Extract Based Questions: The Enemy

Read the extract and answer the following questions.
Extract:
She came to him affectionately and put her arm through his as he stood, smiled and said nothing. He had met Hana in America, but he had waited to fall in love with her until he was sure she was Japanese. His father would never have received her unless she had been pure in her race. He wondered often whom he would have married if he had not met Hana, and by what luck he had found her in the most casual way, by chance literally, at an American professor's house. The professor and his wife had been kind people anxious to do something for their few foreign students, and the students, though bored, had accepted this kindness
(The Enemy)

Question (i) What was the name of Sadao's wife whom he met in America?
(a) Hana
(b) Hara
(c) Hina
(d) Hira
Ans: (a) Hana
Explanation: The extract clearly names Sadao's wife as Hana. The first sentence refers to her as the woman who came to him affectionately, and the next sentence explicitly states, "He had met Hana in America," identifying her as the person described.
Question (ii) Why did Sadao wait to fall in love with Hana until he was sure she was Japanese?
(a) Because he wanted to respect his father's wishes and marry someone of his own race
(b) Because he wanted to avoid any cultural or linguistic barriers and marry someone of his own background
(c) Because he wanted to protect his reputation and status and marry someone of his own class
(d) Because he wanted to follow his heart and feelings and marry someone of his own choice

Ans: (a) Because he wanted to respect his father's wishes and marry someone of his own race
Explanation: The extract states that Sadao "had waited to fall in love with her until he was sure she was Japanese" because his father would not have accepted her unless she were "pure in her race." This shows that Sadao was concerned about his father's strict views on racial purity and therefore delayed committing until he was certain Hana was Japanese.
Question (iii) Fill in the blank with an appropriate word.
Sadao wondered often whom he would have married if he had not met Hana, and by what _______ he had found her in the most casual way.
Ans:
Ans: luck
Explanation: The correct word is luck, meaning chance or good fortune. The extract says he found her "in the most casual way, by chance literally," which matches the sense of being fortunate or finding someone by luck.
Question (iv) Explain how the extract portrays the theme of cultural identity and conflict in the story.
Ans: The extract shows cultural identity and conflict through Sadao's behaviour and concerns. Although he met and appreciates Hana while abroad, he waits to commit until he is sure she is Japanese because his family, particularly his father, values racial purity. This reveals a tension between personal feelings formed in America and obligations to traditional Japanese expectations. The mention of the American professor and his kind hospitality also contrasts Sadao's exposure to foreign culture with his ultimate choice to remain loyal to his native identity.
Read the extract and answer the following questions.
Extract:
They saw when they came toward him that indeed it was so. The sand on one side of him had already a stain of red soaking through. ''He is wounded,'' Sadao exclaimed. He made haste to the man, who lay motionless, his face in the sand. An old cap stuck to his head soaked with sea water. He was in wet rags of garments. Sadao stopped, Hana at his side, and turned the man's head. They saw the face. "A white man!" Hana whispered.
(The Enemy)

Question (i) What is the name of the literary device used to describe the man's cap as "soaked with sea water"?

Ans: imagery
Explanation: Describing the cap as "soaked with sea water" creates a vivid visual image that appeals to the reader's senses and helps convey the man's exhausted and exposed condition. This use of sensory detail is called imagery, not personification, because it paints a clear picture rather than attributing human actions or feelings to the cap.
Question (ii) What is the theme of the extract?
Ans: Love and compassion
Explanation: The extract highlights compassion because Sadao and Hana immediately recognise the wounded man and show concern for him despite his being an enemy by nationality. Their readiness to approach and examine his condition suggests a humane response that places pity and moral duty above political or national divisions.
Question (iii) What is the tone of the extract?
Ans: Suspenseful
Explanation: The tone is suspenseful because the language - "a stain of red," "wounded," "motionless," and the whispered reaction "A white man!" - creates tension and raises urgent questions about the man's identity and fate, leaving the reader anxious to know what will happen next.
Question (iv) What is the conflict that Sadao and Hana face in the extract?
Ans: They face the moral conflict of whether to help or to ignore a wounded enemy soldier.
Explanation: Finding a wounded man who is a potential enemy places Sadao and Hana in a difficult position. They must choose between acting on basic human compassion and the risks involved if they shelter an enemy, or following duty and national loyalty by abandoning or surrendering him. This clash between humane impulse and patriotic duty is the central conflict in the scene.
Read the extract and answer the following questions.
Extract:
''If we sheltered a white man in our house we should be arrested and if we turned him over as a prisoner, he would certainly die,'' Sadao said. ''The kindest thing would be to put him back into the sea,'' Hana said. But neither of them moved. They were staring with a curious repulsion upon the inert figure. ''What is he?'' Hana whispered. ''There is something about him that looks American,'' Sadao said. He took up the battered cap. Yes, there, almost gone, was the faint lettering. ''A sailor,'' he said, ''from an American warship.'' He spelled it out: ''U.S. Navy.'' The man was a prisoner of war!
(The Enemy)

Question (i) What dilemma are Sadao and Hana facing in the extract?
Ans: They are facing the dilemma of whether to shelter the wounded man, hand him over as a prisoner, or abandon him to the sea.
Explanation: Each option carries serious consequences: sheltering him risks arrest and danger to the household, handing him over would likely mean his death, and abandoning him would be a deliberate act to cause his death. This forces Sadao and Hana to weigh moral duty against legal and national obligations.
Question (ii) Why did Sadao say that the man was a prisoner of war?
(a) Because he was wearing a U.S. Navy cap
(b) Because he was lying unconscious on the shore
(c) Because he was wounded by a Japanese bullet
(d) Because he was an enemy of Japan

Ans: (a) Because he was wearing a U.S. Navy cap
Explanation: Sadao identifies the faint lettering on the battered cap as "U.S. Navy," which indicates the man is a sailor from an American warship. Since Japan and America are at war in the context, this makes the man a prisoner of war if found and captured.
Question (iii) Complete the sentence appropriately.
The tone of the extract is _______________.

Ans: tense and conflicted
Explanation: The tone combines tension (words such as "arrested," "die," "repulsion," and "inert") and internal conflict (the couple's opposing impulses to help and to protect themselves). These elements create an atmosphere of anxiety and moral uncertainty.
Question (iv) Give one reason why the extract can be called a suspenseful introduction to the story.

Ans: The extract raises urgent questions about the wounded man's identity and fate, which creates suspense.
Explanation: By revealing only fragments - a wounded white man, a U.S. Navy cap and the couple's divided reactions - the scene invites immediate questions about who he is, how he came ashore, and what Sadao and Hana will do. That uncertainty and the high stakes involved keep the reader in suspense about the outcome.