The Enemy – Bridging Text & Context

1. When he handed Pearl S. Buck the Nobel Prize in literature in 1938, the director of the ceremony told the author: “… you have taught us to see those qualities of thought and feeling which bind us all together as human beings on this earth, … it is of the greatest importance that the peoples of the earth learn to understand each other as individuals across distances and frontiers.” Explain how this quotation adds to your understanding of “The Enemy”.

2. Read the following information, and then connect it to the short story “The Enemy”, using information from the text. In 1929 a large group of nations agreed on certain standards for how to treat prisoners of war (POWs). Among other things, they said they should receive food, clothing, a place to live, and medical care. During the Second World War, the Japanese ignored these agreements and were extremely cruel to prisoners of war.

3. Pearl S. Buck once said: “I am interested in people and their growth. My interest leads me to increase my knowledge of people, and this makes me believe in the common goodness of mankind. I believe that the normal human heart is born good. It neither wishes to be killed nor to kill.” Make a connection between this quotation and the story. Support your answer with information from the text.