Description of Dawan The influence of gender schema towards Dawan`s mind development in Min Fong Ho`s sing to the dawn.

27 “I see what you‟re up to” she shouted to the grandmother, “You‟re going to try and talk Noi into arguing for Dawan in front of her father, aren‟t you?” She brushed a wisp of hair away from her forehead, and Dawan noticed small beads of sweat there. “You think that Noi will trot on over and convince my husband, just like that, to let Dawan go off to the City school? There‟s no hope in that, old woman His heart was too set on his son going. He‟ll never think it right for Kwai‟s sister, a mere girl, to go in his place.” p. 31 This statement appears while Dawan‟s mother is arguing with Dawan‟s grandmother. Dawan‟s grandmother is going to go to Noi‟s house to talk to Noi so that Dawan can get support from her while talking to her father. Noi is Dawan‟s cousin who has ever lived in the c ity. Dawan‟s mother is very angry to Dawan‟s grandmother because she has already frustrated that they will not be supported by Noi because her husband has already had his own view that cannot be changed easily. For her, a girl should not fight for her right because there is no use of doing that. She thinks that Dawan‟s father cannot be convinced that Dawan should go to the city while the only thing that becomes his priority is his son, Kwai. Finally her mother sighed heavily and muttered , “It is not my place to say anything.” She turned her gaze back to the baby on her hip, avoiding Dawan‟s eyes. p. 32. While stating this hopeless statement, Dawan‟s mother actually wants to help Dawan to get her father‟s permission. However, she thinks that she has no right to decide whether Dawan can go to the City or not. A woman has no power to resist against her husband eventhough she wants to do it. She knows that Dawan can still go to the city and should not be forbidden just because she is a girl. As a woman, she cannnot make any decision by herself and all she can do is just following her husband command. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 28 At the end of Chapter Three in this novel, Dawan‟s mother finally decides to accompany Dawan to get Noi‟s support. She still thinks that she cannot convince her husband by herself or by asking grandmother‟s support. She knows that she needs Noi‟s support because Noi is the one from her family who had ever lived in the City before. She encourages herself to fight for Dawan‟s right to get a better education because she believes that Dawan can also bring change to the family eventhough she is a girl.

c. Kwai

Kwai is Dawan‟s brother and also known as Dawan‟s rival to get the scholarship. Kwai is disappointed because the one who wins the scholarship is not him, but his own sister, Dawan. “It‟s fine for you to spout off ideals like that,” her brother interrupted rudely, his voice growing louder and sharper at every sentence. “But what can you do to bring them about? You‟re only a girl. You won‟t be able to fight, or to argue loudly, or to lead people in times of crisis. All you‟re good at is studying --- that‟s how you got the scholarship in the first place.” p. 51. Kwai used to be close to Dawan and they often share their ideas together. They usually support each other and it is seen when Kwai asks their father to permit Dawan to go to school with him in their village. However, after the result comes out, Kwai makes a distance with his sister. He even underestimates his sister‟s capability to bring the change for their family and their village. Eventhough Dawan has explained that she wants to get better education because she needs the knowledge to improve their village and also their lives, Kwai still insists that, as a girl, Dawan cannot achieve her dream because she will not be PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 29 able to fight, to argue, or even to lead people. For him, all girls can do is just studying but they cannot apply it to get a better life. “Why go and study more when all you‟re going to end up doing sooner or later is cook and r aise babies anyway, like Mama?” he demanded, punctuating every few words by hurling a pebble onto the smooth river surface p. 111. Kwai states this statement when he meets Dawan on the day she will leave the village to study in the city. Once again, Kwai is in doubt to let his sister take the scholarship and go far away from their village. He questions the reason why Dawan should learn far away from home and he believes that Dawan will end up having fate like any other girls in the village.

d. Noi and Ghan

Noi is Dawan‟s cousin. She and her husband, Ghan, have ever lived in the city before. She lives in the city to work there and earn three times more money in the city than anyone can earn in the village. She listened more closely to the adult conversation, and heard Noi saying, “But what can a young girl hope to learn, alone in the City? There is nothing good or healthy there, my Aunt. She will only become bitter and angry.” p. 35. That conversation is only between Dawan‟s mother, Noi and Ghan. The gender schema refers to a young girl who is seen as someone fragile that needs to be protected. Nobody trusts a girl to leave alone, especially in the city, a place where there is no relatives and families. People do not expect anything to a girl who studies in the City because for them, it is useless. Furthermore, a girl is not an independent person, like a boy, so it will be hard for close family to let girls