THE INFLUENCE OF GENDER SCHEMA TOWARDS · novel ini sebagai materi pembelajaran untuk kelas Book Report dan Prose karena novel ini sangat bagus untuk menarik ketertarikan mahasiswa

THE INFLUENCE OF GENDER SCHEMA TOWARDS

DAWAN’S MIND DEVELOPMENT IN MIN FONG HO’S

SING TO THE DAWN

A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By

Clara Nusaca Novitri Zelmapulchra

Student Number: 131214094

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION

FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA

2017

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

i


DAWAN’S MIND DEVELOPMENT IN MIN FONG HO’S

SING TO THE DAWN

A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By



ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION

FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA

2017


A Sarjana Pendidikan Thesis on


DAWAN'S MIND DEVELOPMENT IN MIN FONG HO'S

SING TO THE DAWN

By



Advisor

F.X. Ouda Teda Ena, S.Pd., M.Pd., Ed.D.

ii

Date

April 10,2017


A Sarjana Pendidikan Thesis on


DAWAN'S MIND DEVELOPMENT IN MIN FONG HO'S

SING TO THE DAWN

By

Clara Nusaca Novitri ZelmapulchraStudent Number: 131214094

\1ember

Member

III


STATEMENT OF WORK'S ORIGINALITY

I honestly declare that this thesis, which I have written, does not contain the work

or parts of the work of other people, except those cited in the quotations and the

references, as a scientific paper should.

Yogyakarta, May 10,2017

The Writer,


131214094

IV


LEMBARPERNYATAANPERSETUJUAN

PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS

Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma:

Nama : Clara Nusaca Novitri Zelmapulchra

Nomor Mahasiswa : 131214094

Dcmi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada PerpustakaanUniversitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:

THE INFLUENCE OF GENDER SCHEMA TOWARDSDAWAN'S MIND DEVELOPMENT IN MIN FONG HO'S

SING TO THE DAWN

beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikantepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan,menga1ihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalandata, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di Internet ataumedia lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari sayamaupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama sayasebagai penulis.

Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya.

Dtbuat di Yogyakarta

Pada tanggal: 10 Mei 2017

Yang menyatakan,

ovitri Zelmapulchra

v


vi

ABSTRACT

Zelmapulchra, Clara Nusaca Novitri. 2017. The Influence of Gender Schema

towards Dawan’s Mind Development in Min Fong Ho’s Sing to the Dawn.

Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.

This study discusses Sing to the Dawn novel by Min Fong Ho, which is

about a girl who has to fight for her right to study in the city. The objective of this

study is to reveal the influence of gender schema towards Dawan‟s mind

development. There are two research questions related to this study: (1) “What are

gender schemas that can be found in Min Fong Ho‟s Sing to the dawn?”, and (2)

“How does gender schema influence Dawan‟s mind development in Min Fong

Ho‟s Sing to the Dawn ?”.

The approach used in this study is psychological approach. The

psychoanalysis that is used is transference. Transference is a concept that refers

to our natural tendency to respond to certain situations in unique and

predetermined ways (American Psychoanalytic Association, 2016).

There are two findings in this study. The first finding is gender schemas as

a result of the internal factors and external factors. The internal factors come from

Dawan‟s own self who already thought that she cannot win the scholarship

because she is a girl. The external factors come from people around Dawan who

mostly think that a girl should not go to the city to study. The second finding is

the influence of gender schemas to Dawan‟s mind development. Dawan‟s mind

development consists of beliefs, desires, and actions. Dawan‟s beliefs can be

found in opinions, convictions, and hunches. Dawan‟s desires can be seen on

Dawan‟s thoughts when she wants to achieve her dream and to improve herself

and when she urges herself after she gets many rejections from people around her,

and stating of care to others. As a result of her beliefs and desires, she can act

appropriately and proves that she deserves the scholarship to get further education

in the city.

For the future study, the writer suggests the future researchers to

emphasize the study by doing the analysis towards the influence of gender

schemas towards Kwai‟s mind development as Dawan‟s brother. The writer also

suggests English lecturers to use this novel as learning material for Book Report

class and Prose class because it is a very good literature work to engage the

students interest towards English literature.

Keywords: gender, gender schema, mind development, novel


vii

ABSTRAK

Zelmapulchra, Clara Nusaca Novitri. 2017. The Influence of Gender Schema

towards Dawan’s Mind Development in Min Fong Ho’s Sing to the Dawn.

Yogyakarta: Universitas Sanata Dharma.

` Penelitian ini membahas novel Sing to the Dawn karya Min Fong Ho, yang

menceritakan tentang seorang anak perempuan yang harus memperjuangkan

haknya untuk belajar di kota. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengungkapkan

pengaruh dari gender schema terhadap perkembangan pikiran dari Dawan.

Terdapat dua rumusan masalah penelitian yaitu: (1) Apa saja gender schema yang

dapat ditemukan dalam novel Sing to the Dawn karya Min Fong Ho?”, dan (2)

“Bagaimana pengaruh dari gender schema terhadap perkembangan pikiran Dawan

dalam novel Sing to the Dawn karya Min Fong Ho ?”.

Pendekatan yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah psychological

approach. Psychoanalisis yang digunakan adalah Transference. Transference

merupakan konsep yang merujuk pada kecenderungan alami untuk merespon

situasi tertentu dengan cara yang unik dan telah ditentukan (American

Psychoanalytic Association, 2016).

Terdapat dua penemuan dari penelitian ini. Penemuan yang pertama adalah

gender schema dari faktor internal dan faktor eksternal. Faktor internal ditemukan

pada diri Dawan yang telah berpikir bahwa ia tidak dapat memenangkan beasiswa

tersebut karena ia adalah anak perempuan. Faktor eksternal ditemukan pada

orang-orang di sekitar Dawan yang sebagian besar berpikir bahwa anak

perempuan seharusnya tidak pergi ke kota untuk belajar. Penemuan yang kedua

adalah pengaruh dari gender schema terhadap perkembangan pikiran Dawan.

Perkembangan pikiran Dawan terdiri atas kepercayaan, keinginan, dan tindakan.

Kepercayaan dapat ditemukan dalam pendapat, keyakinan, dan dugaan yang

dilakukan Dawan. Keinginan Dawan terlihat dari pemikiran Dawan ketika ia ingin

menggapai mimpinya dan ingin memperbarui diri setelah ia mendapat banyak

penolakan dari orang-orang di sekitarnya, dan menunjukkan kepeduliannya pada

orang lain. Sebagai dampak dari kepercayaan dan keinginannya, ia dapat

bertindak dengan tepat dan membuktikan bahwa ia pantas mendapatkan beasiswa

untuk melanjutkan pendidikan di kota.

Untuk penelitian selanjutnya, penulis menyarankan peneliti selanjutnya

untuk mempertegas penelitian dengan melakukan analisis terhadap pengaruh

gender schema terhadap perkembangan pikiran Kwai sebagai saudara laki-laki

dari Dawan. Penulis juga menyarankan dosen Bahasa Inggris untuk menggunakan

novel ini sebagai materi pembelajaran untuk kelas Book Report dan Prose karena

novel ini sangat bagus untuk menarik ketertarikan mahasiswa terhadap sastra

Bahasa Inggris.

Kata kunci: gender, gender schema, mind development, right


viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to address my gratitude to Jesus Christ for His

blessings and guidance. I believe that I could not have done this thesis without His

blessings and guidance that are given to me since I was born until now.

My greatest gratitude goes to my family. I thank my father because he

always believes that I can finish this thesis in time and supports me whenever I

feel down. I also thank my mother because she always tells me that there is

nothing impossible in this world and encourages me to give my best in everything

I do. I thank my sisters and brother, Lala, Dinda, Dion, because they always

cherish me and accompany me both in hard times and good times.

My greatest gratitude also goes to F.X. Ouda Teda Ena who has been the

best advisor and he inspires me so much. He has taught me that I should not be

lazy to make my dreams come true. I thank him for his supports and advice

throughout these 4 years because he is also my academic advisor. I also thank

Sanata Dharma University for the chance to study at Sanata Dharma University

and have many meaningful experiences too.

My biggest gratitude and happiness goes to my closest bestfriends in

English Education Study Program, Cika, Hapri, Lolita, and Galuh. I thank Cika

because she always gives me her support by listening to all of my stories

patiently. I also hope that she can finish her thesis this year. I thank Hapri because

she always tells me that I have to relax in doing my thesis so that I will not get

frustrated. I thank Lolita because she always accompanies me to go to the library


ix

to finish my thesis. I thank Galuh because she always cheers me up when I think I

am not good enough.

My gratitude also goes to my close friends in Class D 2013. The first

classmate to be thanked is Vero who has lend me her novel to be my research

object. I also thank Rosa Avia, Astri, Deta, Dian, Ensa, Erwan, Viko, Galih,

Marcel, Rosa Silalahi, Pinta, Retha, Tya, Tyas, Venia, Vian, Wisnu, Lolita, Cika,

Galuh, Hapri, and Yansen. I thank them because they have always been good

friends, partners, and companions throughout these 4 years.

