sent abroad with the troops. Also, he knew, there was some slight danger
that the old General might need an operation for a condition for which he was
now being treated medically, and for this possibility Sadao was being kept in
Japan.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao retained all the things that his father would tell him as a child. His
father never played or joked with him. They shared a mature relation and his
father underwent a lot of hardships to bring him up. Sadao knew that his father
was concerned about his education. He was sent to America at the age of twenty
– two to study surgery and medicine. He returned at the age of thirty. Before
dying Sadao’s father saw Sadao become famous not only as a surgeon but also as
a scientist. Sadao was on his way to discover a treatment for wounds which
would make them absolutely clean. So, he was not sent abroad with the armed
forces as a doctor. Also, he was retained in Japan because the old General was
suffering from an ailment which needed to be operated upon in case of an
emergency.
Passage:
Clouds were rising from the ocean now.
The unexpected warmth of the past few days had at night drawn heavy fog from
the cold waves. Sadao watched mists hide outlines of a little island near the
shore and then come creeping up the beach below the house, wreathing around the
pines. In a few minutes, fog would be wrapped about the house too. Then he
would go into the room where Hana, his wife, would be waiting for him with the
two children.
Explanation
of the above passage:
The writer describes the scene outside Dr.Sadao’s house. As the days were
unusually warm and the sea waves were cold, the nights became foggy. Dr.Sadao
saw the boundary of a nearby island became invisible gradually, as it got
covered in the mist. Slowly, the mist was coming closer to him. Soon there
would be mist all around his house. At that time, he would go back into the
house, to his wife, Hana who was waiting for him along with their two children.
Passage:
But at this moment the door opened and
she looked out, a dark-blue woollen haori over her kimono. She cameto him
affectionately and put her arm through his as he stood, smiled and said
nothing. He had met Hana in America, but he had waited to fall in love with her
until he was sure she was Japanese. His father would never havereceived her
unless she had been pure in her race. He wondered often whom he would have
married if he had not met Hana, and by what luck he had found her in the most
casual way, by chance literally, at an American professor’s house. The
professor and his wife had been kind people anxious to do something for their
few foreign students, and the students, though bored, had accepted this
kindness. Sadao had often told Hana how nearly he had not gone to Professor
Harley’s house that night — the rooms were so small, the food so bad, the
professor’s wife so voluble. But he had gone and there he had found Hana, anew
student, and had felt he would love her if it were at all possible.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Before Sadao could go inside, the door opened and his wife looked out for him.
She was wearing a dark – blue colured gown over her dress. She lovingly crossed
her arm with his, smiled at him, remained silent and stood by him. They had met
in America. Sadao knew that his father would marry him to a Japanese girl only
and so, he ensured this before falling in love with her. Sadao considered
himself to be lucky to have accidentally met her at aa American Professor’s
house. He wondered that had he not met her, he would not have got a wife all
his life. He thought that the professor and his wife were kind as they were
keen to help foreign students. He was glad that they had accepted this kindness
and went to their house because it was there that he had met Hana. Sadao would
often tell Hana that it was a mere coincidence that he went to the professor’s
house that night as the rooms in his house were small, the food was not good
and the professor’s wife was very talkative. If he had not gone there that
night, he would not have met Hana. At that time, Hana was a new student. Sadao
had thought that he would love her if at all it would be possible for him.
Passage:
Now he felt her hand on his arm and
was aware of the pleasure it gave him, even though they had been married years
enough to have the two children. For they had not married heedlessly in
America. They had finished their work at school and had come home to Japan, and
when his father had seen her the marriage had been arranged in the old Japanese
way, although Sadao and Hana had talked everything over beforehand. They were
perfectly happy. She laid her cheek against his arm.
Word
Meaning: Heedlessly:
carelessly
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao and Hana loved each other even after having two children – after many
years of marriage. They had not married in a haste in America rather they
returned to Japan, sought permission from their parents and then got married in
a traditional Japanese ceremony. They had discussed all the details before the
wedding. They were happy with each other. Hana rested her cheek against Sadao’s
arm with affection.
Passage:
It was at this moment that both of
them saw something black come out of the mists. It was a man. He was flung up
out of the ocean — flung, it seemed, to his feet by a breaker. He staggered a
few steps, his body outlined against the mist, his arms above his head. Then
the curled mists hid him again.
Word
Meaning: Staggered:
walk unsteadily as if about to fall
Explanation
of the above passage:
That moment they saw a figure appear out of the mist. It appeared black in
colour due to the mist in the air. The outline of a man’s body was visible in
the mist. He walked unsteadily with his arms above the head. It was an
indication that he was a prisoner. The man walked a few steps and then disappeared
in the mist.
Passage: ‘‘Who is that?’’ Hana cried. She
dropped Sadao’s arm and they both leaned over the railing of the veranda. Now
they saw him again. The man was on his hands and knees crawling. Then they saw
him fall on his face and lie there.
Word
Meaning: Leaned:
bent forward
Explanation
of the above passage:
Upon seeing the figure, Hana reacted by asking that who was that. She took her
arm out of Sadao’s arm and both of them bent forward over the railing of the
veranda to have a closer look at the man. They saw him again. He was crawling
on his hands and knees. Then he fell on his face and kept on lying there.
Probably he had fainted.
Passage:
‘‘A fisherman perhaps,’’ Sadao said,
‘‘washed from his boat.’’ He ran quickly down the steps and behind him Hana
came, her wide sleeves flying. A mile or two away on either side there were
fishing villages, but here was only the bare and lonely coast, dangerous with
rocks. The surf beyond the beach was spiked with rocks. Somehow the man had
managed to come through them — he must be badly torn.
Word
Meaning: Spiked:
covered with sharp points
Explanation
of the above passage:
As the area had villages full of fishermen, Sadao said that probably it was a
fisherman who had been washed off his boat. He ran to help him, Hana followed
him. The loose sleeves of her haori flew as she ran. This part of the coast was
not inhabited as it had dangerous rocks on it. As the rocks were pointed, the
man could be badly injured although he had managed to come through them.
Passage:
They saw when they came toward him
that indeed it was so. The sand on one side of him had already a stain of red
soaking through.
Word
Meaning: a stain of red:
blood stain
Explanation
of the above passage:
As the Japanese couple saw the man, they realized that he was badly injured.
The sand on which he lay had blood stains on one side which indicated that he
was wounded.
Passage: ‘‘He is wounded,’’ Sadao
exclaimed. He made haste to the man, who lay motionless, his face in the sand.
An old cap stuck to his head soaked with seawater. He was in wet rags of
garments. Sadao stopped, Hana at his side, and turned the man’s head. They saw
the face.
“A
white man!” Hana whispered.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao said that the man was wounded. He approached the man who lay motionless
with his face buried in the sand. An old cap hung on his head. It was soaked
with the sea water. His dress was also wet and torn. Sadao turned the man’s
head. As they saw the face, Hana spoke confidentially that he was a white i.e. an
American.
Passage:
Yes, it was a white man. The wet cap
fell away and there was his wet yellow hair, long, as though for many weeks it
had not been cut, and upon his young and tortured face was a rough yellow
beard. He was unconscious and knew nothing that they did for him.
Explanation
of the above passage:
The injured man was an American. As his cap fell off, they saw his wet, yellow
– coloured hair which had not been cut for a long time. He was young, his face
had such marks which indicated that he had been tortured. He had a rough,
unkept yellow – coloured beard. As he had fainted, he did not know of the
presence of Sadao and Hana.
Passage:
Now Sadao remembered the wound, and
with his expert fingers he began to search for it. Blood flowed freshly at his
touch. On the right side of his lower back Sadao saw that a gun wound had been
reopened. The flesh was blackened with powder. Sometime, not many days ago, the
man had been shot and had not been tended. It was bad chance that the rockhad
struck the wound.
Word
Meaning: Tended:
cared for, looked after
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao was reminded that the man was wounded as he had seen blood stains on the
sand. As he was a doctor, he moved his trained fingers around the man’s back to
search for the wound. He felt blood oozing out of a wound in the lower part of
his back. It was a gun shot. The man had been injured a few days ago. He had
not got any medical help to treat the wound as he had himself used some
black–coloured powdery substance on it. The sharp rocks on the shore had
pierced it and so, it was bleeding.
Passage: ‘‘Oh, how he is bleeding!’’ Hana
whispered again in a solemn voice. The mists screened them now completely, and
at this time of day no one came by. The fishermen had gone home and even the
chance beachcombers would have considered the day at an end.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Hana was concerned that the man was injured and said in a low voice that he was
bleeding. The mist had intensified now. The three of them could not be spotted
by anyone. Moreover, the fishermen and the ragpickers did not visit the place
at that time of the day.
Passage:
‘‘What shall we do with this man?’’
Sadao muttered. But his trained hands seemed of their own will to be doing what
they could to stanch the fearful bleeding. He packed the wound with the sea
moss that strewed the beach. The man moaned with pain in his stupor but he did
not awaken.
Passage:
‘‘The best thing that we could do
would be to put him back in the sea,’’ Sadao said, answering himself.
Now
that the bleeding was stopped for the moment he stood up and dusted the sand
from his hands.
‘‘Yes,
undoubtedly that would be best,’’ Hana said steadily. But she continued to
stare down at the motionless man.
‘‘If
we sheltered a white man in our house we should be arrested and if we turned
him over as a prisoner, he would certainly die,’’ Sadao said.
‘‘The
kindest thing would be to put him back into the sea,’’ Hana said. But neither
of them moved. They were staring with a curious repulsion upon the inert
figure.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao answered to himself and said that the best thing was to put the man back
into the sea. As the bleeding stopped, he stood up and removed the dust from
his hands. Hana supported his opinion but looked intently at the man as he lay
still. Sadao said that if they gave him shelter, they would be arrested for
sheltering an enemy. If they handed him over to the Japanese army as a prisoner,
then he would die in the prison. As he thought that both the options were not
favourable, so the best option was to put him back into the sea. Hana added
that the kindest act for them was to put him back into the sea. Both of them
did not move ahead to do so, rather they stared at the motionless figure with
dislike. They disliked him because he was an enemy – an American.
Passage: ‘‘What is he?’’ Hana whispered.
