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
35 society to follow men and obey what men say to them. Women rely too much on
men and cannot decide their own path in life. However, Bao adds a statement:
“You‟ve earned your chance for flying to a bigger world, to pursue your own ideals. Don‟t yield to your brother now. You have to push forward
and struggle if you want to be free, and equal to your broth er.” p. 79.
This statement means Dawan has to fight for her right to get a better education. She has been given chance to learn more knowledge in the City, which
not many of girls from the village may get. „Flying‟ does not mean literally flying like a bird does. If the cage door is already opened, someone is free to fly.
Dawan‟s door is opened because she has given chance to get the scholarship. It means, she should not be afraid to fly because she has been free now to improve
herself. It is now her responsibility to push herself and struggle for her right to be equal to her brother and use the chance to be useful for her life, her family, and
her village.
2. Gender Schema as a Result of Internal Factor
The internal factor appears in Dawan‟s herself. At the beginning, she becomes a pessimistic girl who cannot see a chance for her to go to the city. After
she knows that she is the winner of the scholarship, she becomes an optimistic girl who wants to fight for her right to get better education.