My next gratitude goes to my PPL friends in Kolese de Britto. They are

Ines, Cahyo, Agnes, Ana, Bruder Anton, Sella, and Stephani. I am so grateful

because they have been my new family since I did my PPL. I have learned that

hardworking never betrays the result from them.

Finally, I thank everyone who has helped me in finishing this thesis that I

cannot mention their name one by one. I will always remember them and their

contribution to my life. May God bless them all and fill their lives with happiness

and gratitude.



x

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

TITLE PAGE .................................................................................................. i

APPROVAL PAGES ...................................................................................... ii

STATEMENT OF WORK‟S ORIGINALITY ............................................... iv

PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI ................................................ v

ABSTRACT .................................................................................................... vi

ABSTRAK ........................................................................................................ vii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................ viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................ x

LIST OF APPENDICES ................................................................................. xii

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study ................................................... 1

B. Research Question .............................................................. 4

C. Significance of the Study ................................................... 4

D. Definition of Terms ............................................................ 5

CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

A. Review of Related Studies ................................................. 7

B. Review of Related Theories ............................................... 9

1. Gender Schema Theory ................................................. 9

2. Theory of Mind .............................................................. 12

C. Theoretical Framework ....................................................... 14


xi

CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY

A. Object of the Study .............................................................. 16

1. The Summary about the Work Sing to the Dawn ........... 16

2. Special Record of the Work ............................................ 17

B. Approach of the Study ......................................................... 18

CHAPTER IV. ANALYSIS

A. Description of Dawan ........................................................... 21

B. Gender Schemas in Sing to the Dawn Novel ........................ 23

1. Gender Schema as a Result of External Factor ................ 23

2. Gender Schema as a Result of Internal Factor ................. 35

C. Dawan‟s Mind Development ................................................ 40

1. Beliefs .............................................................................. 41

a. Opinions .................................................................... 41

b. Convictions ............................................................... 43

c. Hunches .................................................................... 44

2. Desires ............................................................................. 46

a. Wants ........................................................................ 46

b. Urges ......................................................................... 48

c. States of Caring about Something ............................ 52

3. Actions ............................................................................. 52

CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND SUGGESTIONS

A. Conclusions ........................................................................... 54

B. Implications ........................................................................... 56

C. Suggestions ............................................................................ 58

REFERENCES ................................................................................................... 59


xii

LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix Page

Appendix A The Summary of Sing to the Dawn Novel .......................... 61

Appendix B Biography of Min Fong Ho ................................................. 62


1

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

This chapter includes the background of the study, research question,

significance of the study, and definition of terms. The background of the study

part contains the description of the topic and the rationales that are used related to

Sing to the Dawn novel as the primary data and gender schema theory. The

research question section contains two research questions which are going to be

analyzed and discussed. The significance of the study part shows the significance

why the study is worth doing. It reveals the purpose of the study which has a

relation with the formulated problem in this study. The last is the definition of

terms. In this section, specific terms used in this study are defined.

A. Background of the Study

According to Unger (1979), gender is defined as social label, the traits and

behavior that are regarded by the culture to men and women (as cited in Brannon,

1996, p.11). People are categorized into two genders which are men and women.

There can be found stereotypes on men and women‟s characters in our society.

The roles of men and women are differed by the stereotypes. Wood (1994) states

that:


2

Three themes that describe how media represent gender. First, women

are underrepresented which falsely implies that men are the cultural

standard and women are unimportant or invisible. Second, men and

women are portrayed in stereotypical ways that reflect and sustain socially

endorsed views of gender. Third, depictions of relationships between men

and women emphasize traditional roles and normalize violence against

women (p.31).

Those three themes in media show that there are still stereotypes in differing men

and women‟s role in this society. Men are seen to be superior than women based

on the gender role stereotypes. Men need to have a better education than women.

Often time, women are considered as inferior gender and men are the superior

gender. Davis (1990, in Wood, 1994, p.33) defines that “women are portrayed as

passive, dependent on men, and enmeshed in relationships or housework.”

Women are seen as passive gender because they are supposed to obey and follow

what men say. People also underestimate women‟s roles because they are not

independent like men.

Nowadays, parents often treat their children based on this stereotype. In

fact, children should not be treated differently because their childhood is the

important phase in someone‟s psychological mechanism. Bell (2005) states that:

Regardless of sex differences, the mechanisms by which boys and girls

develop adjustment problems may differ, due to differences in biological and

psychological development, as well as to the gendered culture(s) in which

children develop (p. 3).

The culture can also influence the psychological development for the children.

Bem (1981, in Vasta, 1998) states that a schema is a cognitive representation of

the general structure of something familiar. The gender-schema model proposes

that, children develop schemas for “boy” and “girl”. Sex categorizations which are


3

commonly known as boys and girls can also play the important role in children‟s

development. Early psychoanalytic theory emphasized unresolved childhood

experiences that result in adult depression (Bell, 2005, p.30). There should be

resolved childhood experiences to result a better way of thinking when someone

has already been an adult. Pillow (2012) states that “children notice their own

mental states, draw analogies between their actions and experiences and those of

others, and learn the prevalent ways of describing behavior in their culture” (p.

62). Children relate their actions based on their experiences. They also learn how

to behave appropriately based on their culture.

Many literary works, such as novels, are used to show the influence of

gender role stereotypes in our society. Fox (1993) states that:

Everything we read...constructs us, makes us who we are, by

presenting our image of ourselves as girls and women, as boys and men.

Without doubt, the impact of the school and literature in the formation of

identity among youth is great, especially informing their views on gender

differences (p. 84).

It means literary works, especially which are written, have a strong influence to

the readers. Those works encourage the readers to construct their own image of

girls and boys, especially the gender differences.

Those statements represent the action in which people still treat their

children based on their gender. Categorizing children and treating them based on

their sex-type are problematic. Therefore, gender gaps in earnings can decrease or

limit the resources available to meet children‟s rights, such as health care,

adequate nutrition and education (UNICEF, 2006, p.40). By conducting this


4

study, the writer encourages the readers so that they can learn to be better in

treating their children based on those considerations.

B. Research Questions

There are two research questions that are used in this study. They are:

1. What are gender schemas that can be found in Min Fong Ho‟s Sing to the

Dawn?

2. How does gender schema influence Dawan‟s mind development in Min

Fong Ho‟s Sing to the Dawn?

C. Significance of the Study

This study is very useful and beneficial for many parties. The significance

of the study are:

1. This study can be used as a reference for future study about gender schema

and child psychology.

2. This study will contribute to literature study, especially children books,

that have relation to gender schema.

3. This study helps the society to learn on how to treat their children wisely

without categorizing children‟s actions based on their gender.

4. This study helps the teachers as educators to understand how to treat their

students appropriately without categorizing their genders.


5

5. This study helps parents to understand that they are the first people that are

in contact to the children so they need to know how to treat their children

appropriately.

D. Definition of Terms

There are some terms used in this study. The definition of those terms are

described in this section. They are:

1. Gender

According to Unger (1979), gender is defined as social label, the traits and

behavior that are regarded by the culture to men and women. The social label is

about the characteristics that the culture describes to each sex and sex-related

characteristics that individuals assign to themselves (as cited in Brannon, 1996, p.

11). Sherif (1982) states that gender is “a scheme for social cartegorization of

individuals” (as cited in Brannon, 1996, p. 11).

2. Gender Schema

Bem states that a schema is a cognitive representation of the general

structure of something familiar. The gender-schema model proposes that, early in

life, children develop schemas for “boy” and “girl”. These schemas result

principally from two factors. One is the child‟s inborn tendency to organize and

classify information from the environment. The other is our culture‟s heavy

emphasis on providing gender distinguishing cues (such as clothing, names, and

occupations), which make these concepts easily identifiable (1981, in Vasta,

1998).


6

3. Mind

Harris (1991) describes that the understanding of mind is not the work of a

theory, it is a "work of the imagination" . He notes that even young children are

very good at pretending and imagining and says young children (and adults)

understand others' minds by simply imagining what the other feels, thinks, and

wants (as cited in Bartsch, 1995, p. 175).


7

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter consists of review of related studies, review of related

theories, and theoretical framework. Review of related studies is used to review

the studies that have been done previously and to show the difference between

this research and those researches in the past. Review of related theories is about

theories that are relevant to this research. The last part is theoretical framework

which summarizes the theories and reviews used in this study.

A. Review of Related Studies

Martin (2004) states that children are considered as gender detectives who

are very curious to search for cues about gender, especially about who should or

should not engage in a particular activity, who can play with whom, and why

girls and boys are different. Cognitive perspectives on gender development

assume that children are being active to search for many ways to find the

meaning of something and make sense of the social world that surrounds them.

They do all of those things by using the gender cues provided by society to help

them interpret what they see and hear (p.67). In 1997, Grolnick, Deci, & Ryan

states that many studies show children of parents who are more autonomy


8

supportive, more likely to spontaneously explore and extend themselves rather

than children who have more controlling parents (as cited in Ryan, 2000, p.59).