‘‘There
is something about him that looks American,’’Sadao said. He took up the battered
cap. Yes, there, almost gone, was the faint lettering. ‘‘A sailor,’’ he said,
‘‘from an American warship.’’ He spelled it out: ‘‘U.S. Navy.’’ The man was a
prisoner of war!
Word
Meaning: Battered:
torn and worn out
Explanation
of the above passage:
Hana was inquisitive as she asked about the man’s identity. Sadao replied that
he appeared to be an American. He picked up the torn cap and read the words
written on it which were slightly visible. He said that the man was a sailor
from an American warship and read out the words – “U.S. Navy” written on the
cap. They concluded that the man had been taken into captivity during the war.
‘‘He
has escaped.’’ Hana cried softly, ‘‘and that is why he is wounded.’’
Passage:
‘‘In the back,’’ Sadao agreed.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao and Hana discussed that the man had tried to escape from the prison and
had been shot in the back.
Passage:
They hesitated, looking at each other.
Then Hana said with resolution:
“Come,
are we able to put him back into the sea?”
Explanation
of the above passage:
They were not able to gather the courage to throw him into the sea. Hana called
upon Sadao with firmness. She asked him if he was ready to put him into the
sea.
Passage: “If I am able, are you?” Sadao
asked.
“No,”
Hana said, “But if you can do it alone…”
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao told her that he was able to do so and asked that did Hana have the
courage for it. Hana replied in the negative and added that if he could not do
it by himself, then she had to help him.
Passage:
Sadao hesitated again. “The strange
thing is,” he said, “that if the man were whole I could turn him over to the
police without difficulty. I care nothing for him. He is my enemy. All
Americans are my enemy. And he is only a common fellow. You see how foolish his
face is. But since he is wounded…”
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao was reluctant in throwing the man into the sea. He reasoned that if the
man was well, he would hand him over to the police without any hesitation. He
added that he was not concerned about the man and considered him to be an enemy
as he was an American. He commented that the injured man was a common man as
his face looked as if he was a foolish person. He wanted to say that he was not
bothered about the injured man but his only concern was that he was wounded.
Passage:
“You also cannot throw him back to the
sea,” Hana said. “Then there is only one thing to do. We must carry him into
the house.”
Explanation
of the above passage:
Hana said that if he could not throw him into the sea, then the second option
was to carry him home.
Passage:
“But the servants?” Sadao inquired.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao was concerned that the servants would object as they would shelter an
enemy.
Passage:
“We must simply tell them that we
intend to give him to the police — as indeed we must, Sadao. We must think of
the children and your position. It would endanger all of us if we did not give
this man over as a prisoner of war.” “Certainly,” Sadao agreed. “I would not
think of doing anything else.”
Explanation
of the above passage:
Hana said that they would tell them that they intended to hand him over to the
police once he recovered. She told him that they must do that. She added that
they must consider their children’s future and Sadao’s position. If they did
not hand over a prisoner of war to the police, they would be in danger. Sadao
replied that certainly he would do so and he did not think of doing anything
else.
Passage:
Thus agreed, together they lifted the
man. He was very light, like a fowl that had been half-starved for a long time
until it is only feathers and skeleton. So, his arms hanging, they carried him
up the steps and into the side door of the house. This door opened into a
passage, and down the passage they carried the man towards an empty bedroom.
Word
Meaning: Fowl:
cock, hen
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao and Hana lifted the injured man into the house. He was very light. The
writer compares his weight to that of a hen that has not been fed for a long
time and its body loses flesh and reduces into mere feathers and skeleton. The
man’s arms were hanging and the duo carried him up the steps into the side door
of the house. The door opened into a passage and they went down the passage
towards an empty bedroom.
Passage:
It had been the bedroom of Sadao’s
father, and since his death it had not been used. They laid the man on the
deeply matted floor. Everything here had been Japanese to please the old man,
who would never in his own home sit on a chair or sleep in a foreign bed. Hana
went to the wall cupboards and slid back a door and took out a soft quilt. She
hesitated. The quilt was covered with flowered silk and the lining was pure
white silk.
Explanation
of the above passage:
The bedroom belonged to Sadao’s father and had not been used after his death.
The injured man was laid on the thick mat on the floor. The writer describes
the room – everything in the room was Japanese as Sadao’s father disliked
foreign things. Hana went to the cupboard in the wall and took a soft quilt.
She resisted putting it on the injured man. The quilt was made of silk, had a
flowery print on it and the lining was made of pure white silk.
Passage:
“He is so dirty,” she murmured in
distress.
“Yes,
he had better be washed,” Sadao agreed. “If you will fetch hot water I will
wash him.”
Word
Meaning: Distress:
sadness
Explanation
of the above passage:She
was sad and spoke slowly that the man was very dirty. Sadao said that the man
had to be washed. Sadao asked Hana to get hot water so that he could wash the
man.
Passage:
“I cannot bear for you to touch him,”
she said. “We shall have to tell the servants he is here. I will tell Yumi now.
She can leave the children for a few minutes and she can wash him.”
Explanation
of the above passage:
Hana did not want that Sadao should touch the man. She said that they would ask
the servant to wash the injured man. She would call Yumi to leave attending the
children for a few minutes and wash him.
Passage:
Sadao considered a moment. “Let it be
so,” he agreed. “You tell Yumi and I will tell the others.” But the utter
pallor of the man’s unconscious face moved him first to stoop and feel his
pulse. It was faint but it was there. He put his hand against the man’s cold
breast. The heart too was yet alive.
Explanation
of the above passage:Sadao
thought for a moment and then agreed with Hana. He asked her to call Yumi while
he would call the other servants. Before he could go out, he saw the injured
man’s face. It was so pale that he stopped, bent forward and felt his heartbeat
to see if he was alive. The heartbeat was very faint but it was there. Then
Sadao placed his hand on the man’s heart to feel it. It was also beating. Sadao
concluded thus, that the injured man was alive.
Passage:
“He will die unless he is operated
on,” Sadao said, considering. “The question is whether he will not die any
way.”
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao commented that if the man was not operated upon, he would die. He added
that even if he was operated upon and saved, he would die at the hands of the
Japanese army. So, either ways he would die.
Passage:
Hana cried out in fear. “Don’t try to
save him! What if he should live?”
Explanation
of the above passage:
Hana screamed with fear and asked Sadao not to save the man… she feared that if
he lived, they would be in danger.
Passage:
“What if he should die?” Sadao
replied. He stood gazing down on the motionless man. This man must have
extraordinary vitality or he would have been dead by now.
But
then he was very young — perhaps not yet twenty five.
“You
mean die from the operation?”
Hana
asked.
“Yes,”
Sadao said.
Word
Meaning: Vitality:
energy, life
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao questioned that what would be the implications if the man died. He looked
down towards the injured man and wondered that he had a lot of energy which had
kept him alive through such torture. He countered his thought with the fact
that the man was very young – he seemed to be twenty five years of age and at
that age, people do have a lot of energy. Hana asked him that did he mean the
man could die during the operation. Sadao confirmed her question.
Passage:
Hana considered this doubtfully, and
when she did not answer Sadao turned away. “At any rate something must be done
with him,” he said, “and first he must be washed.” He went quickly out of the
room and Hana came behind him. She did not wish to be left alone with the white
man. He was the first she had seen since she left America and now he seemed to
have nothing to do with those whom she had known there. Here he was her enemy,
a menace, living or dead.
Word
Meaning: Menace:
danger, threat
Explanation
of the above passage:
Hana was pondering over this possibility and as she was taking time to reply,
Sadao left. He said that something had to be done with the injured man irrespective
of the result. The first thing was to wash him. As he walked out of the room,
Hana followed him. She did not want to remain in the room, alone with the
white-skinned man. Since she had left America, he was the first white man
she had seen. She had no contact with the Americans whom she had met as they
were her enemies. This injured man was also an enemy and was a threat to them.
Passage:
She turned to the nursery and called,
“Yumi!”
But
the children heard her voice and she had to go in for a moment and smile at
them and play with the baby boy, now nearly three months old.
Over
the baby’s soft black hair she motioned with her mouth, “Yumi — come with me!”
Word
Meaning: Nursery: a
room in a house for the special use of young children.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Hana turned to the children’s room and called out to Yumi. As the children
heard her voice, she went inside, smiled at them and played with her three –
month old son. As she held the baby who had soft black hair, she motioned with
her mouth to Yumi asking her to come.
Passage:
“I will put the baby to bed,” Yumi
replied. “He is ready.”
She
went with Yumi into the bedroom next to the nursery and stood with the boy in
her arms while Yumi spread the sleeping quilts on the floor and laid the baby
between them.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Yumi replied that the baby was ready for sleep and that she must put it to
sleep before accompanying her. Hana held the baby and went to the bedroom next
to the nursery with Yumi. Yumi spread the sleeping quilts on the floor and laid
the baby between them.
Passage:
Then Hana led the way quickly and
softly to the kitchen. The two servants were frightened at what their master
had just told them. The old gardener, who was also a house servant, pulled the
few hairs on his upper lip.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Hana led the way as they walked fast towards the kitchen. The two servants in
the kitchen were scared after hearing their master’s words regarding the
injured man. The old gardener who also worked as a servant was pondering over
the news and pulling the hair from his upper lip.
Passage:
“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.”
Word
Meaning: Bluntly: in
a straight – forward manner
Explanation
of the above passage:
The old gardener spoke bluntly to Hana. He said that Sadao must not treat the
injured white man. He reasoned that the man was destined to die. Firstly, he
had been wounded by a gun shot and secondly, the rocks of the sea wounded him
further. If Sadao healed the wounds given by the gun and the sea, then the gun
and the sea would treat them as enemies and seek revenge. The gun represents
the Japanese army and the sea represents the country of Japan. If they treated
the enemy, they would be punished by Japan.
Passage:
“I will tell him what you say,” Hana
replied courteously. But she herself was also frightened, although she was not
superstitious as the old man was. Could it ever be well to help an enemy?
Nevertheless she told Yumi to fetch the hot water and bring it to the room
where the white man was.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Hana politely said to the gardener that she would pass his message to Sadao.
