Sing to the dawn (what's all about)

Ho attempted to avoid these pitfalls and created a realistic story of one girl's struggles to get an education. Dawan achieves first place on a government exam for a high school scholarship, an exam in which her younger brother comes in second. But her real fight comes after the test: now she must convince her father and her brother that she--the girl of the family--should be allowed to go to the city and study. She enlists the aid of her timid mother, of a Buddhist monk, and of a cousin who has lived in the city. Support also comes from her grandmother and from a flower girl named Bao. Dawan learns an important lesson along the way--that she must struggle to become free. Finally, she convinces her brother to give his blessing and she leaves for school, her father still resistant.

"if my language consists only of 10 words, the extent of my thoughts comes only thru these 10 words; but if I knew a million words, then my ability to have complex thoughts will be much wider, so is my ability to express myself"

its choice of theme. It deals with how urban migration and modern education improve women's lives. This reformer is a village girl who strives to reach the city and higher modern education in order that she may return to the village and uplift the backward conditions of her community.

Sing to the Dawn opens with the young protagonist, Dawan, receiving from her village school teacher the unexpected news that she and not her brother, the top male student of the class, has won the scholarship to pursue higher education in the City School. Because of the social and economic opportunities that come to her with this award, Dawan is singled out for spearheading the changes her Marxist school teacher has envisioned for the villagers. She is expected to bring back to the villagers not only modern knowledge and technological tools ("how to raise new crops and use better fertilizers," 17) but new ways of analyzing and demystifying the socioeconomic institutions that perpetuate inequities in the village. Notable among the institutions she must challenge are the land ownership and revenue systems which routinely cause lands and labors of the poor to be seized by feudal landlords who have now accumulated capital. In the words of the schoolteacher, if the scholarship-winner wants to be useful to her own people, she must acquire from progressive intellectuals of the City school a new critical perspective, the ability "to think, to perceive what is wrong with the society, to analyze and understand the rules which create these injustices . . . "(32).

[20] Although she is educated in the intellectual tradition of dialectical analysis by her school teacher, Dawan is depicted as being unable to move forward in the path of revolutionary social change until her grandmother steps into the enterprise of sending her to the city. The school teacher is one of a new breed of urban Asian men influenced by radical strands of modern European thought. He has traveled to the village to organize at the grassroots against rural inequities. His class-centered analysis is, however, limited by an elite male perspective that fails to take into account the specificities of how gender biases intersect with class, and what village women must combat in order to become agents of liberation. The novel both complements and contrasts the teacher’s bird's eye view of villagers' oppressions with the knowledges of village women. It depicts the oppositional wisdom of a multiply-marginalized villager, an illiterate and aged woman. Through her portrayal of Dawan's aged grandmother, the modern author symbolically revivifies progressive legacies of women's conceptual mobility and adaptation. She attempts to draw these legacies out of a collective/ personal memory overrun by the notion that progress constitutes a teleological movement away from the rural past toward a modern metropolitan future. Since the character of Grandma forms a symbolic bridge between the progressive pasts and the future of women, it also counteracts the dichotomy of static rural tradition and dynamic urban modernity presented by the novel's didactic narrative.

In characterizing the growth of progressive spiritual awareness in women, Grandma invokes a central Buddhist symbol of spiritual permanence, the lotus. But she presents the lotus in temporal and spatial movement. She suggests that women must be lotuses that "endlessly . . . unfold" across the inside and outside, the village and city and, by implication, cultural memories and modernity. This means that women self-actualize and grow resistant to gendered oppressions only when they cease to be afraid of new nesses, of what lie "outside" the circles of familiar time and space (cultural and religious customs, homes and temples) in which they are placed. Women ought to remain conceptually mobile because no singular cultural space or time affords freedom from patriarchal institutions. In important ways, Grandma is a didactic portrayal that depicts the combination of knowledges progressive village women carry in them but must also acquire. Her words imply that custom-bound women such as herself should draw upon the "future drive"(Bhabha, "Race, Time," 201) that inheres in many women's histories of survival and empowerment. This is the drive to select from and adapt newly-acquired ideas and tools to empowering legacies from the past. The larger implication is that only when women refrain from a supremacist affirmation of one communal tradition and its culture of struggle are they able to avoid the risk of compromising their emancipatory visions. When they do not, they very well may be complying with family and community traditions manipulated by malevolent and benevolent powers.

Dawan,in my opinion is a good role model to all the teenagers from all walks of life,whether you are poor or rich,Dawan brings me a sense of satisfaction and contemplation to continue my journey as a student.