Miller (2002) explains that in natural settings, it is difficult to assess the

role of cognition because patterns of behavior are also influenced by children‟s

prior experiences. Nevertheless, a few longitudinal analyses have shown that once

children know gender stereotypes, their personal preferences show the gender type

more. In her study, it has been difficult to generate neutral stimuli because

children appear to seize on any element that may implicate a gender norm so that

they may categorize it as male or female. Experimental research also suggests that

young children are quick to jump to conclusions about sex differences, even on

the basis of only a single instance (as cited in Martin, 2004, p. 69).

Killen (2015) states that current research on conscience examines how

young children develop mechanisms for inhibiting negative behavior and

promoting positive behavior as a result of internalizing parental norms.

Conscience is conceptualizedas an inner guidance or self-regulatory system

involving an integration of moral emotion and conduct (with limited focus on

cognition). This emphasis is partly on the development of a mutually responsive

orientation between the parents and child that sensitizes the child to learn proper

conduct, codes of caring for others, and committed compliance. This is

exemplified by Kochanska‟s research on conscience (Kochanska & Aksan, 2006)

as well as Thompson‟s research on early childhood morality (Thompson, 2014).


9

B. Review of Related Theories

In order to do this study, there are many theories related to the topic of the

study. These theories used as tools to analyze the novel later. The theories are:

1. Gender Schema Theory

Before gender schema theory appears, there is Piaget‟s theory about the

cognitive structures. Piaget believes that intelligence is a process which is not

about something that a child has but something a child does (1968, in Vasta, 1998,

p. 33). Children‟s intelligence can be understood by seeing their actions or how

they operate something. Piaget states that schemes involve two elements. They are

an object in the environment and the child‟s reaction to the object. A scheme is a

psychological structure that reflects the child‟s underlying knowledge and guides

his or her interactions with the world. The child‟s intelligence is defined by the

nature and organization of these schemes (or other cognitive structures during

later development).

Bem (1981, in Aubry et al, 2003) explains that children develop an

extensive associative network of knowledge about the gender norms of their

culture, called gender schemas. Gender schemas affect the way children process

new information relevant to gender. The theory also proposes that the

phenomenon of sex typing derives from gender-based schematic processing which

is from a generalized readiness to process information on the basis of the sex-

linked associations that constitute the gender schema.

Bem (1981, in Vasta, 1998) states that a schema is a cognitive

representation of the general structure of something familiar. The gender-schema


10

model proposes that, children develop schemas for “boy” and “girl”. These

schemas result principally from two factors. One is the child‟s inborn tendency to

organize and classify information from the environment. The other is our culture‟s

heavy emphasis on providing gender distinguishing cues (such as clothing, names,

and occupations), which make these concepts easily identifiable. Bem‟s (1985, in

Harter, 2006) gender schema theory describes how the initial labeling of one‟s

gender leads the young child to look to the culture where they learn that gender

distinctions are very important. It causes them to attend to the content of gender

roles for males and females (p.516). While learning that boys are expected to be

strong, brave, and assertive but girls are expected to be good, nice, and quiet, boys

and girls acquire gender schemas. They adopt the characteristics that the culture

considers appropriate for their gender.

Bem also comes up with gender schema theory, which changed gender

from being seen as individual traits, but instead shows how society tended to

measure gender in a bipolar way as either more masculine or feminine depending

upon such things as clothes, body movements, hobbies, employment, etc. which

she termed „cultural fictions‟ (as cited in Kilvington & Wood, 2016, p. 24). This

theory is about sex typing between boys and girls that happen in their childhood.

Hendrix & Wei (2009) explains that :

The early gender bias experiences that children encounter can shape their

attitudes and beliefs related to their development of interpersonal and

intrapersonal relationships, access to education equality, participation in

the corporate work world, as well as stifling their physical and

psychological well being (as cited in Aina, 2011, p.11).


11

This explanation shows that experiences have strong influence to boys and girls‟

attitudes and beliefs. The attitudes and beliefs are related to their roles in the

society, especially to the access to get education equally.

Martin & Halverson (1981) states that gender schemas are interrelated

networks of mental associations representing information about the sexes.

Schemas are not passive copies of the environment, but instead they are active

constructions, prone to errors and distortions. Two types of schemas are initially

formulated as the superordinate schema and the own-sex schema. The

superordinate schema contains listlike information about the sexes. The own-sex

schema is defined as a narrow schema containing detailed action plans for self-

relevant information (as cited in Lamb, 2015).

Golombok (2002) states that gender schemas refer to organized bodies of

knowledge about gender, and are functionally similar to gender stereotypes.

Gender schemas influence the way we perceive and remember information about

everything around us. As a result, we pay greater attention and are more likely to

remember information that is in line with our gender schemas than the opposing

information (p. 130). This gender schema has a relation to gender stereotypes and

it influences our way of thinking towards everything around us.

Valian (2005) assumes that one way that gender schemas affect women is

in women‟s perception of themselves as worth less and entitled to less. The

schemas conversely affect men by leading them to see themselves as worth more

and entitled to more. Also, through the chores they are given to do in childhood,

women become accustomed to act for others‟ good and to labor for love; while


12

men become accustomed to be recompensed for their labors (p.205). The core

content of the psychological gender schemas for females does not logically entail

any of the beliefs making up hostile or benevolent sexism. The content of gender

schemas can be used to shore up hostile and benevolent sexism, but it does not

imply any form of sexism. Even individuals whose explicit beliefs are not

(hostilely or benevolently) sexist are subject to gender schemas (p.200).

2. Theory of Mind

According to Bukatko (2008) theory of mind is the awareness of the

concept of mental states of a person and the others (p.288). Some researchers,

Baron-Cohen (1995), Fodor (1992), Leslie (1994) argue that the theory of mind is

an innate, prepackaged, modular form of knowledge that becomes more

elaborated as child‟s cognitive sklls developed (as cited in Bukatko, 2008, p.288).

Other researchers, Ruffman et al. (2002) believe that a theory of mind arises from

the child‟s socialization experiences, especially those that encourage an

appreciation of others‟ mental states (as cited in Bukatko, 2008, p.288). This

theory is a key cognitive attainment that becomes the bridge between someone

and his social world.

According to Silva (2014), the mind is defined and represented in terms of

the interplay of dynamic instincts: the drive for sensual gratification, the drive

towards egoistic and narcissistic pursuits and the drive towards both aggression

and self-destruction (p. 121-122). On the contrary, Perner (1991) explains that the

children must appreciate the relation between a symbolic representation which

means conceptualizing beliefs as representations that stand for situations in the


13

world and may differ from the actual state of affairs, and its referent to understand

the mind (as cited in Pillow, 2012, p. 85). Others have argued that the executive

function is related to the development of children‟s theory of mind. Executive

function includes abilities involved in self-regulation, such as directing attention,

resisting distraction, controlling motor responses, inhibiting inappropriate

responses, and planning. Carlson and Moses (2001, in Pillow, 2012) suggests:

One aspect of executive function, inhibitory control, is particularly

important for children‟s understanding of beliefs. They view inhibitory

control and understanding of beliefs as related in two ways: (a) inhibitory

control enables the acquisition of the concept of belief, and (b) inhibitory

control facilitates the expression of children‟s false belief understanding

(p. 85).

There is a "belief-desire" understanding of mind and action. According to

Davidson (1963), beliefs are defined as a general category of thoughts

encompassing knowledge, opinions, guesses, convictions, and hunches, that is, all

mental states that attempt to reflect something true about the world. More broadly,

thoughts include not only serious beliefs but also fanciful ideas, states of

imagination, and dreams—mental states that represent fictional worlds. Desires

are also to be understood as a general category including wants, urges, and states

of caring about something; that is, a whole range of "pro-attitudes" toward or

about something (as cited in Bartsch, 1995, p. 5). The underlying structure of our

common sense conception of mind requires consideration of both desires and

beliefs. People do things because they desire something and believe some acts

will achieve it. According to this sort of analysis, the center of a theory of mind is


14

conceptual triad of constructs actions, beliefs, and desires (Bartsch, 1995). Olson,

Astington, & Harris (1988, in Bartsch, 1995) defines theory of mind:

So what is a theory of mind? The events to be explained and predicted

are talk and action (some would say behavior). The theoretical concepts are

those of belief, desire, intention, and feeling. And, third, these concepts may be

used to explain and predict the events in the referential domain, namely talk

and action. (p. 113)

Wellman (1993) explains that it is obvious that children's understanding of

beliefs and desires is intimately related to their understanding of other mental

phenomena such as emotions and perception (As cited in Bartsch, 1995, p. 146-

147). Pinker (1997) states that the mind is organized into modules or mental

organs, each with a special design that enables it to be an expert in one area of

interaction with the world. The module‟s basic logic is specified by our genetic

program. Their operation is shaped by natural selection to solve problems of the

hunting and gathering life led by our ancestors in most of our evolutionary history

(as cited in Bjorklund, 2007, p. 7).