She was frightened though not superstitious like the old man. She thought that
helping an enemy could never be good for them. Still, she asked Yumi to get hot
water into the room where the injured man was kept.
Passage:
She went ahead and slid back the
partitions. Sadao was not yet there. Yumi, following, put down her wooden
bucket. Then she went over to the white man. When she saw him her thick lips
folded themselves into stubbornness. “I have never washed a white man,” she
said, “and I will not wash so dirty a one now.”
Word
Meaning: Stubbornness:
firm determination
Explanation
of the above passage:
Hana went inside first and moved the partition to one side. Sadao was not
there. Yumi followed her and kept the wooden bucket on the floor. As she saw
the white man, her thick lips folded and the expressions on her face indicated
her determination. She said firmly that she had never washed an American man
and that she would never wash one who was as dirty as that injured man.
Passage:
Hana cried at her severely. “You will
do what your master commands you!”
Explanation
of the above passage:
Hana reacted to Yumi’s refusal. She screamed at her that she was supposed to
follow her master’s orders.
Passage: There was so fierce a look of
resistance upon Yumi’s round dull face that Hana felt unreasonably afraid.
After all, if the servants should report something that was not as it happened?
Explanation
of the above passage:
Yumi resisted strongly. Her dull face had a dangerous look of protest which
scared Hana. She was worried that if the servants reported something different
from what had happened, they could land into trouble.
Passage: “Very well,” she said with
dignity. “You understand we only want to bring him to his senses so that we can
turn him over as a prisoner?”
Word
Meaning: Dignity:
respect
Explanation
of the above passage:
Hana changed her expressions to respect and said, “very well”. She explained to
Yumi that they intended to bring the unconscious man into his senses and then,
they would hand him over as a prisoner.
Passage:
“I will have nothing to do with it,”
Yumi said, “I am a poor person and it is not my business.”
Explanation
of the above passage:
Yumi said that she was not concerned about their plans. She added that she was
a poor person and it was none of her business to know about their plans.
Passage:
“Then please,” Hana said gently,
“return to your own work.”
At
once Yumi left the room. But this left Hana with the white man alone. She might
have been too afraid to stay had not her anger at Yumi’s stubbornness now
sustained her.
Word
Meaning: Sustained:
continued
Explanation
of the above passage:
Hana said to Yumi that then she should return to her work. Yumi left the room
at once. Hana was again left alone with the white man. She would have been afraid
to remain there all alone but her anger on Yumi’s firm determination made her
stay in the room.
Passage:
“Stupid Yumi,” she muttered fiercely.
“Is this anything but a man? And a wounded helpless man!”
Explanation
of the above passage:
Hana said with anger that Yumi was a stupid person. She said that it was just
an injured man.
Passage:
In the conviction of her own
superiority she bent impulsively and untied the knotted rugs that kept the
white man covered. When she had his breast bare she dipped the small clean
towel that Yumi had brought into the steaming hot water and washed his face
carefully. The man’s skin, though rough with exposure, was of a fine texture
and must have been very blond when he was a child.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Hana was so full of anger at the refusal by the maid, Yumi that without
thinking, she opened the blanket in which the man was injured. His chest was
bare. Hana took a small clean towel, dipped it in the steaming hot water and
washed his face. The man’s skin was rough due to being exposed to the sun, but
it had a good texture and he must have been very fair as a child.
Passage:
While she was thinking these thoughts,
though not really liking the man better now that he was no longer a child, she
kept on washing him until his upper body was quite clean. But she dared not
turn him over. Where was Sadao? Now her anger was ebbing, and she was anxious
again and she rose, wiping her hands on the wrong towel. Then lest the man be
chilled, she put the quilt over him.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Hana kept on cleaning the man’s upper body as she had these thoughts. She did
not like the man as he was not a child anymore. She did not have the courage to
turn him over and thought of Sadao. Hr anger was decreasing and she started
becoming restless. She stood up and wiped her hands with the wrong towel. As
she did not want the man to freeze due to the cold weather, she put the quilt
on him.
Passage:
“Sadao!” she called softly.
He
had been about to come in when she called. His hand had been on the door and
now he opened it. She sawt hat he had brought his surgeon’s emergency bag and
that he wore his surgeon’s coat.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Hana called out to Sadao softly.
He
had been on the door when she called him. He opened the door. Hana saw that Sadao
was carrying his surgeon’s emergency bag and was wearing his surgeon’s coat. He
was prepared to operate upon the injured man.
Passage:
“You have decided to operate!” she
cried.
“Yes,”
he said shortly. He turned his back to her and unfolded a sterilized towel upon
the floor of the tokonoma alcove and put his instruments out upon it.
Word
Meaning: Sterilized:
disinfected
Tokonoma
alcove: The word
‘toko’ literally means “floor” or “bed”; ‘ma’ means “space” or “room.” In
English, tokonoma is usually called alcove. It is a part of a
room where things are displayed.a niche or an alcove in a Japanese home for
displaying a flower arrangement, kakemono, or other piece of art.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Hana asked Sadao that had he decided to operate the man.
Sadao
replied that he had decided to operate him. He turned his back to Hana as he
did not want her to object to his decision. Sadao started his work. He opened a
sterilized towel on the floor of the tokonoma alcove and placed his surgical
instruments on it.
Passage:
“Fetch towels,” he said.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao asked Hana to get some towels.
Passage:
She went obediently, but how anxious
now, to the linen shelves and took out the towels. There ought also to be old
pieces of matting so that the blood would not ruin the fine floor covering. She
went out to the back veranda where the gardener kept strips of matting with
which to protect delicate shrubs on cold nights and took an armful of them.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Hana obeyed Sadao and went out to get the towels. She was curious as Sadao was
operating upon the injured man. She thought that the blood from his wounds
could stain the fine mats which covered the floor of the room. So, she got some
rough mats from the backyard which were used by the gardener to cover the
delicate shrubs from the cold weather.
Passage:
But when she went back into the room,
she saw this was useless. The blood had already soaked through the packing in
the man’s wound and had ruined the mat under him.
Explanation
of the above passage:
By the time Hana reached the room she saw that blood had flowed through the
bandage on the man’s wound and had stained the mat beneath him. Her effort was
futile.
Passage:
“Oh, the mat!” she cried.
“Yes,
it is ruined,” Sadao replied, as though he did not care. “Help me to turn him,”
he commanded her.
She
obeyed him without a word, and he began to wash the man’s back carefully.
Explanation
of the above passage:
On seeing the stained mat, Hana cried that the mat had been spoiled. Sadao
agreed that the mat had been ruined in such a manner which indicated that he
was not bothered by it. Sadao ordered Hana to help him turn the man over. She
obeyed him and then Sadao started washing his back.
Passage: “Yumi would not wash him,” she
said.
“Did
you wash him then?” Sadao asked, not stopping for a moment his swift concise
movements.
“Yes,”
she said.
He
did not seem to hear her. But she was used to his absorption when he was at
work. She wondered for a moment if it mattered to him what was the body upon
which he worked so long as it was for the work he did so excellently.
Word
Meaning: Concise:
short
Explanation
of the above passage:
Hana told Sadao that Yumi had refused to wash the injured man. Sadao asked her
that did she wash him. He did not stop cleaning him. He made fast small
movements of his hands as he cleaned him carefully. Sadao was engrossed in work
and did not seem to hear Hana. Hana wondered that Sadao was not bothered who
the injured man was. He was only concerned in performing his work well.
Passage:
“You will have to give the anesthetic
if he needs it,” he said.
“I?”
she repeated blankly. “But never have I!”
“It
is easy enough,” he said impatiently.
He
was taking out the packing now, and the blood began to flow more quickly. He
peered into the wound with the bright surgeon’s light fastened on his forehead.
“The bullet is still there,” he said with cool interest. “Now I wonder how deep
this rock wound is. If it is not too deep it maybe that I can get the bullet.
But the bleeding is not superficial. He has lost much blood.”
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao told Hana that she would have to inject the injured man with a substance
that induces insensitivity to pain. Hana replied that she had never done that
earlier. Sadao said in a haste that it was very easy. Sadao was removing the
packing and now the blood started flowing faster. He looked at the wound with
the help of the bright surgeon’s light fixed on his forehead. He announced that
the bullet was inside the man’s body. He wondered that how deep the wound made
by the rock was. He said that if the wound was not very deep, then he could get
the bullet out. He added that the bleeding was not from the surface of the skin
which meant that the wound was deep and the man had already lost a lot of
blood.
Passage:
At this moment Hana choked. He looked
up and saw her face the colour of sulphur.
Explanation
of the above passage: her face the colour of sulphur:
sulphur is a yellow coloured element. The clause means that her face became
pale – yellowish in colour.
When
Hana saw Sadao inspecting the wound, she could not see the sight and so, she
coughed. Sadao looked at her and saw that her face was yellowish in colour like
the colour of sulphur.
Passage:
“Don’t faint,” he said sharply. He did
not put down his exploring instrument. “If I stop now the man will surely die.”
She clapped her hands to her mouth and leaped up and ran out of the room.
Outside in the garden he heard her retching. But he went on with his work.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao reacted and ordered Hana not to faint. He did not stop his work and
continued inspecting the wound. Sadao said that if he stopped, the injured man
would certainly die. Hana put both her hands on her mouth, jumped up and ran
out of the room. Sadao heard her vomiting in the garden but he continued with
his work.
Passage:“It will be better for her to empty
her stomach,” he thought. He had forgotten that of course she had never seen an
operation. But her distress and his inability to go to her at once made him
impatient and irritable with this man who lay like dead under his knife.
Explanation
of the above passage:
As Sadao needed Hana’s help to operate the man, he thought that it would be
better for her to empty her stomach so that she would not feel uneasy time and
again. He was reminded that Hana was seeing an operation for the first time and
it was not a pleasant thing to see. Sadao was irritated and impatient as his
wife was under stress and he was not able to help her due to the man who lay
under his knife. He was just like a dead person.
Passage:
“This man.” he thought, “there is no
reason under heaven why he should live.”
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao thought that there was no reason for him to make efforts to save the man
because there was no reason for him to live.