For your information though,Dawan won the scholarship,granting her a chance to help improving the life in the village.She is of course very excited and feels a deep sense of in cloud nine but she doubted the chance of her father letting her go.To her father,girls don’t have to go to school and this caused Dawan’s heart to break.

Another challenges she has to face is her brother who wants to go to the city so much.Being number two to get the once in a life time chance,Kwai wanted to tell her father about it because he knew that if Dawan couldn’t go then he can replace her to.

Dawan goes in search of angels who can help her convince her father to let her venture into the city.She finds her cousin,Noi who lived in the city once and the old monk who is respected in the small village but to no avail.

After so much effort put,Dawan decided to just give up but her brother ‘woke up from a big sleep’ and decided to let her sister go after all.Daddy also understand that dear Dawan has the potential to change the village’s fate and at last, she goes to the city with a heavy heart.

In the following sections, I have selected three responses which best represent my emotions and thoughts about this book. In addition, I will be commenting and reflecting upon these responses with regard to the importance of education, the issue of gender inequality, and the power of kinship.

Entry 1: Education - Privilege or Obligation?

… I may have taken my education for granted all these years. It was ‘natural’ to go to school, ‘natural’ to pass examinations and ‘natural’ to pursue higher education. I’ve never had to fight for an opportunity to study. My dad will be happy for me if I got first in class. I won’t have to be scared of doing well. Everything will be great if I do well in my exam. Why is Dawan so scared? What has that society done to young girls who have dreams? It’s absurd.

Primary education is compulsory for every Singaporean child. Unlike children in less developed countries who have no access to schools and books, Singaporean children are truly fortunate.

However, this privilege has turned into an obligation for many Singaporean students. It is sad to hear of students who complain about how much they hate school and homework, for they do not seem to see the true purpose of education.

Unlike Dawan who has a dream to help her village people, to help those who are not educated, and to rid the society of injustice, children today may be simply studying for the sake of satisfying their need to be recognized and acknowledged as worthy individuals of society.

Who is responsible for such a mindset? How can children appreciate and learn the true purpose of being educated? Adults should ponder on the important role we play as parents and teachers, and not take away a child’s right of a joyful and fruitful education.

Entry 2: Is Gender Inequality Fated?

I’m so sad. Dawan is always being given hope, and then things and people take that hope away. She smiles, then gets worried, then gets hopeful again, and is disappointed again. It frustrates me to read how she has to go through this roller coaster of emotions.

Why do brothers have the right to hit sisters? It is unjust. Why is Dawan being denied a dream by so many people who are supposed to be wise and encouraging? Are they really concerned about her? Or have they been brainwashed by the system? Maybe just because she is a girl.

Being part of a society with high gender equality, it is hard for me to imagine how it is like to be unworthy of something because of one’s gender. For a long time, many have tried to justify their biased thoughts and behaviour, but the suffering inequality brings to people is real, not imagined.

Women in many traditional societies have suffered because they are viewed as inferior to men. They are deprived of their rights as human beings, and many have continued to resign to their fate for centuries. But that ‘fate’ was created by human beings. It takes courageous individuals to stand up for justice. Or rather, it takes just one individual who dares to dream.

Entry 3: The Power of Kinship

… I know Kwai and Dawan love each other. In the midst of the struggle between chasing their dreams and reality, their relationship was hurt. Deep in their hearts, they wish each other the best, and only want the best for each other. It takes more than kinship to make selfless sacrifices. It takes courage. Dawan is brave. And so is Kwai. Love and courage have conquered injustice.

A strong and close-knit family acts as a support for us in times of struggle and uncertainty. Although squabbles may be frequent between siblings and spouses, we love and cherish each other deep in our hearts. The end of the book shows that despite the trouble caused by Dawan’s intent to further her education, her family remains close-knit.

Grandmother’s encouragement to Dawan brought tears to my eyes. Perhaps I know how it feels like to have someone assure me that ‘nothing is impossible’. The power of words of wisdom and a seemingly simple encouragement can change the life of a loved one.

I have briefly commented on the aspects of education, gender inequality and kinship in my response, and I will conclude with the following points.

Firstly, we need to cherish the opportunity to be educated and help our young to do the same.

Secondly, gender inequality is a social issue which can be overcome with courage and perseverance.

Thirdly, strong bonds with kin serve as a source of love and support.To me, these aspects are important in every society because they have tremendous impact on individuals and social life. Through these three aspects, the theme of having the courage to pursue one’s dreams is exemplified.

Finally, I believe that Sing to the Dawn serves as a good book for both children and adults in this modern day.