C. Theoretical Framework

The writer uses some theories to answer the two formulated research

questions. Those theories are gender schema theory by Bem (1981) and theory of

mind by Davidson (1963). To solve the first problem, the writer uses the theory of

Gender Schema by Bem (1981, in Vasta, 1998). Bem (1981) states that a schema

is a cognitive representation of the general structure of something familiar. The

gender-schema model proposes that, early in life, children develop schemas for

“boy” and “girl” These schemas result principally from two factors. One is the


15

child‟s inborn tendency to organize and classify information from the

environment. The other is the culture‟s heavy emphasis on providing gender

distinguishing cues (such as clothing, names, and occupations), which makes

these concepts easily identifiable (as cited in Vasta, 1998). This gender schema

theory will be implemented to analyze how Dawan experiences the encourages

with the people in her environment and the culture in which she lives. The

experiences and culture create gender schema such as stereotypes towards girls‟

rights compared to boys. Then, to answer the second research question, the writer

uses the "belief-desire" understanding of mind and action from Davidson (1963,

in Bartsch, 1995). He states that the center of a theory of mind is conceptual triad

of constructs actions, beliefs, and desires (p. 5).


16

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter includes the object of the study and the approach of the study.

The object of the study includes the summary of the work, special record of the

work, and awards achieved by the author. The approach of the study discusses the

characteristics, procedure, application, and the purpose of the approach.

A. Object of the Study

The object of the study is the novel entitled Sing to the Dawn by Min Fong

Ho. This object of the study delivers the summary of the object of the study,

special record about the object, and also awards behind the work.

1. The Summary about the Work Sing to the Dawn

This novel was first published in 1975 by William Morrow & Co. Sing to

the Dawn consists of one hundred and sixty pages. Min Fong Ho is a Chinese-

American writer. Min Fong Ho has won many prizes from her novels and mostly

her novels are about children fiction.

Sing to the Dawn novel tells the reader about Dawan, a young village girl

who lives in Thailand. She wins a scholarship to study in a city school. Her

brother, Kwai, places second and is initially jealous. Kwai‟s jealousy causes a

conflict between the two previously-close siblings. This hostility is further


17

exacerbated by Dawan's father, who feels that the city is not a place for a girl.

Dawan faces obstacles at every turn, and eventually overcomes these obstacles

and proves to herself and to others that she is fully capable of handling the

scholarship and she can take the responsibility to improve her village later. Min

Fong Ho shows the gender role discrimination that becomes a common thing for

our society. Even in education field, gender role stereotypes also influence men

and women‟s in getting the appropriate education for themselves.

2. Special Record of the Work

There are some special records about the literature works entitled Sing to

the Dawn by Min Fong Ho. This novel has been made a movie, TV, and also

theatrical adaptions and those works are:

a. The animated feature film, Sing to the Dawn, co- produced by MediaCorp

Raintree Pictures, the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA),

Infinite Frameworks (IFW) and a new financing partner, Scorpio East

Pictures, is set to hit the big screens in June 2008! This inspirational

animation is based on the award-winning novel of the same title by

Minfong Ho.The movie was localised into an Indonesian version with the

title "Meraih Mimpi" and released on Indonesian cinemas on 16 September

2009. (“Infocomm”).

b. Sing to the Dawn was adapted into a critically acclaimed musical by

Singaporean composer Dick Lee in 1996 and was directed by Steven

Dexter. The musical has proved extremely popular after its initial run, and

has been restaged several times, including a restaging by the Singapore


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Lee

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Dexter

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Dexter

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore_Management_University

18

Management University's production house in 2003 and a joint production

between Raffles Institution and Raffles Girls' School in 2004.

(“Infocomm”).

c. First prize, Council of Interracial Books for Children, 1975, for Sing to the

Dawn.

d. First prize, Annual Short Story Contest of Singapore, Ministry of Culture,

Singapore, 1982.

B. Approach of the Study

The study uses a psychological approach to analyze the novel. Freud (in

Brannon, 1996, p.6) emphasizes the role of instinct and physiology in personality

formation and he finds that instincts provide the basic energy for personality and

that child‟s perception of physical differences between boys and girls was a

pivotal event in personality formation. Freud sees childhood experiences within

the family explains how physiology interacts with experience to influence

personality development.

Burman (2008) explains that psychoanalytic approaches feature is used to

highlight how concepts of childhood closely connect with those of dominant

cultural understandings of both emotion and memory. Psychoanalytic theory is

used as an interpretive framework to understand what is at stake in the dynamics

of child-vieewing and child-saving. Bornstein (2001, in Burman, 2008) explains

that:


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore_Management_University

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raffles_Institution

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raffles_Girls%27_School

19

Humanitarian interventions realised through children generate

complex emotional as well as economic relationships, with ambiguous

personal and political effects. These include fostering a transnational

belonging at the expense of sometimes engendering local jealousines and

inequalities, while the dynamic of individual empowerment they institute

can, paradoxically, work to disempower parents. (p. 14).

The psychoanalysis that is used is Transference. Transference is a concept

that refers to our natural tendency to respond to certain situations in unique,

predetermined ways--predetermined by much earlier, formative experiences

usually within the context of the primary attachment relationship (American

Psychoanalytic Association, 2016). Transference is what is transferred to new

situations from previous situations. In psychoanalysis, old reactions constitute the

core of a person's problem, and that he or she needs to understand them well in

order to be able to create choices that are more useful.

Freud states that the word "transference" to refer to “this ubiquitous

psychological phenomenon, and it remains one of the most powerful explanatory

tools in psychoanalysis today, both in the clinical setting and when psychoanalysts

use their theory to explain human behavior” (APA, 2016). Transference describes

the tendency for a person to base some perceptions and expectations in present

day relationships on his or her earlier attachments, especially to parents, siblings,

and significant others. Thus transference leads to distortions in interpersonal

relationships, as well as nuances of intensity and fantasy. This approach helps the

writer to analyze Dawan‟s mind development because mind has relation to

psychology. The influence of gender schema towards Dawan‟s mind development


20

is studied by relating psychological approach to Dawan‟s thoughts that appear in

the novel.


21

CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS

This chapter presents the result of the study. This chapter is divided into

three parts. The first part is about the description of Dawan, the main character of

Sing to the dawn novel. The second part is about Gender Schema that can be

found in the novel. The third part is about Dawan‟s mind development, in relation

to gender schemata.

A. Description of Dawan

According to Abrams (2005) characters are people that are presented in the

dramatic of narrative work, who are interpreted by the readers as being endowed

with moral and disposional qualities that are expressed in how the characters say

and what they act (p. 2). The readers understand and identify the characters by

reading statements that explain the characters. The statements can be about the

actions that are done by the character or the characters‟ sayings. In addition,

Abrams (1985) states that there are two characters in the novel, the first is a major

character which is the main character who always appears in the whole story of

the novel and the second is a minor character which does not fully appear in the

story and their roles just to support the development of the major character (p.20).

Boyd (2012) states that in fictional literature, authors use many different types of

characters to tell their stories. The first is a dynamic character which is a person


22

who changes over time, usually as a result of resolving a central conflict or facing

a major crisis. Most dynamic characters tend to be central rather than peripheral

characters, because resolving the conflict is the major role of central characters.the

second is a static character which is someone who does not change over time; his

or her personality does not transform or evolve.

In this novel, Dawan is considered as a major character. Dawan always

appears in the whole story which means she appears from the beginning of the

story until the end. There are also conversations that are about her eventhough she

is not included in those conversations. Dawan is also a dynamic character because

she is the central character and she changes over time as a result of facing a

central conflict.

Dawan, a young village girl, wins a scholarship to study in a city school.

Her brother, Kwai, places second and is initially jealous. His jealousy causes a



Dawan faces obstacles at every turn, and eventually overcomes these obstacles .

She proves to herself and to others that she is fully capable of handling the

scholarship and the responsibility it entails. The conflicts in this novel are mostly

about Dawan, the major character. Dawan also changes over time, from a

pessimistic person into an optimistic perso. Therefore, she is the dynamic

character in this novel.


23

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

end 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 takes 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.


25

“ If you‟d won, of course it‟d be different,” the father answered. “You‟re a

boy, and more schooling would have been useful for you.” He paused, then

added wistfully, “And useful for me too. Why, you could come back and

help me to...” (p. 55).

This statement goes to Kwai when the whole family of Dawan are eating

dinner together. Dawan‟s father shows his disappointment towards the result. For

him, it will be useful if the winner of the scholarship is Kwai, instead of Dawan.

Kwai is seen as someone that can bring the change to the family‟s fate. Dawan‟s

father hopes that Kwai can bring a better situation for the whole family if he gets

the scholarship and goes to the city. He creates a schema that a boy will always be

useful for the family instead of a girl because a boy is still seen as a superior. If a

boy gets a better education, there will be a better life for the family, while a girl

who gets a better education is believed as something useless.

“But what right does your sister have? She‟s only a girl,” the peasant

retorted roughly (p. 103).

This statement appears right after Dawan‟s father is angry because he

finally knows that Kwai places at the second rank and Kwai does not tell him

about that. In addition, he keeps forcing Kwai to take Dawan‟s chance because he

thinks he has a power to forbid Dawan to go to the city. He knows that Kwai will

go to the city if Dawan cannot take the scholarship because he places at the

second rank. Dawan‟s father still thinks that Dawan has no right to get better

education because a girl should not be smart and will always end up staying at

home. For the society, a boy should be given more chance rather than a girl

because he can bring the change and be more useful.

