The Enemy

Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1942

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Download PDF

Summary

Background

Story Analysis

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Background

Historical Context: The Pacific War of World War II

The narrative is set during World War II, which began with Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939. In 1941, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States entered the war on the side of the Allies, which included Britain and France, among others.

During what would become known as the Pacific War, the United States launched a series of campaigns against imperial Japan throughout the Pacific, with notable battles including Guadalcanal and the Battle of Midway. Despite Japan’s effective military defense of their Pacific territories, Allied forces were able to advance closer to the Japanese mainland. The advance of American troops closer to the Japanese mainland led to the infamous battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

Throughout the campaign in the Pacific theater, US Navy and Air Force pilots wreaked havoc on mainland Japanese cities with near-constant bombing raids. Many pilots were shot down, and those who survived were often taken into custody as prisoners of war, like the character of Tom in “The Enemy.”

Japan’s confinement of Allied troops became infamous for its cruel treatment of prisoners and inhumane living conditions. Becoming a prisoner of war was, therefore, believed by American troops to be a fate worse than death. Much of what the Western world was told about Japan’s treatment of prisoners led to the assumption that the Japanese people were to be feared. The impact of this xenophobia prompted the United States to establish internment camps for Japanese Americans during the war.

As for the beliefs of the Japanese population, the constant destruction of their cities, coupled with the propaganda widely distributed by the imperial government, led to a widespread conviction that all Americans were the enemy, intent on destroying all that the Japanese people held dear. This is most effectively observed in Yumi’s character in “The Enemy.” The empire fostered an ideology of Japanese cultural superiority and militarism, which turned even rural farmers into devout followers of military rule, willing to die for their country.

Ideological Context: Militarism and Patriotism in Imperial Japan

The ideology most prominent in “The Enemy” is Japanese militarism and patriotism. During the 19th century, Japan became firmly established as an imperial power, asserting its dominance through military conquests. The Japanese empire relied heavily on the resources of its colonies and occupied states to grow its military.

Japan engaged in an extended conflict with China for control of Korea during the Sino-Japanese Wars, starting in 1894. Before the conflict, Japan’s system of government was a feudal shogunate, and it maintained a policy of seclusion from the rest of the world. This resulted in a heavily ingrained doctrine of Japanese superiority within its population.

Once the country had opened its borders to the outside world, Japan experienced a boom of industrialization and modernization. From 1895, Japan expanded its territories into neighboring states such as Taiwan, thus securing an agriculturally rich colony. By 1931, Japan had successfully taken control of Manchuria, which strained the country’s relationship with China. The expansion of Japan’s empire led to many more fraught relationships with foreign powers, ultimately culminating in Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor and the declaration of war against the United States.

In “The Enemy,” Japanese traditional ideologies and the belief in racial superiority are evidenced by the characters’ reactions to the appearance of the American on their shores. All the characters express the belief that the “white man” is their enemy, and some assert his inferiority since he is not Japanese. The brief mention of Sadao’s father in whose room “everything had been Japanese” epitomizes the upholding of Japanese traditional ideology (44).