32 a girl. He clearly states that he believes a girl should not waste her time to
improve herself. Having a dream to get better education in the city is a fustile and impossible thing to achieve. The old monk also states that a girl should just accept
what is available for them and not expect more. It means, girls should not have a chance to learn more because they need to be grateful of their fates and be
satisfied with that. In addition, the old monk is actually a neutral person who just accepts the
condition in the village. The old monk does not want to help Dawan because he does not want to be involved in internal conflict in Dawan‟s family. For him, what
Dawan‟s father does can be justified because it is not safe for a girl to live alone in the city which full of strange people and far from home. Although at the
beginning, the old monk seems to underestimate Dawan‟s role as a girl, at the end, he states his opinion wisely, yet still shows gender schema about how a mere girl
should not waste her time to dream a fustile and useless dream while there are so many things to be grateful in the village.
f. Dawan’s Grandmother
Unlike the other characters who show their opposite opinions toward Dawan‟s scholarship, Dawan‟s grandmother consistently shows her support to
Dawan from the beginning until the end of the novel. “Child,” she said, touching her granddaughter‟s hand lightly, “I‟m proud
of you.” p. 30. Gender schema that appears in this Dawan‟s grandmother‟s statement is
about the equality of boys and girls. In her eyes, both Dawan and Kwai, whoever PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
33 get the scholarship, will always make the family proud and she will support it no
matter what. Dawan‟s grandmother shows that she is really proud of Dawan‟s achievement of getting the scholarship eventhough Dawan‟s father shows the
opposite response. She encourages Dawan to talk to her father again and find some supports so that Dawan‟s father can change his mind about boys and girls
should have the equal chance to get more education in the city. The old woman grunted, and
squeezed Dawan‟s hand firmly. “Now don‟t you start being scared all the time too, child Your mother‟s bad
enough...let‟s not have two rabbits in the house Besides, what is there to be afraid of?” p. 102.
This time, Dawan‟s grandmother shows that a girl should not just follow what is commanded to her and what people say. She convinces Dawan that she
does not need to be afraid of achieving something that she believes. Dawan should be brave to fight for her right to get better education and make changes to her
village by studying more knowledge in the c ity. Dawan‟s grandmother says
„rabbit‟ which refers to girls or women who are seen as inferior gender that do not even have chance to speak up their mind. She does not want Dawan to grow up to
be a common girl in the village who cannot even dare to struggle for their own improvements.
In a voice slow and heavy with age, the old woman said, “You have a long life ahead of you yet, child, and this
is just the first step. If you‟re this timid now how on earth are you going to face all the struggle still before
you? Gather yourself together, and face the world out there with clear bold eyes. You hear me?” p. 116.
Grandmother is a supportive character who always sees the positivity in everything. For her, a girl, especially Dawan, still has a long journey of life.
34 Eventhough someone is a girl, it does not mean she has to stop walking when
superior people say they have to stop. Girls have their right to get a better life and be given the same chance to make changes
. Dawan‟s grandmother wants to show that going to the City is only the beginning of Dawan‟s responsibility towards her
life. A girl should be brave and independent so that she can face all of the obstacles and problems that may appear later. Moreover, it is possible for a girl to
take a risk and learn on how to improve themselves, just like what the boys do.
g. Bao
Bao is Vichai‟s sister who sells lotus buds and caged sparrows every morning in the market. Vichai is Dawan‟s classmate at the school. Dawan has just
met Bao in the market when she wants to buy lotus bud for the old monk but the only person who wants to sell it in ten pennies is only Bao.
Bao nodded excitedly. Taking a deep breath, she blurred out, “We girls have always had to stand aside and let our brothers do all the challenging
things. And when we become wives, we‟ll have to stand aside for our husbands. And when we‟re mothers, we‟ll stand aside for our children.”
p. 78-79.
Bao states a gender schema that refers to girls‟ roles in their society. Girls are described as figures who are only created to accompany boys in their life.
Girls are not created to stand in their own feet and be independent. Girls should let boys do challenging things because girls are considered as weak and dependent
people. It can be seen from the statement that Bao wants to point out how girls are not even trusted to do many things boys do. Girls and women are there in the