Passage:
Unconsciously this thought made him
ruthless and he proceeded swiftly. In his dream the man moaned but Sadao paid
no heed except to mutter at him.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao became merciless and started working fast. The injured man moaned in his
state of unconsciousness but Sadao kept on working without paying attention to
the man’s pain.
Passage:
“Groan,” he muttered, “groan if you
like. I am not doing this for my own pleasure. In fact, I do not know why I am
doing it.”
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao said to the injured man that he was free to cry in pain. Sadao was not
concerned that the man was in pain. He did not want to operate him and did not
have any reason for doing so.
Passage:
The door opened and there was Hana
again.
“Where
is the anesthetic?” she asked in a clear voice.
Sadao
motioned with his chin. “It is as well that you came back,” he said. “This
fellow is beginning to stir.”
She
had the bottle and some cotton in her hand.
“But
how shall I do it?” she asked.
“Simply
saturate the cotton and hold it near his nostrils,” Sadao replied without
delaying for one moment the intricate detail of his work. “When he breathes
badly move it away a little.”
Explanation
of the above passage:
Hana entered the room and asked Sadao for the anaesthetic which she had to
administer to the injured man. Her voice was clear which shows that now she was
prepared to help him. Sadao moved his chin to guide her to the bottle of
anaesthetic. He added that it was good that she came as the man had started to
gain consciousness and it was important to sedate him. Hana held the bottle and
some cotton in her hands. She asked what she was supposed to do. He told her to
put some anaesthetic on the cotton and to place the cotton near the man’s
nostril. He did not stop his delicate work and added that she should remove the
cotton when the man started to breathe badly.
Passage:
She crouched close to the sleeping
face of the young American. It was a piteously thin face, she thought, and the
lips were twisted. The man was suffering whether he knew it or not. Watching
him, she wondered if the stories they heard sometimes of the sufferings of
prisoners were true. They came like flickers of rumour, told by word of mouth
and always contradicted. In the newspapers the reports were always that
wherever the Japanese armies went the people received them gladly, with cries
of joy at their liberation. But sometimes she remembered such men as General
Takima, who at home beat his wife cruelly, though no one mentioned it now that
he had fought so victorious a battle in Manchuria. If a man like that could be
so cruel to a woman in his power, would he not be cruel to one like this for
instance?
Word
Meaning:
Manchuria: Manchuria (Northeast China) is
the homeland of the Manchu people. To the Chinese, the region is
simply known as the Northeast. Manchuria is made up of China’s three
north-eastern most provinces: Liaoning, Jilin,
and Heilongjiang.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Hana sat in a squat and went close to the face of the sleeping American man.
She felt sad and sympathetic towards him as she saw his thin face and twisted
lips. She knew that he was suffering. She wondered whether the stories that she
had heard about the torture meted out to the prisoners were true. The stories
were like rumours which spread when people told them to others. On the other
hand, in the printed media like the newspapers, it was mentioned that the
Japanese army was welcomed wherever it went, and people praised it for their
freedom. Hana recalled an officer of the Japanese army, General Takima who was
cruel to his wife and would beat her. No one talked about it anymore as he had
won the war in Manchuria. Hana thought that if a man could be cruel towards his
wife then he could also be cruel to the prisoners in his captivity.
Passage:
She hoped anxiously that this young
man had not been tortured. It was at this moment that she observed deep red
scars on his neck, just under the ear.
Word
Meaning: Scars:
marks
Explanation
of the above passage:
Hana hoped that the man had not been tortured by the army. Just then she saw
deep red coloured marks (injury marks) on his neck, under the ear.
Passage:
“Those scars,” she murmured, lifting
her eyes to Sadao. But he did not answer. At this moment he felt the tip of his
instrument strike against something hard, dangerously near the kidney. All
thought left him. He felt only the purest pleasure. He probed with his fingers,
delicately, familiar with every atom of this human body. His old American
professor of anatomy had seen to that knowledge. “Ignorance of the human body
is the surgeon’s cardinal sin, sirs!” he had thundered at his classes year
after year. “To operate without as complete knowledge of the body as if you had
made it — anything less than that is murder.”
Word
Meaning: Probed:
searched
Anatomy: the branch of science concerned with
the bodily structure of humans, animals, and other living organisms, especially
as revealed by dissection and the separation of parts.
Word
Meaning: Cardinal:
basic, first
Explanation
of the above passage:
Hana mentioned the scars to Sadao and asked about them. Sadao did not answer.
At that moment, the tip of his instrument hit something hard (the bullet). It
was very close to the kidney. Sadao was not thinking of anything else. He was
happy to have finally found the bullet. He moved his fingers inside the wound.
Sadao was familiar with the tiniest part of the human body. His professor of
anatomy in America had told them that if a surgeon ignored the knowledge of any
part of the body, it was the first misdeed that he had committed. To operate
upon a body without detailed knowledge of it as much as the person who makes it
has would amount to committing murder of that body. Sadao’s professor would
repeat these words in his class often.
Passage:
“It is not quite at the kidney, my
friend,” Sadao murmured. It was his habit to murmur to the patient when he
forgot himself in an operation. “My friend,” he always called his patients and
so now he did, forgetting that this was his enemy.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao spoke to the injured man. He said that the bullet had just missed his
kidney. When Sadao would get engrossed in the operation, he would start talking
to the patient. He addressed thet patient as ‘my friend’. He called the injured
man also ‘my friend’. He forgot that this man was not a friend but an enemy.
Passage:
Then quickly, with the cleanest and
most precise of incisions, the bullet was out. The man quivered but he was
still unconscious. Nevertheless, he muttered a few English words.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao was quick. He made a few surgical cuts on the body and removed the
bullet. The man trembled in pain but remained unconscious. He spoke a few words
in English which were an expression of the pain that he was experiencing.
Passage:
“Guts,” he muttered, choking. “They
got…my guts…”
“Sadao!”
Hana cried sharply.
“Hush,”
Sadao said.
The
man sank again into silence so profound that Sadao took up his wrist, hating
the touch of it. Yes, there was still a pulse so faint, so feeble, but enough,
if he wanted the man to live, to give hope.
Explanation
of the above passage:
The injured man choked and said “guts,” “They got my guts”. He meant that he
was brave and courageous and the Japanese army would have a tough time while
punishing him. Upon hearing him Hana cried out to Sadao. Sadao hushed her to
keep quiet. The man became so quiet that Sadao held his wrist to check his
heartbeat. He was checking if the man was still alive. His pulse was there
although it was very weak. Sadao thought that it was enough for a person
who had a desire to live. There was still hope that the man would survive.
Passage:
“But certainly I do not want this man
to live,” he thought.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao was sure that he did not want the man to live.
Passage:
“No more anesthetic,” he told Hana.
He
turned as swiftly as though he had never paused and from his medicines he chose
a small vial and from it filled a hypodermic and thrust it into the patient’s
left arm. Then putting down the needle, he took the man’s wrist again. The
pulse under his fingers fluttered once or twice and then grew stronger.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao stopped Hana from administering anaesthetic. He turned quickly and chose
a small bottle from the medicines. He filled a syringe with the medicine and
pushed the vaccine into the man’s left arm. Sadao placed the needle down and
held the man’s wrist. The pulse shivered once or twice and then improved.
Passage:
“This man will live in spite of all,”
he said to Hana and sighed.
The
young man woke, so weak, his blue eyes so terrified when he perceived where he
was, that Hana felt compelled to apologise. She herself served him, for none of
the servants would enter the room.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao took a deep breathe as he told Hana that the injured man would live. He
woke up, his blue coloured eyes were full of fright as he realized were he was.
Hana felt sorry for him. She served him food as the servants refused to enter
the room where he was kept.
Passage:
When she came in the first time, she
saw him summon his small strength to be prepared for some fearful thing.
Word
Meaning: Summon: to
gather
Explanation
of the above passage:
When Hana met the injured man for the first time she saw that the man was
gathering strength and he was full of fear.
Passage: “Don’t be afraid,” she begged
him softly.
“How
come… you speak English…” he gasped.
“I
was a long time in America,” she replied.
She
saw that he wanted to reply to that but he could not, and so she knelt and fed
him gently from the porcelain spoon. He ate unwillingly, but still he ate.
Porcelain: a white vitrified translucent ceramic
also called china used for making utensils, pottery, etc.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Hana said softly to the injured man that he should not be afraid. He was
astonished that she could speak English. Hana replied that she had lived in
America for a long time. The man wanted to speak further but was not able to
speak. Hana fed him gently with a spoon made of porcelain. The man did not want
to eat but still he ate.
Passage: “Now you will soon be strong,”
she said, not liking him and yet moved to comfort him.
He
did not answer.
When
Sadao came in the third day after the operation, he found the young man sitting
up, his face bloodless with the effort.
“Lie
down,” Sadao cried. “Do you want to die?”
He
forced the man down gently and strongly and examined the wound. “You may kill
yourself if you do this sort of thing,” he scolded.
“What
are you going to do with me?” the boy muttered.
He
looked just now barely seventeen. “Are you going to hand
me
over?”
Explanation
of the above passage:
As Hana fed the man, she said that soon he would become strong. She said so
despite the fact that she disliked him. The man did not reply to her.
Sadao
visited the man on the third day after the operation. The young boy was sitting
but his face was pale and weak due to the effort that he made while sitting.
Sadao screamed at him and ordered him to lie down He said that the man would
die if he stressed himself. Sadao forced him down and inspected the wound that
he had operated upon. He scolded the man that he could die if he tried to exert
himself.
The
boy asked Sadao that what would he do with him now.
It
seemed that the boy was hardly seventeen years old. He asked Sadao that would
he hand him over to the Japanese army.
Passage:
For a moment Sadao did not answer. He
finished his examination and then pulled the silk quilt over the man.
“I
do not know myself what I shall do with you,” he said. “I ought of course to
give you to the police. You are a prisoner of war — no, do not tell me
anything.” He put up his hand as he saw the young man was about to speak. “Do
not even tell me your name unless I ask it.”
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao did not reply instantly. He completed examining the boy and then put the
silk quilt on him.
Sadao
said that he himself did not know what he should do with the boy. He added that
he was supposed to hand him over to the police. He also disclosed that he knew
that the boy was a prisoner of war. As Sadao saw that the boy was about to
speak, he raised his hand to indicate him not to do so. Sadao asked him not to
speak and not to tell his name also unless he asked him to do so.
