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.