Dawan hesitated, then retorted with a defiant, “Well, why not?”


26

“Why not!” the big farmer shouted at her, “Damn it, I‟ll tell you

why not!” Dawan could see the veins on his neck as he shouted. “Because

you‟re only a girl, because there‟s nothing you can do, even with a fancy

education, because...” (p. 105).

Dawan‟s father still insists that Dawan has taken his brother chance to get

the scholarship. He states that Dawan forces her brother to let her go to the City

and get a better education while the fact is that she is only a girl. So, when Dawan

asks the reason behind her father‟s rejection, her father states that a girl cannot do

anything even if she gets more education rather than a boy. A girl is seen as a

useless person and cannot do great things to bring the change for the family.

b. Dawan’s Mother

In this novel, Dawan‟s mother is a character that shows how women are

inferior rather than men. Women can only follow what their husbands say and

often times do not have their own point of views.

“You should not encourage her so!” Dawan‟s mother called from the

veranda. “You know her father won‟t let her go. She‟ll be even more

disappointed if you praise her now. At least spare her that.” (p. 30).

Dawan‟s mother actually cares of what Dawan feels toward her father‟s

rejection. She does not want Dawan to expect more because she knows that her

husband will not give permission for Dawan to go to the city. Dawan‟s mother

creates a schema about women who will always follow their husbands‟ opinions.

When her husband thinks that Dawan should not get the scholarship, she will have

that thoughts too in her mind because all she can do is supporting her husband‟s

statement. She has no right to ignore or reject it.


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 city. 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.


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


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 raise 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


30

live independently in the city. In addition, Noi describes the city as a place that

creates tough life which is not the same as what is in people‟s imagination.

“That is true,” Ghan confirmed. “There is no sense in a young girl going

off into the City alone.” (p. 35).

To suppport her wife, Ghan states the same statement about how a girl

should not leave the village to live alone in the city. Noi and Ghan has the same

opinion about the city because for them, that place is not appropriate for a girl to

live alone. It will be different if the one who lives alone in the City is a boy. There

will be more supports for him because boys are trusted and know how to manage

themselves and feed themselves. By the time a girl has a chance to live in the city,

there will be more contradictory opinions towards it rather than pro opinions.

“But that‟s exactly the point,” Noi broke in sharply. “She doesn‟t have to

go to the City, does she? She can go to school here.” (p. 35).

From the statement above, the writer finds that Noi creates her own point

of view about how a girl should get education. Girls may get more education, yet

they are not expected to do many things for the society by earning the knowledge

from school. Noi keeps insisting that there is no reason for a girl to study in the

city because they can still learn in the village. Moreover, the city is seen as a

dangerous place for her because she has been through tough life in there. For her,

it will be better for a girl to live in the village and keep doing her fate to cook and

raise the baby, rather than going through tough life in the city which is full of

unfairness and injustice for poor people like villagers.


31

“You see what happens when you try to have your own way, Dawan? In

the long run, it‟s not worth it to fight with boys. You‟ve only got a cut leg

now, but next time it may not be your own brother you‟re fighting with,

and you may be hurt even more. Believe me, it‟s painful in this world to

get in the way of men.” (p.87).

Noi is in the market to help Dawan when Dawan‟s leg gets hurt. It is

injured because Kwai is very angry to her and pushes her away. Noi seems to be

angry to Dawan because Dawan still struggles to get support to talk to her father,

while her own brother is very angry to her. The gender schema that can be found

in Noi‟s statement is that girls should not fight the boys because girls are weak

and have no power. Girls should just obey and accept what the boys say. Once

girls try to resist boys, they should accept the consequences of getting hurt.

Therefore, many girls gives up their chance if it means they have to counter boys.

e. The Old Monk

When Dawan almost gives up to find any supports so that her father can

permit her to go to the city, she has an idea to ask the old monk to talk to her

father. Her father respects the old monk so much, that is why her father might

allow her to go if the one who talks to him is the old monk.

Like a tired breeze through dry weeds, the old monk sighed softly. “How

can I help you do something that I don‟t believe in? You‟re still young,

child, but I don‟t think you should waste any more time dreaming such

futile dreams. What can a mere schoolgirl hope to achieve anyway? Be

satisfied with that...” (p. 75).

The old monk used to think wisely. For him, to make a change, someone

does not need to go to the city and gets education there, especially if that person is


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


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 city. 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


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 brother.” (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.


36

a. Pessimism

Dawan is so pessimistic about her own capability to get the scholarship.

Then Kwai understood, and sat down next to her again, "Is it because

today that marks come in and we find out who won the scholarship that

you don't want to go? Sister, are you afraid of finding out? ( p. 11).

From Kwai‟s statement, it can be inferred that Dawan does not want to

move and go to school because she does not want to find out the winner of the

scholarship to continue the school in the city. She looks worried and afraid of the

announcement because she is not sure that she can win the scholarship.

After a while, she glanced at her brother and asked, “What if you did do

best in our village, Kwai? You will go, won‟t you?” (p. 11).

Dawan‟s pessimistic attitude is shown in this statement where she responds

her brother‟s question. She is very sure that her brother, Kwai, will win the

scholarship because he used to be the best in their village and he can go to the city

without thinking further or facing any obstacles. When her brother assumes that

she is afraid to face the result, she cannot answer it quickly because she needs a

few minutes to give response. However, she does not give any answer towards her

brother‟s question. She states another questions that show her uncertainty of her

capability to win the scholarship.

“He likes you more,” she insisted in a low voice. “Especially today,

when you will receive the government scholarship.”

“ Stop talking as if I had already won that scholarship!” Kwai

interrupted. There are plenty of other students in our village who might get

it, you kow.”

“ Like who?” Dawan challenged.

Kwai fell silent, as if he was mentally considering every member of

his class who might win. Finally he blurted, “How about you, Sister? You

could win.”

“Me?” Dawan flushed. “But I‟m a girl.” (p. 13 - 14)


37

In Dawan‟s statement, „he‟ refers to their teacher at school. According to

Dawan, their teacher focuses on Kwai more than the other students. The teacher

often talks about many problems that appear in their village with Kwai. Dawan

thinks that the teacher really wants Kwai to get the scholarship. Moreover, Dawan

also makes her own gender schema when she states that she will not go to the city

and win the scholarship because she is a girl. For her, the one who deserves the

scholarship must be a boy. She underestimates herself as a girl compared to Kwai

who has more chance to win the scholarship.

“You know why,” Dawan said without looking at her brother, her hand

clenched tight over the edge of the wooden bridge. “I‟m a girl, Kwai.” (p.

14)

At the end of Chapter One from Sing to the Dawn novel, Dawan once

again gives a statement about how she underestimates herself. She creates her

own schema about a girl‟s right. For her, she is just a girl who should not go to the

city and get a better education there. She believes that her teacher will choose

Kwai instead of her because she thinks that it will be easier for a boy to be sent to

the City. In this case, Dawan realizes that eventhough she always gets good marks

in the class and studies harder than Kwai does, there is still no possibility to get

the scholarship. This schema influences her way of thinking.


38

b. Optimisim

The teacher tells the whole class about the winner of the scholarship. The

one who gets the scholarship is Dawan which is a surprising news for everybody.

That cheerful voice seemed to ring in her ears now, as her bare feet trailed

along the path, toward home. “Kwai already knows the „good news‟,” she

thought to herself uneasilty, “and he hates me for it.” (p. 25)

Dawan knows that Kwai is so disappointed because he cannot win the

scholarship. While Dawan is surrounded by a crowd of curious and chattering

classmates, she saw her brother, Kwai, is standing alone in the doorway and

silently watching her in the middle of her admirers. Seeing him standing there,

Dawan thinks that Kwai is not happy for her. Once again, she feels she does not

deserve the scholarship.

Her heart sank: her father would be in an even worse mood than usual,

making her news that much harder to break. She tried to speak, but the fear

in her heart chained down her words (p. 27-28).

At that time, Dawan is afraid of telling her father about the news. She

knows that her father will be angry when he knows that the one who wins the

scholarship is herself and not her brother. Her father has many expectations

towards Kwai because Kwai is a boy. This condition creates a schema in Dawan‟s

self that she cannot get her father‟s support to go to the City to get a better

education, unless she is a boy. As a girl, it is frightening to speak to her father,

especially when the news that she wants to share is a „bad‟ news for her father.

She looked up at him appealingly, and continued, “How can I give up my

one chance? You know Father has already said that this will be the last

year he will pay for my school-fee. If I don‟t use this scholarship I won‟t

be able to get any more schooling. But you‟ll have many more chances

yet. He said he‟ll send you to school as long as you want to go on

studying.” (p. 50)


39

This statement goes to Kwai after Kwai tells Dawan that he actually places

at the second rank, right after his own sister. Kwai says that he will be sent to the

City if his sister cannot go to the City. Dawan is so surprised to hear that

information because she is afraid that Kwai will tell their father that he places at

the second rank. While Dawan is arguing with her brother, she directly creates a

schema about gender stereotypes. She tells Kwai that she needs to go to the City

because there will be no chance for her to study again, while Kwai has many

chances to learn because their father will not hesitate to pay for his study in the

village. For Dawan, she should take the scholarship because her father does not

want to pay further for her study if she keeps studying in the village. The

scholarship is the one and only chance for her, as a girl, to get a better education.