Passage: They looked at each other for a
moment, and then the young man closed his eyes and turned his face to the wall.
“Okay,” he whispered, his mouth a bitter line.
Outside
the door Hana was waiting for Sadao. He saw at once that she was in trouble.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao and the boy exchanged glances and then the boy closed his eyes and turned
his face towards the wall. He said okay in a low voice as he felt bitter by
Sadao’s words.
Outside
the door Hana was waiting for Sadao. He saw that she was in some sort of a
trouble.
Passage: “Sadao, Yumi tells me the
servants feel they cannot stay if we hide this man here any more,” she said.
“She tells me that they are saying that you and I were so long in America that
we have forgotten to think of our own country first. They think we like
Americans.”
Explanation
of the above passage:
Hana said to Sadao that Yumi told her that the servants would not stay with
them if the American man lived there any longer. She also said that Sadao and
Hana had been in America for such a long time that they had forgotten their
country’s priority. Yumi and the servants thought that Hana and Sadao liked
Americans.
Passage:
“It is not true,” Sadao said harshly
“Americans are our enemies. But I have been trained not to let a man die if I
can help it.”
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao reacted harshly and said that this was not true. He said that Americans
were their enemies. He had been trained in such a way that he could not let a
man die and would help to save him in whichever way he could. That was what
Sadao had done.
Passage:
“The servants cannot understand that,”
she said anxiously.
“No,”
he agreed.
Neither
seemed able to say more, and somehow the household dragged on. The servants
grew more watchful. Their courtesy was as careful as ever, but their eyes were
cold upon the pair to whom they were hired.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Hana said that the servants could not understand Sadao’s predicament.
Sadao
agreed with this.
Both
of them had nothing more to say. The chores of the house continued but the
servants were vigilant. They were polite but unfriendly towards their masters.
Passage:
“It is clear what our master ought to
do,” the old gardener said one morning. He had worked with flowers all his
life, and had been a specialist too in moss. For Sadao’s father he had made one
of the finest moss gardens in Japan, sweeping the bright green carpet
constantly so that not a leaf or a pine needle marred the velvet of its
surface. “My old master’s son knows very well what he ought to do,” he now
said, pinching a bud from a bush as he spoke. “When the man was so near death
why did he not let him bleed?”
Explanation
of the above passage:
One morning, the old gardener said that it was obvious what their master should
have done. The old gardener had worked with flowers all his life and
specialized in moss. He had been employed by Sadao’s father. The gardener had
made one of the best moss gardens in Japan for Sadao’s father. He would sweep
the bright green coloured carpet of the moss clean so that the sharp leaves of
pine tree could not spoil the soft velvety surface. He plucked a flower bud
from the bush as he said that his master’s son i.e. Sadao knew very well what
he was supposed to do. He added that when the man was almost dead, he should
have left him to bleed to death.
Passage:
“That young master is so proud of his
skill to save life that he saves any life,” the cook said contemptuously. She
split a fowl’s neck skillfully and held the fluttering bird and let its blood
flow into the roots of a wistaria vine. Blood is the best of fertilisers, and
the old gardener would not let her waste a drop of it.
Explanation
of the above passage: The
cook said disrespectfully that their master was so proud of his skill at saving
lives that he did not bother whose life he was saving. She cut the neck of a
hen skilfully and held the bird as it shivered. She let the blood of the hen
flow into the wisteria plant. The old gardener had instructed her that blood
was the best fertilizer for the plants and he did not allow her to waste a
single drop of it.
Passage:
“It is the children of whom we must
think,” Yumi said sadly. “What will be their fate if their father is condemned
as a traitor?”
Word
Meaning: Traitor: a
person who betrays his country
Explanation
of the above passage:
Yumi was worried about the fate of Sadao and Hana’s children. She wondered that
when they grew up they would be labelled as the children of a traitor. As Sadao
was helping an American, all the people of Japan would consider him to be an
enemy of Japan, a traitor of his country.
Passage:
They did not try to hide what they
said from the ears of Hana as she stood arranging the day’s flowers in the
veranda near by, and she knew they spoke on purpose that she might hear. That
they were right she knew too in most of her being. But there was another part
of her which she herself could not understand. It was not sentimental liking of
the prisoner. She had come to think of him as a prisoner. She had not liked him
even yesterday when he had said in his impulsive way, “Anyway, let me tell you
that my name is Tom.” She had only bowed her little distant bow. She saw hurt
in his eyes but she did not wish to assuage it. Indeed, he was a great trouble
in this house.
Explanation
of the above passage:
As Hana stood in the verandah arranging the flowers, the servants discussed the
matter in her presence as they wanted her to know their views about the matter.
Hana also felt that the servants were right, but she had some feelings for the
injured man which she could also not analyse. She did not like the Prisoner
neither was she attached towards him. The day before the injured man told her
that his name was Tom. Hana did not like him at that moment also. She had
reacted by bowing her head mildly. She saw that her reaction hurt the injured
man, but she did not want to reduce this hurt that she had caused to him
because the injured man was a great trouble to her. His presence was a threat
to Hana and Sadao.
Passage: As for Sadao, every day he
examined the wound carefully. The last stitches had been pulled out this
morning, and the young man would, in a fortnight be nearly as well as ever.
Sadao went back to his office and carefully typed a letter to the Chief of
police reporting the whole matter. “On the twenty-first day of February an
escaped prisoner was washed up on the shore in front of my house.” So far he
typed and then he opened a secret drawer of his desk and put the unfinished
report into it.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao was performing his role perfectly. He would examine the wound every day.
One morning the last stitches were removed from the injured man’s body and he
would be as well as ever in the next 15 days. In the meantime, Sadao went to
his office and wrote a letter to the chief of the police to report the entire
matter to him. Sadao started his report and he wrote that on the 21st of
February an escaped prisoner was washed up on the shore in front of his house.
Sadao had just typed this much of the report. He opened the drawer of his desk
and kept this unfinished report in it.
Passage:
On the seventh day after that, two
things happened. In the morning the servants left together, their belongings
tied in large square cotton kerchiefs. When Hana got up in the morning nothing
was done, the house not cleaned and the food not prepared, and she knew what it
meant. She was dismayed and even terrified, but her pride as a mistress would
not allow her to show it. Instead, she inclined her head gracefully when they
appeared before her in the kitchen, and she paid them off and thanked them for
all that they had done for her. They were crying, but she did not cry. The cook
and the gardener had served Sadao since he was a little boy in his father’s
house, and Yumi cried because of the children. She was so grieving that after
she had gone she ran back to Hana.
Passage:
On the seventh day after that two
things happened. The servants of the house left in the morning. They had tied
their belongings in huge pieces of cloth. When Hana got up in the morning, she
saw that the work had not been done – the house was dirty, and the food had not
been cooked. She realized that the servants were up to something. She was
shocked and horrified when she came to know that the servants were leaving.
Hana did not show her feelings to the servants, instead she remained calm and
maintained her grace as the lady of the house. She paid the servants and
thanked them for their services. As the servants had been working there for
many years, they were crying but Hana did not cry. The cook and the gardener
were very old employees. They had been employed by Sadao’s father and had
served Sadao since his childhood. Yumi was crying because she would miss the
children. She was so sad that she ran up to Hana after she had left.
“If
the baby misses me too much tonight, send for me. I am going to my own house
and you know where it is.”
“Thank
you,” Hana said smiling. But she told herself she would not send for Yumi
however the baby cried.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Yumi said to Hana that if the baby missed her at night she could call her. She
further added that she was going to her own house and Hana knew where her house
was. Hana smiled and thanked her for the offer but to herself she said that in
case the baby cried she would not call for Yumi.
Passage:
She made the breakfast and Sadao
helped with the children. Neither of them spoke of the servants beyond the fact
that they were gone. But after Hana had taken morning food to the prisoner, she
came back to Sadao.
Explanation
of the above passage:
The next morning Hana prepared the breakfast and Sadao helped her by looking
after the children. Neither of them talked regarding the servants but after
Hana served the morning food to the Prisoner of War she came back to Sadao
probably to talk something.
Passage: “Why is it we cannot see clearly
what we ought to do?” she asked him. “Even the servants see more clearly than
we do. Why are we different from other Japanese?”
Explanation
of the above passage:
Hana was very worried, and she questioned that why they were not very clear
about what they ought to do. She added that even their servants were very clear
as compared to them. She said that why were they behaving differently from
other Japanese people. Hana wanted to say that as Americans were their Enemies
they should not have treated that Prisoner Of War and they should have let him
die just like any other Japanese would have done.
Passage:
Sadao did not answer. But a little
later he went into the room where the prisoner was and said brusquely, “Today
you may get up on your feet. I want you to stay up only five minutes at a time.
Tomorrow you may try it twice as long. It would be well that you get back your
strength as quickly as possible.”
Word
Meaning: Briskly:
quickly
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao did not reply to Hana but after some time he went into the room where the
Prisoner of War was resting and spoke very fast. He said that that day the man
could get up and stand on his feet. Sadao wanted him to stand only for 5
minutes at a time. Further he added that the next day he could try to stand for
double the time that is 10 minutes. Sadao also said that it would be good for
everyone that the man regained strength as soon as possible. Sadao hinted that
they wanted to get rid of the American as early because he had become a cause
of trouble for them.
Passage:
He saw the flicker of terror on the
young face that was still very pale. “Okay,” the boy murmured. Evidently he was
determined to say more. “I feel I ought to thank you, Doctor, for having saved
my life.”
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao saw that his words brought a hint of terror and scare on the face of the
young boy. His face was still very pale and colourless because he was very
weak. The boy spoke in a low voice and said “Okay”. It appeared that he wanted
to speak something more but he just said that he wanted to thank Sadao for
saving his life.
Passage: “Don’t thank me too early,”
Sadao said coldly. He saw the flicker of terror again in the boy’s eyes —
terror as unmistakable as an animal’s. The scars on his neck were crimson for a
moment. Those scars! What were they? Sadao did not ask.
