The Enemy (Pearl S. Buck)

The story shows a conflict between personal duty and national loyalty. As a doctor, Sadao’s first duty is to save a dying man, even if he is an enemy soldier. As a citizen of Japan during wartime, he ought to hand the prisoner over to the authorities. He is torn between these two responsibilities throughout the story. In the end, his humanity as a doctor wins first, but he also tries to remain loyal to his country by informing the police and later arranging for the man to leave safely. The story suggests that in such situations a person may have to choose between the demands of the heart and the demands of the state, and that human compassion can sometimes stand above narrow national hatred.

Hana is sympathetic because she is kind at heart and, like Sadao, she sees the wounded man as a helpless human being before she sees him as an enemy. At first she is afraid and uncertain, but she quickly overcomes that fear and helps her husband. Her sympathy is also strengthened by her loyalty to Sadao and her concern for his work as a doctor. Even when the servants oppose them, she stands by her husband because she understands that his duty is to save life. Her earlier life in America also helps her communicate with the prisoner and feel some pity for his suffering.

The soldier is reluctant to leave because he feels safe and cared for in the doctor’s house after suffering pain, fear and weakness. Sadao and Hana have saved his life, fed him, and allowed him to regain strength, so the house becomes a place of security and gratitude for him. He is also still weak and frightened of what may happen outside. Even though he understands the danger to Sadao, he prefers this shelter to the uncertainty of escape until he is finally strong enough to try. His reluctance shows his dependence on the doctor and his fear of the outside world.

The General’s attitude is best explained by simply self-absorption. He does not truly act out of patriotism or duty; instead, he is concerned mainly with his own illness and survival. He forgets his promise to kill the prisoner because he is suffering and thinking only of himself. He even tells Sadao that he cannot be arrested because he may need another operation. So the reason is not human consideration, lack of loyalty, or dereliction of duty, but his own self-interest.