And Dawan herself? What could she do? She was just a girl. Wouldn‟t she

grow up just to be a wife and a mother? What could she do with more

learning? (p. 56)

A schema about gender stereotypes appears in Dawan‟s mind. She

questions her role in her society as a girl. In her society, a girl is destined to be a

wife and a mother without having better education. For them, there is no use of

getting better education because girls cannot do anything for the society. A boy is

expected more to make changes in the society. Dawan tries to think about what

she can do if she gets better learning. In this case, she is really in doubt about her

right to be more than just a wife and a mother because girls are inferior and boys

are more superior.

“... I can read now only because I was given a chance to, when my brother

helped talk our father into letting me study years ago and...” (p. 63)


40

This statement shows that Dawan will not get a chance to study if her

brother does not talk to their father. For Dawan, she is just a girl who has no

chance to study because she will end up staying at home for her whole life. She

thinks that her role is not that important for her father. The schema is more about

how influential boys are. In this case, Kwai can easily influence her father to let

Dawan go to school. If Dawan herself tells her father about how she wants to go

to school, her father will not accept her wish.

C. Dawan’s Mind Development

To answer the second research problem, the writer uses theory of mind by

Davidson (1963). He states that center of a theory of mind is conceptual triad of

constructs actions, beliefs, and desires (as cited in Bartsch, 1995, p. 5). The writer

correlates gender schemas that have been found in the novel to those three center

of theory of mind which are beliefs, desires, and action. In this section, the writer

describes how gender schemas influence Dawan‟s mind development from the

beginning of the story until the end.

1. Beliefs

According to Davidson (1963), beliefs refer to a general category of

thoughts involving knowledge, opinions, guesses, convictions, and hunches. (as

cited in Bartsch, 1995, p. 5). Those are all the mental states that reflect something

true about the world. The writer finds some kinds of beliefs that are found in the


41

novel, especially from gender schemas. Beliefs that are found in the novel are

opinions, convictions and hunches.

a. Opinions

Opinions are parts of beliefs that influence Dawan‟s mind development.

There are some gender schemas that are considered as opinions which contribute

to Dawan‟s mind development. Those gender schemas are found in statements

from many characters in Dawan‟s life. The gender schemas are constructed and

then influence Dawan‟s mind, especially her opinions towards the equality of

gender in her village.

Their parents had considered it foolish and wasteful to send girls to school.

It was not until Kwai had started school himself and kept insisting that his

sister be allowed to join him that Dawan was finally permitted to go too.

(p. 14).

The quotation above is about Dawan‟s parents‟ opinion which is related to

education for their son and daughter. It can be seen that there is no equality

between boys and girls for them because education is only for boys. Dawan, as a

girl, is actually not meant to be permitted to go to school, like her brother, Kwai.

Their parents never intend to send Dawan to school because the only one who will

be sent is Kwai. Dawan is finally allowed to get education because Kwai asks

their parents to send Dawan to school with him. If Kwai does not ask their parents

to do so, Dawan would never be given a chance to study at school.

For Dawan‟s parents, it is useless and foolish to send their daughter to

learn something at the school. They do not expect anything to Dawan, while they

expect many things from Kwai because he is a boy. A boy should get more

knowledge rather than a girl, so Dawan‟s parents only allow Kwai to be sent to


42

school at the beginning. They say it is foolish to send girls to school because for

them, girls cannot do many things to improve their family‟s life, while boys are

believed to bring a better life to the family. It is also considered as wasteful

because they think that they will waste more money if they have to send Dawan to

school too, and Dawan will not give anything to them as a feedback.

As a result, Dawan also thinks the same way about her chance to go to

school. It can be seen from her statement to Bao when Bao gives her compliment

about her scholarship.

“It‟s not that people are born smarter or dumber than one another. It‟s the

way different chances have been given or denied people that makes them

so different after a while. I can read now only because I was given a

chance to, when my brother helped to talk to our father into letting me

study years ago and...” (p. 63).

When Bao praises Dawan after she knows that Dawan gets the scholarship,

Dawan responses wisely. She gives her opinion towards her luck to get education

at school. Similar to her parents‟ opinion, she also believes that she is just lucky

because she has a brother who can ask their parents to give her chance to go to

school and study many things there. For her, getting the scholarship does not

mean that she is smart. She improves her capability at school to the fullest, so that

she can get the first rank at school. Dawan believes that her chance to be sent to

school in the village leads her to the chance to get the scholarship to study in the

city.

b. Convictions

Conviction is one of belief that can be found in the novel. This kind of

belief is different from opinions because conviction is more strict than opinions


43

and it is also harder to be changed. Dawan‟s conviction is influenced by the old

monk‟s statement. It can be seen in the old monk‟s quote:

“Well then, once you realize that things of this world don‟t last, then you

also see that they are not really important. So you learn to stop wanting

ordinary things, and are able to concentrate on the higher truths...” (p.73).

The old monk gives the understanding from Buddha‟s life to Dawan when

she tells him about how she concerns on her village‟s condition which full of

unfairness and poverty. She tells the old monk that she wants to study in the city

so that she can improve the village when she finishes her study in the city. The old

monk keeps talking that nothing lasts forever to Dawan because he actually does

not think that Dawan can go to the city. He thinks that Dawan should be grateful

of her life in the village and not go to the city to get a better education.

Moreover, the old monk has also stated:

Like a tired breeze through dry weeds, the old monk sighed softly. “How

can I help you do something that I don‟t believe in? You‟re still young,

child, but I don‟t think you should waste any more time dreaming such

futile dreams. What can a mere schoolgirl hope to achieve anyway? Be

satisfied with that...” (p. 75).

The old monk states that he does not believe that a girl should get a better

education. He convinces Dawan that she should not go to the city to achieve

something useless there because she is just a girl. Once again, the old monk tells

Dawan that she has to be satisfied with her condition in the village. These

statements from the old monk influence Dawan‟s mind development, especially

her conviction towards her chance to go to the city.

What, after all, was the sense of trying so hard, of hoping and arguing, if in

the end the only result would be more frustration? If Kwai were the one

going to study in the City, things would never be this difficult for him:

should she just graciously give in to him now then? (p. 77).


44

Dawan starts to lose her hope to get supports, so she talks to her father and

gets his permission. She thinks about the old monk‟s statement about how she

should let her dreams go because it is just a futile dream for him. Dawan almost

gives up on her dream to get a better life after studying in the city. She takes into

consideration the old monk words that encourage her to be satisfied with her

condition in the village. She is frustrated because even the old monk does not

want to help her to talk to her father.

c. Hunches

The hunches cannot be found explicitly from the novel. The writer can find

some gender schemas that trigger Dawan‟s mind development in the field of her

belief. Most of those gender schemas are from Noi‟s statement about her

experience in the City.

“I could tell you some things about the young girls in the City that would

make your teeth fall out, my Aunt,” she said bitterly (p. 41).

Noi once lives in the village and she experiences tough and bitter life there.

She warns her aunt, Dawan‟s mother, that Dawan should not go to the city to

study because the city is a dangerous place for her. Noi keeps saying that city is

not a place for a young girl like Dawan. A girl is not treated well and appropriate

in the city, according to Noi. This statement influences Dawan‟s mind in a

positive way.

Stirring uneasily, Dawan asked, “If things are so unfair in the City, how

will remaining in our little village ever change anything?” (p. 42).

From Dawan‟s statement above, the writer infers that Dawan becomes

more curious about the city and it creates the new belief about the city. She makes


45

hunches about how she can change her village‟s current condition to be better if

she can go to the city and get more knowledge there. She becomes more critical

and sees the positive side of the unfairness condition in the city for a girl like her.

She is guessing what will happen to her in the city if she has not been given a

chance to really go to that place. Dawan creates her own belief towards the city

while Noi is insisting not to help her to get her father‟s permission.

She began to wonder if it was right for her to assert herself, to stand

in Kwai‟s way. Perhaps her father was right after all; with more schooling,

Kwai could find good jobs, and earn some money to help the family.

Maybe someday he might even become strong and important, and have the

power to change the injustices in their village and in the country.

And Dawan herself? What could she do? She was just a girl.

Wouldn‟t she grow up just to be a wife and a mother? What could she do

with more learning? (p. 56).

Dawan starts to make hunches towards her capability to get the scholarship

and study in the city. She supposes that she does not deserve the scholarship and

the one who deserves it is actually Kwai because Kwai is a boy. She

underestimates herself by acknowledging her future role as a woman who can

only cook and raise the babies. She cannot see herself as a capable person to do

the same things like the boys may do. She thinks that she cannot bring the change

when finally she comes back to the village after studying in the city school.