Word
Meaning: Crimson:
bright red colour
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao was very expressionless when he said that the boy did not need to thank
him yet. As he spoke this he saw that the hint of scare again appeared in the
boy’s eyes. The writer compares the boy’s terrorized eyes to that of a scared
animal. The injury marks on the neck of the boy turned the bright red in colour
for a while. Sadao thought that what has caused those injury marks, but he did
not ask the boy about them.
Passage: In the afternoon the second
thing happened. Hana, working hard on unaccustomed labour, saw a messenger come
to the door in official uniform. Her hands went weak and she could not draw her
breath. The servants must have told already. She ran to Sadao, gasping, unable
to utter a word. But by then the messenger had simply followed her through the
garden and there he stood. She pointed at him helplessly.
Explanation
of the above passage:
That day the second incident happened in the afternoon. Hana was busy with the
household work as the servants had left. All of a sudden, she had to perform
all the work which she was not used to. She was very tired. She saw that a
messenger wearing official uniform had come to the house. As she saw him her
hands went week and she was unable to breathe. This was because she felt that
the servants must have told the authorities that they were sheltering an enemy.
Hana ran up to Sadao and she was struggling to breathe. She was unable to
speak. By that time the Messenger also followed her through the garden and he
stood in front of Sadao. Hana was helpless, and she pointed her finger towards
the Messenger.
Passage:
Sadao looked up from his book. He was
in his office, the other partition of which was thrown open to the garden for
the southern sunshine.
Southern
sunshine: the door of the office which opened into the garden faced the South
direction. This means that the sunshine which entered the office was not direct
and bright instead it was a shady sunshine.
Explanation
of the above passage: Sadao was reading a book and when he saw Hana, he looked
up. He was sitting in his office which had a partition in it. The part of the
office beyond the partition opened into the garden and was full of shady
sunshine.
Passage:
“What is it?” he asked the messenger
and then he rose, seeing the man’s uniform.
Sadao
asked the messenger the matter due to which he had visited them. When he saw
that the Messenger was wearing a uniform he stood up as a mark of respect.
“You
are to come to the palace,” the man said. “The old General is in pain again.”
The
Messenger said that Sadao was supposed to accompany him to the palace. He added
that the old general was suffering in pain and Sadao was supposed to visit him
and treat him as a doctor.
“Oh,”
Hana breathed, “is that all?”
“All?”
the messenger exclaimed.
“Is
it not enough?”
“Indeed
it is,” she replied. “I am very sorry.”
Upon
hearing this Hannah was relieved and she said, “oh”. With this, she took a deep
breath and asked that was that all for which the Messenger had come. The
messenger reacted and said, “All?” he could not understand that what else could
it be for which he was supposed to visit the house. He asked that was that not
enough, did they want any other reason for him to visit them. Hana was sorry
for her reaction and said that the reason was enough for the messenger to visit
them. She did not need any other reason for him to visit them.
When
Sadao came to say goodbye, she was in the kitchen, but doing nothing. The
children were asleep and she sat merely resting for a moment, more exhausted
from her fright than from work.
Explanation
of the above passage:
As Sadao had to accompany the Messenger, he went to Hana to say goodbye. Hana
was in the kitchen but she was not doing anything. The children had gone to
sleep, and Hana was taking rest. She was more tired due to the scare on seeing
the messenger than she was from doing the household work.
Passage:
“I thought they had come to arrest you”,
she said.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Hana said to Sadao that she had thought that the messenger had come to arrest
him.
Passage: He gazed down into her anxious
eyes. “I must get rid of this man for your sake,” he said in distress. “Somehow
I must get rid of him.”
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao looked carefully at Hana’s anxious eyes. He was very sad and distressed,
and he said that he must get rid of the man for her sake. He added that he had
to get rid of the man by any means.
(Sadao
goes to see the General)
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao went along with the messenger to visit the general
Passage: “Of course,” the General said
weakly, “I understandfully. But that is because, I once took a degree in
Princeton.So few Japanese have.”
Word
Meaning: Indispensable:
necessary
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao narrated the entire story to the general. The general who was very weak
said that he understood Sadao’s position because he had also studied in America
at the Princeton University but there were only a few Japanese who had studied
in America.
Passage: “I care nothing for the man,
Excellency,” Sadao said, “but having operated on him with such success…”
“Yes,
yes” the General said. “It only makes me feel you more indispensable to me.
Evidently you can save anyone— you are so skilled. You say you think I can
stand one more such attack as I have had today?”
“Not
more than one,” Sadao said.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao replied to the general that he did not care for the American man but as
he had operated upon him successfully. The general interrupted him and said,
“yes, yes”. He felt that Sadao was a necessary part of his life. As Sadao had
been successful at operating on the man, the general felt that Sadao was very
skilled. The general asked that did Sadao think that the general had any chance
of surviving another heart attack as the one he had that day. Sadao replied
that in his opinion the general could not survive more than one such heart
attack.
Passage: “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. “Suppose you were
condemned to death and the next day I had to have my operation?”
Explanation
of the above passage:
The general said that then in that case he could not allow anything to happen
to Sadao. He wanted to say that he needed Sadao and so, he would protect him.
The general’s long, weak yellowish face became expressionless because he was
thinking about Sadao being arrested. He became serious, closed his eyes at the
thought of Sadao being arrested and said that Sadao could not be arrested.
Further, he added that if Sadao was sentenced to death and he needed an
operation the next day, then who would operate upon him. So, the general wanted
to say that he needed Sadao and so he would protect him and he would not let
anything happen to him.
Passage: “There are other surgeons, Excellency,”
Sadao suggested. “None I trust,” the General replied. “The best ones have been
trained by Germans and would consider the operation successful even if I died.
I do not care for their point of view.” He sighed. “It seems a pity that we
cannot better combine the German ruthlessness with the American sentimentality.
Then you could turn your prisoner over to execution and yet I could be sure you
would not murder me while I was unconscious.” The General laughed. He had an
unusual sense of humour. “As a Japanese, could you not combine these two
foreign elements?” he asked.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao suggested to the general that there were many other surgeons in Japan.
The general replied that he did not trust anyone else other than Sadao. He
added that the best surgeons had been trained by the Germans and for them the
operation would be successful even if the general died. He did not care for
their point of view. The general added that the Japanese could not combine the
harsh nature of the Germans with the emotional nature of the Americans. So the
general wanted to say that they did not have such persons who could combine the
harsh nature of a German and the emotional nature of an American. He said that
if they would have been able to do that then Sadao could be harsh and could
turn the prisoner to the Japanese and at the same time, be emotional and not
murder the general during the operation. With this the general laughed. The
writer says that the general had a strange sense of humour. He was very witty.
Then he asked Sadao that being Japanese could he not combine these two foreign
elements. So, the foreign elements to which the general is referring is the
harsh nature of a German and the emotional nature of an American.
Passage:
Sadao smiled. “I am not quite sure,”
he said, “but for your sake I would be willing to try, Excellency.”
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao smiled at the general’s question and said that he was not quite sure
about it but for his betterment, he was willing to try it out.
Passage:
The General shook his head. “I had
rather not be the test case,” he said.
Explanation
of the above passage:
The general shook his head as he did not want to be such a person on whom a new
trial would be made.
Passage:
He felt suddenly weak and overwhelmed
with the cares of his life as an official in times such as these when repeated
victory brought great responsibilities all over the south Pacific.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Suddenly, the general felt weak and emotional as he was reminded of the
problems he had faced throughout his life while fulfilling his duties and
responsibilities in various wars won by Japan.
Passage:
“It is very unfortunate that this man
should have washed up on your doorstep,” he said irritably.
“I
feel it so myself,” Sadao said gently.
Explanation
of the above passage:
The general was irritated and said that the happening of the injured man
reaching his house was an unfortunate one.
Sadao
agreed with him.
Passage:
“It would be best if he could be
quietly killed,” the General said. “Not by you, but by someone who does not
know him. I have my own private assassins. Suppose I send two of them to your
house tonight or better, any night. You need know nothing about it. It is now
warm — what would be more natural than that you should leave the outer partition
of the white man’s room open to the garden while he sleeps?”
Word
Meaning: Assassins:
professional killers
Explanation
of the above passage:
The general said that the best solution was to kill the man quietly. He added
that he would not be killed by Sadao but by his hired killers. He would send
two killers to Sadao’s house that night or any night. Sadao did not need to
know about it. As the weather was warm those days, he wanted Sadao to act
naturally and keep the door of the outer partition of the man’s room open. As
it opened into the garden, it would give easy access to the killers while the
man was asleep.
Passage:
“Certainly it would be very natural,”
Sadao agreed. “Infact, it is so left open every night.”
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao agreed that the idea seemed natural. He added that they did leave the
door of the outer partition open at night.
Passage:
“Good,” the General said, yawning.
“They are very capable assassins — they make no noise and they know the trick
of inward bleeding. If you like I can even have them remove the body.”
Explanation
of the above passage:
The general was over with the talk and so, he yawned to show disinterest. He
added that was a good thing. He commented that the killers were experts – they
did not make any noise and killed the person in such a way that he bled inside.
There would be no traces of blood on his body. He would even ask them to remove
the dead body if Sadao wanted.
Passage:
Sadao considered. “That perhaps would
be best, Excellency,” he agreed, thinking of Hana.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao thought about Hana and said that that would be very good.
Passage:
He left the General’s presence then
and went home, thinking over the plan. In this way the whole thing would be
taken out of his hands. He would tell Hana nothing, since she would be timid at
the idea of assassins in the house, and yet certainly such persons were
essential in an absolute state such as Japan was. How else could rulers deal
with those who opposed them?
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao went back home and on the way he kept on thinking of the plan that he had
made along with the general. He thought that in this way, he would not be
involved in the death of that American man. He planned that he would not tell
Hana anything about this plan. Hana would not like the idea of the hired
Killers coming to their house but such persons were essential in a place like Japan.
It was the only way for the rulers to deal with their opponents.
Passage: He refused to allow anything but
reason to be the atmosphere of his mind as he went into the room where the
American was in bed. But as he opened the door, to his surprise he found the
young man out of bed, and preparing to go into the garden.
Word
Meaning: Reason: an
idea backed by common sense
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao did not let any thought enter his mind as he went into the room where the
American man lay asleep. He was surprised to see the man out of his bed. He was
getting ready to go out into the garden.
