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Answer any one of the… (Class 12 English SQP 2024-25, Q13A)

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EnglishCBSE Class 12 · Sample paper, session 2024-25 · 5 marks · Long answer

CBSE Class 12 English sample paper 2024-25: question 13(A)

From the official CBSE sample question paper for 2024-25, section C, question 13(A), for 5 marks. Try it first; the hints and our step-by-step solution are below.

Q13(A) · 5 marks · Long answerThe Enemy

Answer any one of the following two questions, in about 120-150 words.

The influence of belief in traditions such as religion, family bonds, or patriotism can be used to develop narrative techniques like setting, motivation, sources of conflict, and pacing. Analyse how the writer has incorporated such influences to good effect in the story, The Enemy. Support your answer with valid textual evidence.

Source: official sample paper from cbseacademic.nic.in (PDF). See it in the full Sample paper 2024-25.

Hints

Open one hint at a time and try again before the next.

Hint 1

Think about where the story is set and how the war makes Sadao's decision to save the soldier risky.

Hint 2

Link Sadao's duty as a doctor, Hana's fear for her family and loyalty to Japan to the conflict in the plot.

Hint 3

Use incidents such as the servants leaving and the General's delay to comment on pacing.

Step-by-step solution

Each step shows the marks it earns, as an examiner would award them. Checked by an independent re-solve from the question paper.

Verified: two independent solves agree and the official marking scheme matchesChecked 2026-11-01

  1. Format and introduction: In Pearl S. Buck's 'The Enemy', traditions of religion, family and patriotism shape the narrative techniques and make the story's central moral dilemma convincing.

    1 mark

  2. Setting: The story is set in wartime Japan, in Dr. Sadao's secluded house by the sea. A wounded American prisoner washes ashore there. The isolation and the war around them raise the stakes of every decision and create suspense.

    1 mark

  3. Motivation (religion and humanity): Sadao is a doctor, and his professional ethic and humane values make him save the soldier ('a wounded man must be saved'). His moral sense overrides the hatred of war. Hana's care for the man, even though she shudders at his wound, shows the same compassion.

    1 mark

  4. Sources of conflict (family and patriotism): Sadao's duty to his country conflicts with his duty as a healer. Hana fears for her children and herself. The servants leave in disgust, and the General may punish them for sheltering an enemy. The conflicts are both internal and external.

    1 mark

  5. Pacing and conclusion: The story moves in tense stages: rescue, hiding, the servants' desertion, the General's forgetfulness and the soldier's escape. The slow build-up and sudden relief show the characters' inner struggle. Together, these tradition-driven elements show humanity prevailing over national hatred.

    1 mark

Answer: Model analysis: setting (wartime isolation), motivation (medical ethics and compassion), conflict (patriotism vs humanity, family fears) and pacing (rising tension) built on religion, family and patriotism.

Where the marks are

  • Introduces the story and the role of traditions (1 mark)
  • Setting analysed with evidence (1 mark)
  • Motivation linked to religious or moral beliefs, with example (1 mark)
  • Conflict from family bonds and patriotism, with example (1 mark)
  • Pacing and a relevant conclusion; expression and accuracy (1 mark)

Revise the chapter

  • Chapter: The Enemy (notes, formulas, where marks are lost and every past question)

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