2. Desires

In addition to beliefs, desires is also the center of Dawan‟s mind

development. According to Davidson (1963), desires are to be understood as a

general category including wants, urges, and states of caring about something (as

cited in Bartsch, 1995, p. 5). Those three parts of desires are also known as a


46

whole range of "pro-attitudes" toward or about something. Desires can also be

seen as an attitude which encourages someone to do something and bring faith to

someone‟s decision and action.

a. Wants

In this novel, the writer finds that Dawan‟s desire to go to the city and

study many things there. Dawan really wants to get the scholarship at the

beginning, but she keeps her dream in her heart. When finally the teacher

announces the winner of the scholarship, which is her, she does many efforts to

get supports from many parties.

“ I mean, that‟s why I want so badly to go to school in the City. As it is

now, all we ourselves know about are the little bits and pieces of

unfairness that we have experienced. It‟s hard to change things, even the

smallest thing, without changing the overall pattern that these things are a

part of. I keep thinking that there must be a whole order to this, a system

with rules and laws all mapped out in it. And I want to study how the

system works and moves, and then I think I could help to find a better

one.” (p. 43).

Dawan really wants to go to the city because she knows that everything in

there has been more advanced than in the village and there are many useful things

that are taught in the city school. Dawan knows that villagers need to know more

things to improve their own life. She thinks that she can fight for her people if she

has gained more knowledge in the city. Moreover, for Dawan, villagers like her,

only know a little about things, that is why they experience injustice and never

live a fair life.

She knows that getting the scholarship means she bears responsibilities.

There are injustice and unfairness in her village that need to be changed, so she


47

has to learn more than what are taught in the village school. When finally she

understands and analyzes the system that causes poverty in her village and creates

injustices, she can help improving the village to be better. Everyone in the village

can get what they deserve. By learning more in the city, she wants to find a new

system which is fairer and useful for her own people. Dawan knows that it will be

hard to change the system that has been in her village before, but she believes that

she can do it, she will encourage people in the village to work together right after

she finishes her study in the city.

“I want to see for myself,” she said. And her voice was soft, but firm. (p.

46).

Dawan knows that the city is heartless and cruel according to Noi and her

husband, Ghan. They have experienced it when they once live in the city. She

knows that they have a tough life there because they have to work for rich people

and never get paid fairly. However, Dawan still wants to try it by herself, to see

the city by herself. She wants to get through it and challenges herself to deal with

the situation in the city.

After thinking that she needs to challenge herself to struggle in the city,

Dawan starts to convince her father by herself.

“Only that I hope you will be as fair and kind towards me as my brother

has been, Father,” she said softly (p. 105).

Dawan learns how to ask her father‟s permission politely. She also finds

bravery to speak up her mind to him when they are debating about the

scholarship. She sees that her father has been unfair to her just because she is a

girl and Kwai is a boy. She begins to state that she wants her father to treat her as


48

fair as he treats Kwai eventhough she is not a boy. Moreover, she dares to say the

unfairness that has already been done by her father towards her. She wants her

father to know that she is also a human who has right to be fight for.

b. Urges

This kind of desires is different from wants. Urges can be described as

supports that come from the inside of Dawan. Dawan urges herself right after she

finds out that there are many people who are opposite to her optimism to study in

the city.

“Mother, I am going now,” Dawan said, her voice small but determined.

(p. 32).

Dawan states this statement right after her grandmother supports her and

asks her to go to Noi‟s home. She realizes that her mother does not even support

her after listening to her news because her mother is afraid of her father. Yet,

Dawan stands still and reinforces herself to go to Noi‟s house so that she can ask

Noi to talk to her father. Actually, Dawan is scared to her father and starts to

underestimate herself after being scolded by her parents. After getting support

from her grandmother, she decides to go and find outside supports rather than

from her own inner family.

Listening to Noi‟s bitter words, Dawan felt a dread of the City for the first

time (p. 42).

Dawan is very shocked to hear the city‟s situation as Noi describes it to

her. It is because Noi used to tell how beautiful and great the city is to all people

she knows. Noi finally admits that she has been telling them a lie when Dawan‟s

mother tells her that Dawan gets a scholarship to go to the city. Noi tells Dawan


49

many things that lead her in a doubt. Noi‟s intention to make Dawan afraid is

successful because Dawan almost gives up at that time. When Noi tells her that

the situation in the village is much better than in the city, Dawan loses her hope to

get Noi‟s support.

However, Dawan understands more about the reason why the city becomes

the most heartless place for Noi and Ghan.

And seeing the three of them together like this in their shady hut, Dawan

suddenly understood why they had returned to their village, and had hated

the city, the crowded, ugly, heartless city (p. 45).

Eventhough Dawan feels insecure when Noi tells her that the city is not a

good place for young girl like her, Dawan realizes that Noi states those

frightening opinions towards the city because she has been through hard life and

the unfair life there. Noi cannot even fight for her right because she goes to the

city only to work without gaining some knowledge there. Dawan urges herself

right after she sees how suffering Noi‟s family is. She suddenly finds her strength

again to fight for her scholarship because she thinks that she can change Noi‟s

family‟s sorrow, and also people in her village who are the victim of injustice, by

studying useful things in the city.

“You know Father has already said that this will be the last year he will

pay for my school-fee. If I don‟t use this scholarship, I won‟t be able to get

any more schooling.” (p. 50).

Dawan realizes that her condition as a girl, forces her to choose whether

she has to give the scholarship up or fights for it until her father gives his

permission. She actually considers the fact that her father never intends to send

her to school if Kwai does not ask him to do that. Dawan knows that her father


50

does not expect much on her study because she is not a boy who is trusted to

improve the family‟s condition. Dawan encourages herself to fight for her right to

get better education in the city because she knows that her father cannot pay for

her school-fee in the village. She needs to take the scholarship if she still wants to

get education.

At that time, Dawan‟s family is in the crisis because her family has to pay

the rent for the rice-fields by giving many sacks of rice to the landlord‟s tax

collector. Dawan sees this situation as an unfair situation for all people in the

village because they have to prepare sacks of rice while there is not enough rice

for the family itself. Dawan knows that many people are suffering because of this

cruel situation. That is why she promises to improve the village when she gets

enough knowledge on how to make changes.

Instead of the crisis in the village, Dawan urges herself to struggle more

because she gets underestimated by her brother, Kwai. Kwai is still jealous to

Dawan because he wants to get the scholarship too.

“I‟m every bit as good as you are! Shut up!” (p. 51).

This statement appears when Dawan is in argument with her brother,

Kwai. Kwai underestimates her capability and he states that he is not sure that

Dawan can bring an improvement to their village after she finishes her study in

the city. After listening to Kwai who has just mocked her, she finds herself

changing to be a confident girl. She knows that she can do what most boys do and

she believes that she is not that bad to do many useful things for the village later.


51

Her desire to get her right to study becomes greater when she finds her

confidence.

Dawan felt a strong need to struggle for her right but knew this new will

and determination would count for very little, without some outside source

of support (p. 56).

Dawan‟s situation seems impossible to be dealt with because her father has

his own point of view and the fact that she is a girl. She knows that the only way

to get through this situation is only by fighting for her right and winning her

father‟s trust on her. Since women‟s role is not seen as the important one, Dawan

has to find outside supports instead of her mother and her grandmother‟s supports.

Her father might change his mind if Dawan can ask some people to help her in

arguing with her father. She cannot fight alone by herself because her father will

not consider it and might stand still on his own opinion.

“All right, Grandmother, I‟ll be strong, and brave.” (p. 102)

This statement shows that Dawan has been sure to herself and not afraid

anymore to challenge herself. She knows that she cannot win her father‟s heart if

she does not even trust herself that she deserves the scholarship. She becomes

stronger after experiencing many rejections from people and seeing people

underestimating her capability to study in the city. She is braver to face her father

and tell her father that it is her right to get a better education. Meanwhile, she does

all of those things to improve their life in the village, and not only for her own

satisfactory.


52

c. States of Caring about Something

Mostly, this kind of desire appears when Dawan has to face her lovely

brother, Kwai. Kwai and her used to be very close before they know that the

winner of the scholarship is Dawan.

Why must it be this way, Dawan wanted to cry out. Must one person‟s joy

be based on another‟s sorrow? Why must someone be left behind when

another spurts ahead? Why can‟t we develop together, and move forward

together? (p. 107).

Dawan loves her brother more than anything in this world. Eventhough

Kwai gets angry to him and pushes her away, Dawan still cares to her brother and

considers his feeling so much. For Dawan, Kwai‟s happiness is beyond

everything. She has ever told Kwai that she will support Kwai eventhough the

winner of the scholarship is Kwai and not her. She really wants to win the

scholarship with her brother so that there will be no problem arises between them.

She does not want to hurt her brother‟s heart by going to the city when he knows

that her brother also has the same dream with her.

3. Actions

According to Bartsch (1995) “actions, as a part of the triad which

constructs the mind development, lead to discernible outcomes in the world, and

these outcomes in turn can provoke reactions of predictable sorts” (p. 6). The

outcomes can also be considered as reactions towards the belief and desire. In this

study, the writer finds that there are Dawan‟s actions appears because of her belief

and her desire. Dawan‟s actions are very dynamic because she often changes her

mind and it influences her actions.


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At the beginning, Dawan starts to act bravely by telling her father about the

winner of the scholarship which is her. This action is a result of her desire to study

in the city and her belief that she also has the right to get the scholarship.

