Chapter the-enemy: The Enemy | Short Questions

Hana demonstrated immense courage by assisting her husband during the difficult operation, even though she had never witnessed a surgical procedure before in her life. Despite feeling initially nauseated by the horrific sight of blood, she bravely returned to the room. She meticulously washed the American soldier's chest when the servant Yumi stubbornly refused to do so. Under Dr. Sadao's clear instructions, she also administered the anesthetic to the patient whenever he began to struggle, successfully ensuring the complex surgery proceeded smoothly.

Yumi, the children's caretaker, adamantly refused to wash the white man out of deep-seated racial prejudice and blind wartime patriotism. She considered the American to be a dangerous enemy of Japan and felt intense personal repulsion towards him. Furthermore, she was highly superstitious and feared that helping a man whom nature and weapons had tried to kill would bring bad luck. Her stubborn refusal reflected the hostile attitude of ordinary Japanese citizens towards foreigners, prioritizing nationalistic hatred over basic human kindness.

The old General proposed a dark and secretive plan to eliminate the American prisoner without causing any trouble for Dr. Sadao. He promised to send his own private, highly skilled assassins to Sadao’s house at night. Sadao was simply instructed to leave the outer partition of the guest room open. The assassins would enter silently, kill the American using the trick of inward bleeding to avoid a mess, and quietly dispose of the dead body, leaving no trace behind.

Dr. Sadao gave the American soldier his own small flashlight to help him safely navigate his escape to the nearby island in the complete darkness. More importantly, he instructed the prisoner to use the flashlight to send specific signals across the water. The soldier was told to flash the light twice at sunset if his food ran out, and once if he was safe and still waiting. The flashlight thus served as a crucial communication tool for his ongoing survival.

Dr. Sadao confirmed the safe escape of the American prisoner by carefully watching the horizon at twilight from his veranda. He had previously instructed the soldier to flash the light if he was still waiting on the island. When Sadao looked out at the spot of black sea that night and saw absolutely no prick of light, he knew the island was empty. This complete darkness was his ultimate reward, proving the man had successfully boarded a Korean fishing boat.