The Enemy

Throughout the story, Dr. Sadao Hoki , a Japanese surgeon,

is torn between two loyalties. The loyalty to his country,
Japan, and the loyalty to his profession, a doctor.
Since Japan and America were at war ( world War 2) any
When Dr. Sadao encountered a badly wounded American
soldier washed out of the ocean near his house, he had to
make up his mind whether to let him die, and thus remain
loyal to his country, or to save his life and remain loyal to his
profession, realizing the Hippocratic Oath.
Since the Hippocratic oath commands saving any life
regardless of race color or religion, Dr. Sadao faced a
serious conflict.
Dr. Sadao chose to save the American's life. However, doing
so he had to deal with an inner conflict.
Dr. Sadao didn't want to know the soldier's name, so as not
to become emotionally attached to him. He didn't enquire
the origin of the red scars on the soldier's neck since he
didn't want to pity him, had, Tom, The soldier would say
they were caused by tortures of Japanese soldiers. While he
was operating on him, he told himself he didn't know why he
was doing so. "Groan if you like. I'm not doing this for my
pleasure. In fact, I don't know why I'm doing it." ( page 59)
He also told his wife Hana: "He is an enemy. All Americans
are my enemy. You see how foolish his face is. But since he is
wounded…"( page 54).
On the other hand, Sadao risked being arrested , had the
authorities found out he had saved an American's life and
kept him at his house. He had to listen to his wife
complaining about it and face the anger of the old gardener
and the servants who had accused him of being a traitor.
Neither had Sadao turn Tom in to the authorities. "I do not
know myself what I shall do with you", he said. I ought of
course to give you in to the police . You are a prisoner of
war." He started writing a letter to the police inspector but
never sent it. He hid it in a secret drawer.
Dr. sadao treated Tom professionally and was gentle to him
while he spoke to him.
When the pressure at home was unbearable, he told the
General that he had saved an American's soldier life and
didn't know how to take it from there.
The General offered sending assassins to kill Tom and clear
his body and Sadao had to accept this suggestion.
However, the General never sent the assassins and Sadao
had to come up with his own solution.
At last he decided to help Tom escape . He put him on a
small boat with food, clothes and a flashlight , and instructed
him to row to a little island not far from the coast where he
could get help from a Korean fishing boat that would take
him out of Japan's territorial water.
He made sure Tom was safe by telling him not to signal with
the flashlight at night ,so that he would not be seen and told
him to signal once if he had got to the island safely and twice
if he ran out of food.

The message of the story is that all people are human beings
and should be treated as such, even if they belong to an
opposite ethnical group. Being human to all people is what
we are expected to do.

Why did Sadao save Tom's life?

Generating possibilities.

1- He was committed to the Hippocratic Oath.

2- Saving Tom's life was a professionalchallange for him
since no patient had died under his surgeon's knife.
3- He wanted to "pay" a moral debt to the Americans who
were nice to him when he had spent eight years of his life in
America.
a- He got his diploma there. He owed his knowledge to his
American professor who had taught him to be an excellent
surgeon.
b- He had met his wife, Hana, at his professor's house.
c- An American old lady agreed to house him and cared for
him when he was sick. ( influenza) ( page 71) .
d- He was human even though he tried to "fight "it
throughout the story. The sentence that ends the story is:
"I wonder why I COULD not kill him, and not "I wonder
why I DID not kill him.
It indicates that Sadao did involve emotions in his decision to
save Tom's life.

Composed by Taly Ben Bassat.