The Enemy

Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1942

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Character Analysis

Dr. Sadao Hoki

Sadao is the main character of “The Enemy.” He represents both the protagonist and the antagonist since he experiences a conflict within himself. Sadao’s inner conflict is one of tradition, patriotic duty, and honor versus what is ethically and morally correct regarding the treatment of another human being. Sadao struggles with the choice of what to do with Tom, the American prisoner of war.

Sadao is a more modern Japanese man than the other characters in the story. He reflects on his past experiences while studying medicine in America, indicating that his relationship with the West is not as tense as that of other Japanese people. He has, however, been taught throughout his life that his race is superior and that Americans are to be regarded as enemies of Japan. This belief is evidenced when he muses on his experiences in America, reflecting with disgust on the people he encountered there.

Yet Sadao is a doctor who has taken the Hippocratic oath to do no harm to those in his care. The conflict between Sadao’s two belief systems reaches a climax when the doctor decides to operate on the wounded man. Despite the advice of his wife, Hana, and his internal fears, Sadao successfully saves Tom’s life. The doctor monitors the progress of the wounded man, dismissing his anxieties in favor of the welfare of a man whom he now views as a fellow human being rather than an enemy.

Sadao’s greatest fear is that Tom will be discovered in his care and that he and his family will be viewed as traitors by the state. Compelled by his duty to his country, Sadao confesses the prisoner’s presence to the ailing general. Sadao’s inner conflict reaches its resolution when the doctor decides to help Tom escape. This act shows that Sadao’s duties to humanity and to his Hippocratic oath overshadow his duty to his country.

Hana Hoki

Hana is the wife of Sadao. Like her husband, she too faces an internal battle when deciding what will become of Tom. She is an example of a traditional Japanese wife who obeys her husband. Yet, unlike most traditional examples of Japanese wives, Hana voices her worries and concerns to Sadao. Her suggestion of returning the man to the sea or agreeing to turn him over to Japanese authorities stems from her fear of the Japanese government. She is afraid of the repercussions of caring for a prisoner of war.

Hana is portrayed as loyal to her duties as a wife and a Japanese citizen, supporting Sadao’s decisions but remaining impersonal in her interactions with Tom. After Yumi refuses to wash the prisoner, Hana takes over as her anger toward her servant outweighs her aversion to the task. As a supportive and obedient wife, she offers to assist Sadao with the operation despite feeling ill upon seeing blood.

Hana reflects on her beliefs and begins to pity the young man. Though she hyperbolically claims that the American is “her enemy, a menace, living or dead” (45), she nevertheless treats him with kindness, even putting a quilt over the unconscious Tom “lest the man be chilled” (46). As the narrative progresses, Hana’s attitude toward the American softens, particularly on seeing the scars on his body, guessing that he may have been tortured. An example of her innate maternal kindness is her interaction with Tom once he wakes up. Conversing with him in English, she feels compelled to apologize and tell him not to be afraid.

Yumi

The character of Yumi portrays Japanese traditional ideologies against which Sadao and Hana must confront their inner conflicts. Yumi’s loyalties are to her duties as a Japanese citizen and as a servant and carer of two young children. She is securely rooted in her belief system, and this is even stronger than her duties as a servant and caregiver.

Yumi believes that the Japanese are a superior race and that the Americans are violent warmongers. Consequently, she refuses Hana’s order to wash the young man. Yumi is steadfast in her refusal to wash the American. This resistance contrasts with her depiction as an obedient servant and caregiver, indicating that she is resolute in her traditional views, unlike Sadao and Hana. She bluntly tells Hana that “the white man ought to die” and that she has “never washed a white man and [she] will not wash a dirty one now” (45).

Yumi is torn between abandoning the children and leaving her employers, whom she now believes are traitors. Her greatest fear is that the children will be labeled as traitors if their father is condemned. After the other servants leave Sadao and Hana’s employment, Yumi returns, but only for the sake of the children. The children are her main concern, and this is echoed in the allusion to the baby’s relationship with Yumi. After Yumi has left the house, the baby cries for her.

Tom

The character of Tom is not as rounded as Sadao or Hana. He washes up on the shores outside of Sadao’s house, and the reader is unaware of the situation that preceded this event. Only when Sadao inspects him does the reader become aware of Tom’s condition and the events he encountered while in captivity. The unconscious Tom is revealed to be an American Naval soldier.

The author’s description of Tom’s physical appearance alludes to someone who suffered a great deal before his discovery. He is described as starved and dirty but young, “perhaps not yet twenty-five” (44). The inclusion of his youth adds to Tom’s vulnerability and makes Sadao’s decision to abandon him more difficult. Hana also experiences pity when she washes the unconscious young man. She notes that his skin is rough from exposure but “[i]s of a fine texture” and that his hair “must have been very blond when he was a child” (46). Tom’s scars hint at the brutal treatment of Americans in Japanese prisoner-of-war camps, causing Hana to reflect on the stories she has heard about the cruelty of the Japanese military.

Tom is a reminder of the political context surrounding the events in the narrative. Wars are often fought by young men who volunteer or are drafted into service. The death of these young men is one of the most ruthless aspects of war. Thus, Sadao cannot abandon an innocent young man who, like many others, is fulfilling his duty to his country. Tom displays his own prejudiced beliefs when he suggests that if all Japanese people were like Sadao, there would not have been a war. He is surprised at Sadao and Hana’s kindness and even expresses gratitude, knowing that Sadao saved his life.