Rejection from her father makes Dawan lose her hope. Yet, she gets supports

from her grandmother and her mother. Her next action is that she goes to Noi‟s

house with her mother to ask for Noi‟s help. Her desire to go to the city leads her

to convince Noi that she will be greater if she studies in the city which is more

advanced than the village.

Dawan‟s action also appears when she has her own initiative to find the old

monk and ask for his help. She knows that her father respects the old monk and

maybe wants to listen to the old monk‟s opinion towards her scholarship.

Although this action leads her into rejection again, she does not give up at that

time because she gets support from Bao. After that, she tells her brother, Kwai,

that she actually wants to get support from Kwai too.

Then, Dawan does the final action by telling her father that she deserves

the scholarship. She gives her argument that a girl should be given a chance to

learn. She tells her father to give her chance and let her try to improve herself by

studying in the city. This action brings her to the solution of her problem because

her father finally allows her to go to the city and starts to trust her as a girl who

can also has right to learn more knowledge.


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CHAPTER V

CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

This chapter consists of three parts. They are the conclusions, implications

and the suggestions. The conclusions are related to the gender schemas and their

influences that can found towards Dawan‟s mind development. The implications

provide the writer‟s reflection and the implication of the study to education. The

suggestions consist of the suggestions for the future writers and English teachers.

A. Conclusions

The first finding is about the description of Dawan. In this novel, Dawan is

considered as a major character. Dawan always appears in the whole story which

means she appears from the beginning of the story until the end. Moreover,

Dawan is also a dynamic character because she is the central character and she

changes over time as a result of facing a central conflict.

Dawan, a young village girl, wins a scholarship to study in a city school.

Her brother, Kwai, places second and is initially jealous. Kwai‟s jealousy causes a



Dawan faces obstacles at every turn, and eventually overcomes these obstacles.

She proves to herself and to others that she is fully capable of handling the

scholarship and the responsibility it entails. The conflict in this novel is mostly


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about Dawan, so she is the major character. Dawan also changes over time, from a

pessimistic person into an optimistic person, so she is a dynamic character in this

novel.

The second finding is about gender schemas that are found in the novel.

Those gender schemas is divided into two which are gender schemas as a result of

internal factor and gender schemas as a result of external factor. The internal

factor comes from Dawan‟s self. Dawan is a pessimistic person before she knows

that she is the winner of the scholarship. She constructs her own gender schema

when she thinks she cannot win the scholarship and keeps insisting that she

cannot win her father‟s heart because she is a girl. After knowing that she is the

winner of the scholarship, she becomes more optimistic eventhough she gets

many rejections.

There are many parties that contribute in those external gender schemas.

The first is Dawan‟s father who believes that no girl should learn more while all

they can do is just taking care of home and the children. The second is Dawan‟s

mother. In this novel, Dawan‟s mother is a character that shows how women are

inferior rather than men. The third is Kwai which is Dawan‟s brother, her rival to

get the scholarship. Kwai points out that Dawan does not deserve the scholarship

because all she can do is only studying without knowing how to practice what she

learns. The fourth is Noi and Ghan who state that nobody trusts a girl to leave

alone, especially in the City, a place where there is no relatives and families. The

fifth is the old monk who states that, to make a change, someone does not need to

go to the City and gets education there, especially if that person is a girl. The sixth


56

character is Dawan‟s grandmother who says that girls have their right to get a

better life and be given the same chance to make changes.. The seventh person is

Bao who says that a girl should not be afraid to fly because it is her responsibility

to 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.

The third finding is about how gender schemas influence Dawan‟s mind

development. There are three stages that construct Dawan‟s mind development,

which are beliefs, desires, and actions. Dawan‟s beliefs can be found in opinions,

convictions, and hunches. Then, Dawan‟s desires can be seen on Dawan‟s

thoughts when she wants to achieve her dream and to improve herself, when she

urges herself after she gets many rejections from people around her, and stating

of care to others. As a result of her beliefs and desires, she can act appropriately

and proves that she deserves the scholarship to get further education in the city.

B. Implications

This section provides the writer‟s reflection and the implication of the

study. The writer reflects the meaning and the moral values that can be found in

the novel, then correlates them into the real situation nowadays. The implication

of the study has a relation to education.

1. Reflection

Dawan is a character who has influenced my way of thinking. There are

many aspects from Dawan that strengthen me to be a better girl. The first thing

that I get from Dawan‟s character is that I have to be an optimistic girl


57

eventhough life is getting harder to deal with. There are many problems in life,

but I should always see possibilities in every problem. I should not give up easily

when I have to face problems which are difficult to be solved. Dawan has taught

me that being optimistic helps me to improve myself because it brings confidence

in me.

The second thing that I get is that I have to be grateful of my condition

right now. Dawan has to fight for her right to study, while I can get that chance

without even struggling. I have to be grateful because my parents have enough

money to pay the school fee so that I can be an educated girl. Dawan inspires me

to always see the positivity in every condition and to fight for many unfortunate

girls out there who do not have chance to study like me.

The third thing that I get is I have to treat people equally. I should not

classify people based on their race, religion, gender, and so on. This novel teaches

me that genders should be treated the same. Children should have the same

chances and rights. Girls, especially village girls, should also get the same chance

to get better education like boys. The differences should be used as a tool to unite

people.

2. Implications

This study can be implicated to education field because it is about gender

problems that are commonly found in our society. This study can be used as a

material to teach character building for the students. To build an appropriate

character in children‟s mind, the teachers may use this study to engage the

students‟ attention to the the problems towards gender equality.


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C. Suggestions

In this part, the writer provides suggestions for future researchers who are

interested in Sing to the Dawn novel and suggestion for English teachers in using

this novel as a learning material to teach English.

1. Suggestion for Future Researchers

There are many aspects that can be studied from this novel. This study only

analyzes the influence of gender schemas towards Dawan‟s mind development.

The writer suggests the future researchers to emphasize the study by doing the

analysis towards the influence of gender schemas towards Kwai‟s mind

development because Kwai is the second major character.

2. Suggestion for English Teacher

Sing to the Dawn has been known as a novel that is required to be read by

Semester 1 students of English Education Study Program, especially for Book

Report class. This novel is a very good literary work to engage the students

interest towards English literature. What makes this novel special is that the

English language that is used is easy to be understood so that the students can

easily read the book and follow the story without facing many problems in

understanding the language. The story plot is also easy to follow. Therefore, this

novel is recommended to be used as learning material for Book Report class and

Prose class.


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Appendix A

The Summary of Sing to the Dawn Novel

The story is about a young Thai girl called Dawan, who wins a scholarship

to study in a city school. She faces the disapproval of her father who thinks that

studying is not for girls and she should give the scholarship to her brother, Kwai,

as he gets the second rank in the test. Dawan tries many ways to convince her

father to let her pursue her studies.

Dawan tries to convince her father that he should give her a chance to

study. When she approaches anyone for help, she keeps on failing, but she never

gives up. She continues to do so and finally succeed in her mission. Even though

she fails many times, she manages to convince her father by herself in the end.

After getting her father‟s permission, she almost changes her mind to go to the

city because she is afraid of losing her memory of singing together at the dawn

with her brother. However, Dawan decides that she has to go because it is her

responsibility to study in the city and improve the village‟s condition in the future.

The story ends with Dawan sitting on the bus going to the city. When she

passes the bridge, she sees her brother, Kwai, singing the song that they used to

sing every dawn. Then, she sings together with Kwai until she cannot see Kwai

anymore. She looks at the lotus flower her grandmother gives her to convince her

to go. As she sees it unfold, she becomes more convinced that her grandmother is

right about the fact that she should go to the city like the unfolding lotus.

http://tajsmkis.blogspot.co.id/2016/01/sing-to-dawn-minfong-ho.html


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Appendix B

Biography of Min Fong Ho

Ho Minfong (b. 7 January 1951, Rangoon, Myanmar -), an award-winning

author of literature for children and young adults. Ho won the Cultural Medallion

Award, the highest arts accolade in Singapore, in 1997. Although Ho is a

Singaporean, she has spent most of her life abroad, living in Taiwan, Laos and

Cambodia and using them as setting for her stories. She is currently based in the

United States.

Ho was raised in Thailand in an idyllic countryside, a pleasant childhood

that left a deep impression on her adult life and her writing career. She considers

Chinese as her first language and the "language of my heart" because as a child,

her China-born parents had communicated to her both chidingly and lovingly in

Chinese. As she grew older, she picked up Thai from the busy streets,

marketplaces and temple fairs of Bangkok. Thai then became a functional

language. She learned English only later on in school, and thinks of it as the

"language of my head".

Ho was educated in schools in Bangkok and then in Taiwan. She went on

to study economics at Cornell University, USA, where she earned her Bachelor's

and a Master's degrees. Her writing career began at Cornell, when she penned her

thoughts to overcome homesickness. A compendium of notes about how she

missed her home became the basis of her first book, Sing to the Dawn, which was

published in 1975. Upon graduating from Cornell, Ho returned to Singapore and

stayed there for some time.

http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_433_2005-01-14.html


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