Passage: “What is this!” he exclaimed.
“Who gave you permission to leave your room?”
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao was shocked as he asked him that who had permitted him to stand and walk.
Passage:
“I’m not used to waiting for
permission,” Tom said gaily. “Gosh, I feel pretty good again! But will the
muscles on this side always feel stiff?”
Explanation
of the above passage:
Tom was happy and said that he was not in a habit of taking permission before
doing anything. He said that he felt good again, just the muscles on the sides
of his body were stiff and rigid.
Passage: “Is it so?” Sadao inquired,
surprised. He forgot all else. “Now I thought I had provided against that,” he
murmured. He lifted the edge of the man’s shirt and gazed at the healing scar.
“Massage may do it,” he said, “if exercise does not.”
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao was surprised to hear that. He forgot all work and said that he had
warned the man not to stand and walk. He lifted the man’s shirt and inspected
the scar. He said that massage could heal it if it would not be healed by
exercise.
Passage:
“It won’t bother me much,” the young
man said. His young face was gaunt under the stubbly blond beard. “Say, Doctor,
I’ve got something I want to say to you. If I hadn’t meta Jap like you — well,
I wouldn’t be alive today. I know that.”
Sadao
bowed but he could not speak.
Explanation
of the above passage:
The man said that the scar would not trouble him. His young, bearded face was
weak. He thanked Sadao and said that if he had not reached Sadao that day, then
he would have died.
Passage: “Sure, I know that,” Tom went on
warmly. His big thin hands gripping a chair were white at the knuckles. “I
guess if all the Japs were like you there wouldn’t have been a war.”
Word
Meaning: Gripping:
holding tightly
Explanation
of the above passage:
Tom added that he was sure of that. As he held the chair tightly with his thin
hands, the knuckled turned white in colour. This indicated that he was still
weak and had not recovered fully. Tom added that if all the Japanese people
would have been like Sadao, then the war would not have happened.
Passage:
“Perhaps,” Sadao said with difficulty.
“And now I think you had better go back to bed.”
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao said that maybe that could be true. He added that the man should go to sleep.
Passage:
He helped the boy back into bed and
then bowed. “Goodnight,” he said.
Explanation
of the above passage:
He helped the man lay in bed, bowed to him, said “goodnight”.
Passage:
Sadao slept badly that night. Time and
time again he woke, thinking he heard the rustling of footsteps, the sound of a
twig broken or a stone displaced in the garden — a noise such as men might make
who carried a burden.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao was restless all through the night as he felt that the hired killers were
there to kill the man. He imagined hearing the sound of footsteps, branches
being broken, stones moving as men walked on them and imagined that he heard
such a noise which indicated that some men were carrying the American’s dead
body. All this anxiety kept him awake.
Passage:
The next morning, he made the excuse
to go first into the guest room. If the American were gone he then could simply
tell Hana that so the General had directed. But when he opened the door he saw
at once that there on the pillow was the shaggy blond head. He could hear the
peaceful breathing of sleep and he closed the door again quietly.
Word
Meaning: Shaggy:
hairy
Explanation
of the above passage:
In the morning Sadao made an excuse to go into the American man’s room first.
He had planned that if the man was gone then he would tell Hana that the
general had ordered for him to be removed from there. When he opened the door,
he saw the man who had lots of yellowish coloured hair was asleep. He could
hear the sound of his breathing. Sadao closed the door of the room.
Passage:
“He is asleep,” he told Hana. “He is
almost well to sleep like that.”
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao said to Hana that the man was asleep. He added that now he was well and
did not need to sleep like that.
Passage:
“What shall we do with him?” Hana
whispered her old refrain.
Sadao
shook his head. “I must decide in a day or two,” he promised.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Hana again asked Sadao that what should they do with the man. Sadao shook his
head and promised her that he would decide it in one or two days.
Passage: But certainly, he thought, the
second night must be the night. There rose a wind that night, and he listened
to the sounds of bending boughs and whistling partitions.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao thought that perhaps the killers would come the next night. The night was
windy. He heard the sounds made by the branches as they bent due to the wind
and the partitions made whistling sound as the wind passed through them.
Passage:
Hana woke too. “Ought we not to go and
close the sickman’s partition?” she asked.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Hana woke and asked that should they close the partition door of the man’s
room.
Passage:
“No,” Sadao said. “He is able now to
do it for himself.”
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao refused and said that the man was capable to do that himself.
Passage:
But the next morning the American was
still there.
Explanation
of the above passage:
The next morning the American man was still there in the room.
Passage:
Then the third night of course must be
the night. The wind changed to quiet rain and the garden was full of the sound
of dripping eaves and running springs. Sadao slept a little better, but he woke
at the sound of a crash and leaped to his feet.
Word
Meaning: Eaves:
part of the roof that meets or overhangs the wall of a building
Springs:
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao was hopeful that they might come on the third night. Instead of the wind,
there was rain that night. The garden was full of noises as the water dripped
down the roof and tiny rivulets flowed through the garden. Sadao slept a little
and jumped as he heard a loud noise.
Passage:
“What was that?” Hana cried. The baby
woke at her voice and began to wail. “I must go and see.”
But
he held her and would not let her move.
“Sadao,”
she cried, “what is the matter with you?”
“Don’t
go,” he muttered, “don’t go!”
His
terror infected her and she stood breathless, waiting. There was only silence.
Together they crept back into the bed, the baby between them.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Hana heard the loud crash and asked what it was. The baby also woke up and
started crying. Hana wanted to go and check on it but Sadao stopped her. Hana
screamed at him and asked what the matter was. Sadao spoke slowly and asked her
not to go. He was scared and his scare affected Hana too. She stood without
breathing and waited. There was silence and both of them crawled back into the
bed with the baby lying on the bed in between them.
Passage:
Yet when he opened the door of the
guest room in the morning there was the young man. He was very gay and had
already washed and was now on his feet. He had asked for a razor yesterday and
had shaved himself and today there was a faint colour in his cheeks.
there
was a faint colour in his cheeks: his pale yellow coloured cheeks were turning pinkish in
colour which indicated that he was recovering.
Explanation
of the above passage:
In the morning, Sadao went into the guest room and saw the man was there. He
was happy and had taken his bath and had started moving around. He had borrowed
a razor from Sadao the previous day and had shaved his beard. The colour of his
cheeks was slightly pinkish which indicated that he was recovering and regaining
good health.
Passage:
“I am well,” he said joyously.
Explanation
of the above passage:
The man announced happily that he was well.
Passage:
Sadao drew his kimono round his weary
body. He could not, he decided suddenly, go through another night. It was not that
he cared for this young man’s life. No, simply it was not worth the strain.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao wrapped his traditional Japanese gown around his tired body. He was tired
because the curiosity had kept him awake for two consecutive nights. He decided
that he could not pass one more night in such a way. He was not bothered about
the man’s life but he could not bear the stress and anxiety any longer.
Passage: “You are well,” Sadao agreed. He
lowered his voice. “You are so well that I think if I put my boat on the shore
tonight, with food and extra clothing in it, you might be able to row to that
little island not far from the coast. It is so near the coast that it has not
been worth fortifying. Nobody lives on it because in storm it is submerged. But
this is not the season of storm. You could live there until you saw a Korean
fishing boat pass by. They pass quite near the island because the water is many
fathoms deep there.”
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao said to the man that he was well now. He lowered his voice and said that
he was strong enough to sail a boat. Sadao planned that if he arranged a boat,
stock it with food and extra clothing, the man would be able to row it to the
nearby island. As the island was so close to the coast, it had not been
guarded. It was not inhabited as it sunk into the sea during the storms. As it
was not the season of storms at that time, the man could live on the island
until he spotted a Korean fishing boat pass by. The Korean fishing boats passed
near the island as the sea was very deep there.
Passage:
The young man stared at him, slowly
comprehending. “Do I have to?” he asked.
“I
think so,” Sadao said gently. “You understand — it is not hidden that you are
here.”
The
young man nodded in perfect comprehension. “Okay,” he said simply.
Comprehending: understanding
Nodded: lower and raise one’s head slightly
and briefly, especially in greeting, assent, or understanding, or to give
someone a signal.
Explanation
of the above passage:
The young man stared Sadao as he understood his words. He asked that was it
necessary for him to do so. Sadao pleaded that he must understand that the fact
that the man was living at his house was known to everyone. The young man
agreed with him and said “okay”. He moved his head to indicate his acceptance.
Passage:
Sadao did not see him again until
evening. As soon as it was dark he had dragged the stout boat down to the shore
and in it he put food and bottled water that he had bought secretly during the
day, as well as two quilts he had bought at a pawnshop. The boat he tied to a
post in the water, for the tide was high. There was no moon and he worked
without a flashlight.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao left and did not meet the young man until evening. During the day, he
made arrangements for him. As it became dark, Sadao pulled out a big boat to
the shore. He placed food and bottled water in it that he had bought secretly
during the day. He kept two quilts in it. He had purchased them from the
pawnshop. As there was a high tide in the sea, he tied the boat to a pole. It
was a dark, moonless night and Sadao worked without a torch. He did not want to
be spotted by anyone.
Passage: When he came to the house he
entered as though he were just back from his work, and so Hana knew nothing.
“Yumi was here today,” she said as she served his supper. Though she was so
modern, still she did not eat with him. “Yumi cried over the baby,” she went on
with a sigh. “She misses him so.”
Explanation
of the above passage:
When Sadao came home, he pretended as though he had returned from work so that
Hana did not guess anything. Hana served him the evening meal and said that
Yumi had visited them that day as she missed the baby a lot. Although Yumi was
modern, she did not eat with Sadao.
Passage:
“The servants will come back as soon
as the foreigner is gone,” Sadao said.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao said that as soon as the American man left, the servants would return.
Passage: He went into the guest room that
night before he went to bed himself and checked carefully the American’s
temperature, the state of the wound, and his heart and pulse. The pulse was
irregular but that was perhaps because of excitement. The young man’s pale lips
were pressed together and his eyes burned. Only the scars on his neck were red.
