The Enemy

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.