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B. Gender Schemas in Sing to the Dawn Novel
To find out gender schemas that can be found in this novel, the writer uses theory by Bem 1981, in Vasta, 1998. In this theory, schemas result principally
from two factors. One is the child‟s inborn tendency to organize and classify information from the environment. This factor is classified as the internal factor.
The other is the culture‟s heavy emphasis on providing gender distinguishing cues
such as clothing, names, and occupations, which make these concepts easily identifiable as cited in Vasta, 1998. This factor is considered as external factor.
The writer finds that there are internal factors and external factors that create
gender schemas. The internal factors come from Dawan‟s herself who thinks that she does not deserve the scholarship because she is a girl. The external
factors come from people around Dawan. They are Dawan‟s father, Dawan‟s mother, Kwai, Noi and Ghan, the
old monk, Dawan‟s grandmother and Bao. The external factors seem to be the strongest affecting factor to create gender schemas.
1. Gender Schema as a Result of External Factor
These external factors that create gender schema come from many parties. As what Bem 1981 states that the culture emphasize on providing gender
distinguishing cues such as clothing, names, and occupations, which make these concepts easily identifiable as cited in Vasta, 1998. The culture is defined as
beliefs that are inherited in the society that makes the people have their own schema towards boys and girls. In this novel, the writer finds that there are gender
schemas that are resulted from characters around Dawan. Those people are Dawan‟s father, Dawan‟s mother, Kwai, Noi, Ghan, the old monk, Dawan‟s
24 grandmother, and Bao.
Dawan‟s father, Dawan‟s mother, Kwai, Noi, Ghan, and the old monk are the characters who oppose Dawan‟s optimism to study in the
city. There are two characters who support Dawan from the beginning until the en
d of the story. They are Dawan‟s grandmother and Bao.
a. Dawan’s Father
Dawan‟s father is the first person who forbids Dawan to go to the City and get a better education. He believes that no girl should learn more while all they
can do is just taking care of home and the children.
Dawan found strength in it and continued haltingly, “I won the prize. I can go to the City and study some more now.” She stole another glance at
her father. “Can‟t I?” Dawan addressed the puddle again, “Please, can I? ...”
“And Kwai? What about Kwai? He won nothing?” Her father‟s voice was rough, and yet tinged with a hard wonder. Dawan sensed the pain in her
father, and dared not look directly into his eyes. “There is only one prize,” she whispered.
There was a long pause, then he spat out, “You took your own
brother‟s chance away from him” p. 28 and 30. From the conversation, it can be concluded that Dawan‟s father gives more
expectation to his son, Kwai, rather than to Dawan. He is very disappointed and angry when he knows that the one who gets the scholarship is Dawan. For him,
Dawan cannot do anything for the family if she gets the scholarship because she is a girl. Dawan‟s father only focuses on Kwai because he certainly knows that his
boy can make him proud. Moreover, he points out that Dawan ta kes Kwai‟s
chance to go to the city. In this case, he regrets his decision to take Dawan to school if he knows that Dawan will get a chance to study more in the city. This
conversation shows that Dawan‟s father does not want her daughter to get better education and the one who should have chance to study more, should be his boy.
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