Word
Meaning: Pulse:
heartbeat
Explanation
of the above passage:
That night before going to bed, Sadao visited the man. He checked his body
temperature, the wound, his heart and heartbeat. The heartbeat was unsteady due
to excitement as he was about to leave their home. The man’s lips were pressed
together and his eyes were red in colour which seemed to be burning with fire.
The scars on his neck were still red as they had not healed yet.
Passage:
“I realise you are saving my life
again,” he told Sadao. “Not at all,” Sadao said. “It is only inconvenient to
have you here any longer.”
Explanation
of the above passage:
The young man said to Sadao that he was saving his life once again. Sadao said
that it was not like that. He was sending him because he could not keep him any
longer.
Passage:
He had hesitated a good deal about
giving the man a flashlight. But he had decided to give it to him after all. It
was a small one, his own, which he used at night when he was called.
Word
Meaning: Hesitated:
paused in indecision before saying or doing something.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao was reluctant in giving him a torch as he felt that if the man used it
unwisely, he could be spotted and land into trouble. Finally, he gave him his
own torch, the one that he used when he had to attend to patients at night.
Passage:
“If your food runs out before you
catch a boat,” he said, “signal me two flashes at the same instant the sun
drops over the horizon. Do not signal in darkness, for it will be seen. If you
are all right but still there, signal me once. You will find fresh fish easy to
catch but you must eat them raw. A fire would be seen.”
“Okay,”
the young man breathed.
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao instructed the man. He said that if his stock of food finished before he
found a Korean fishing boat, he could signal him with two flashes of the torch
at dusk time. He asked him to be careful not to signal when it was dark because
light was more visible in the dark as compared to dusk. He added that the man
could find fish in the sea near the island but he had to eat it raw. He was not
supposed to cook it because fire would be spotted by the guards and put him in
danger. The man drew a breath on hearing the instructions and said “okay.”
Passage:
He was dressed now in the Japanese
clothes which Sadao had given him, and at the last moment Sadao wrapped a black
cloth about his blond head.
“Now,”
Sadao said.
Explanation
of the above passage:
The man wore the traditional Japanese dress that Sadao gave him to wear.
Finally, Sadao wrapped a black cloth around his head to hide his
golden-coloured hair.
Passage: The young American, without a
word, shook Sadao’s hand warmly, and then walked quite well across the floor
and down the step into the darkness of the garden. Once — twice… Sadao saw his
light flash to find his way. But that would not be suspected. He waited until
from the shore there was one more flash. Then he closed the partition. That
night he slept.
Word
Meaning: Suspected:
doubted
Explanation
of the above passage:
The American man shook hands with Sadao as he walked away towards the boat. He
used the torch twice to find his way, but the guards would not doubt that.
Sadao waited till he saw the torch light once more as the man boarded the boat.
Sadao closed the door of the partition and slept well that night as he had
finally got rid of the man.
Passage:
“You say the man escaped?” the General
asked faintly. He had been operated upon a week before, an emergency operation
to which Sadao had been called in the night. For twelve hours Sadao had not
been sure the General would live. The gall bladder was much involved.
Word
Meaning: Gall bladder:
the small sac-shaped organ beneath the liver, in which bile is stored after
secretion by the liver and before release into the intestine.
Explanation
of the above passage: A
week ago, the general had been operated upon in an emergency in which Sadao
took part. Sadao informed him that the man escaped. The general was weak as he
was recovering from the operation. For twelve hours after the operation, his
condition was critical and Sadao was not sure that he would survive. They had
operated upon his gall bladder.
Passage:
Then the old man had begun to breathe
deeply again and to demand food. Sadao had not been able to ask about the
assassins. So far as he knew they had never come. The servants had returned and
Yumi had cleaned the guest room thoroughly and had burned sulphur in it to get
the white man’s smell out of it. Nobody said anything. Only the gardener was
cross because he had got behind with his chrysanthemums.
Explanation
of the above passage:
The general was an old man. After the operation, gradually, he started eating
food and breathed deeply. Sadao did not have the courage to ask him what
happened to the professional killers that he had promised to send to kill the
American man. Sadao knew that the killers did not turn up ever. At Sadao’s home
things returned to normal. The servants returned, Yumi used Sulphur to
disinfect the room used by the American man. The servants did not speak
anything. The gardener was annoyed because he had got late to plant the
chrysanthemum flowers due to this incident.
Passage:
But after a week Sadao felt the
General was well enough to be spoken to about the prisoner.
“Yes, Excellency, he escaped,” Sadao
now said. He coughed, signifying that he had not said all he might have said,
but was unwilling to disturb the General further. But the old man opened his
eyes suddenly.
Explanation
of the above passage:
After one-week Sadao felt that the general was well enugh that he could discuss
the man with him. Sadao said that the man had escaped. Sadao coughed up which
indicated that Sadao had not told him everything as he did not want to disturb
him. The general was reminded of his promise to send the professional killers
and he opened his eyes suddenly when he heard about the American man.
Passage:
“That prisoner,” he said with some
energy, “did I not promise you I would kill him for you?”
Explanation
of the above passage:
The general was reminded of his promise and asked Sadao that had he not
promised him to get that man killed by his personal professional killers.
Passage:
“You did, Excellency,” Sadao said.
“Well,
well!” the old man said in a tone of amazement, “so I did! But you see, I was
suffering a good deal. The truth is, I thought of nothing but myself. In short,
I forgot my promise to you.”
Word
Meaning: Amazement:
surprise
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao replied that he had promised him. The general was surprised and said that
as he was suffering due to bad health, he had forgotten all about the promise
that he had made.
Passage:
“I wondered, Your Excellency,” Sadao
murmured.
“It
was certainly very careless of me,” the General said. “But you understand it
was not lack of patriotism or dereliction of duty.” He looked anxiously at his
doctor. “If the matter should come out you would understand that, wouldn’t
you?”
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao spoke softly that he wondered that the general had forgotten his
promise.The general felt sorry that he had been careless. He added that it was
neither that he did not love Japan nor that he was shirking from his duty. He
looked at Sadao with curiosity as he sought support from him. He wondered that
Sadao understood his problem.
Passage:
“Certainly, Your Excellency,” Sadao
said. He suddenly comprehended that the General was in the palm of his hand and
that as a consequence he himself was perfectly safe. “I can swear to your
loyalty, Excellency,” he said to the old General, “and to your zeal against the
enemy.”
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao said that he understood the general’s position well. He understood that
the general was in his control and as a result, Sadao was safe. Sadao said that
he could swear upon the general’s loyalty towards Japan and his enthusiasm to
fight the enemy.
Passage:
“You are a good man,” the General murmured
and closed his eyes.” “You will be rewarded.”
But
Sadao, searching the spot of black in the twilighted sea that night, had his
reward. There was no prick of light in the dusk. No one was on the island. His
prisoner was gone — safe, doubtless, for he had warned him to wait only for a
Korean fishing boat.
Explanation
of the above passage:
The general was relaxed and said that Sadao was a good man. He closed his eyes
and said that Sadao would be rewarded for his goodness.
Sadao
got his reward when at dusk, he looked towards the island and saw no trace of
torch light. This meant that the American man had found a Korean fishing boat
and had gone with it safely back home. Sadao did not doubt this as he had
instructed the man to wait for a Korean fishing boat.
Passage: He stood for a moment on the
veranda, gazing out to the sea from whence the young man had come that other
night. And into his mind, although without reason, there came other white faces
he had known — the professor at whose house he had met Hana, a dull man, and
his wife had been a silly talkative woman, in spite of her wish to be kind. He
remembered his old teacher of anatomy, who had been so insistent on mercy with
the knife, and then he remembered the face of his fat and slatternly landlady.
He had had great difficulty in finding a place to live in America because he
was a Japanese. The Americans were full of prejudice and it had been bitter to
live in it, knowing himself their superior. How he had despised the ignorant
and dirty old woman who had at last consented to house him in her
miserable
home! He had once tried to be grateful to her because she had in his last year
nursed him through influenza, but it was difficult, for she was no less
repulsive to him in her kindness. Now he remembered the youthful, haggard face
of his prisoner — white and repulsive.
“Strange,”
he thought. “I wonder why I could not kill him?”
Explanation
of the above passage:
Sadao stood in the veranda and recollected the past events. He looked at the
sea from where the man had come that night. He had flashbacks of all the Americans
he had met in his life – the dull professor at whose house he had met Hana, his
silly, talkative wife who was very kind. He remembered his teacher of anatomy
who had taught them to cut open the body with a knife. Then he remembered the
fat, untidy landlady. Being a Japanese, he had found an accommodation in
America with great difficulty. He hated living there knowing that the Japanese
were superior to the Americans and still being treated like inferiors. Sadao
disliked the dirty old woman who finally agreed to let him live in her home
which was in a bad condition. Sadao tried to be thankful to her because she had
taken care of him when he was struck by influenza during the last year of his
stay in America. It was difficult for Sadao to be thankful to her as he hated
her even though she was kind to him. Sadao hated her so much that her kindness
also did not make him like her. Finally, Sadao remembered the weak face of the
American prisoner – it was white in colour and was terrible.
Sadao
felt that it was strange that he could not kill his enemy.
The Enemy Summary
Out
of the fear of being accused of sheltering an enemy, he narrates the incident
to a general in the Japanese military. The general helps Dr Sadao and offers to
get the man killed by hired killers. However, the killing doesn’t take place,
and after waiting for three nights, Dr. Sadao thinks of getting rid of the
American himself. He arranges a boat for the man to help him reach the nearby
island. He provides him necessities like food and clothing to survive till he
finds a Korean fishing boat which could rescue him. Dr. Sadao wonders that why
did he save the life of an enemy.
The Enemy Questions Answers
1.
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.
2.
Dr Sadao was compelled by his duty as a doctor to help the enemy soldier. What
made Hana, his wife, sympathetic to him in the face of open defiance from the
domestic staff?
3.
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?
4.
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 self-absorption?
A.
All his life the general had performed his duties with utmost sincerity. He
realized that killing innocent men had become a burden on his soul. He
understood Sadao’s mindset which indicated that he wanted to save a life
irrespective of the fact that he was from an enemy country. The general also
considered him to be a human being and so, excused Sadao to save his life.
