SING TO THE DAWN by Minfong Ho

KINDNESS + DETERMINATION + FAMILY LOVE

Question Events/Evidence Reasons To get an A

Themes Moral Value/Lesson: We should be kind to others/to our
family members If I were in Dawan’s
place/shoes, I
Kindness Dawan is a kind sister. She understands her brother and Dawan has a good reason to hate her brother Kwai would………………...
she is always kind to him, even though her brother turns but she chooses not to hurt her brother’s
into a bully after she wins the scholarship. After the fight feelings. This is because she totally understands If I were Dawan, I would
at the market, she is worried about her brother sitting on what her brother is going through. As a caring and ………..
the bridge in the rain. She thinks that her brother could kind sister, she decides to clear the air by giving
catch a cold. She then kindly gives her only umbrella to his brother a symbol of love (an umbrella) - Dawan wins my heart when
her brother and she is willing to walk in the rain Thanks to Bao. she selflessly gives the
bareheaded for the sake of her brother. Besides, Dawan umbrella to Kwai. I want to be
is also a kind friend to Bao and Dawan does not like Dawan.
discriminate Bao and she shares her problems with her. This event makes me happy /
This event touches my heart. I
have a brother too….Blood is
thicker than water.

On the other hand, Bao is also a kind friend to Dawan and Bao is a girl and she wants to study just like A friend in need is a friend
she offers Dawan a shoulder to cry on when Dawan is Dawan. However, Bao does not have a brother like indeed- Everybody needs a
feeling down meeting the hypocrite head monk. She Kwai. So, she can see her dreams in Dawan’s friend and Dawan is no
then kindly lets Dawan free a bird for free of charge to victory in the test and she tries her best to help exception. She needs moral
make her feel better. Bao says that just like the bird, and motivate Dawan to not to give up. support from Bao to pursue
Dawan has to fly while her gate still opens. her dreams. At the same
time, Bao wants Dawan to
change the old-fashioned
thinking of the villagers and
she wants Dawan to be
the trailblazer to break the
tradition. Bao does not want
Dawan to be a victim of
gender
inequality/discrimination just
like her.
If I were Dawan/ Bao, I would
…………
Determination/ Moral Value:
Bravery/ 1. We need to be brave in achieving our dreams.
Perseverance 2. We need to be determined to achieve our life goals.
3. We need to persevere to chase our dreams
Determination-She is
determined
Bravery/Courageous-
She is brave/ She is Dawan is brave/determined in getting an approval/ a
courageous green light from her father for her to go to city school. To
help convince her father, she bravely/ without giving
Perseverance- She up meets several people in the village.
perseveres She first meets Noi and Ghan to get their help to change
her father’s mind. To her surprise, Noi refuses to help
Dawan and she thinks the city is ugly and cruel to a
young girl like Dawan. She further says in the city it is not
safe for Dawan and mostly in the city young girls like
Dawan turns into prostitutes or call girls. After hearing
those things, Dawan (perseveres/ is determined/ is
brave) to see those things for herself in city.
We can clearly see Dawan’s
determination/bravery/perseverance when she talks
back to her father. Her father wants to meet both Kwai and
Dawan after he knows that Kwai comes in second in the
test and he is furious/angry at Kwai for not telling him.
The father wants to “brainwash” Dawan and Kwai so that
Dawan could step aside to let Kwai go in her
place.(because Dawan just a girl). Kwai stands by his
sister’s side and tells his father that he could not go
because that is her sister’s right. Suddenly, Dawan
bravely speaks for herself and begs her father to trust
her abilities and support her just like how he supports
Kwai. Dawan’s words touch her father’s heart and he
then tells her “then try my daughter”
I like Dawan because she is adamant/ I support Dawan because she
determined/ brave because she is not influenced is clear about what she wants
by the things that Noi says to her. When she sets to do in her life. She knows
her heart on studying in the city, by hook or by that her only chance to free
crook, she wants to go to city. I admire this quality. herself from the brutal system
This makes her as my favourite character in the in her life is the scholarship
novel. Fortune favours the bold and she does not want to
waste the chance. She proves
that where there is a will,
there’s a way.
In Thai culture, it is a taboo (haram) for daughters Thanks to father and Kwai for
to talk back to their fathers. In every Thai finally removing the
household, father is the leader of the family and the obstacles/hurdles for Dawan
members of the family should listen to him. As to go to city school.
such, Dawan bravely talks back to her father
because she wants to defend her right and she They (men) smoothens the
knows she is correct. Dawan’s father, like other path for Dawan and other girls
people in the village, thinks it is stupid and in village to study in the city.
wasteful to send daughters to school because
they will finally end up in the kitchen- they are not I am lucky because I have
useful to support the poor family. However, with ……………….
her own efforts and words, Dawan manages to win
her father’s trust. I shed tears of joy when I
was reading the novel .
We should applaud/praise Kwai’s action for being
a pillar of strength/ a hero to her sister. He finally
understands her sister’s feelings and he decides to
stand by his sister’s side. He
even “blackmails” his father by saying that if
neither of them gets to go to city, Tackhit would go.
 Dawan then (after meeting Noi and Ghan) bravely/ Dawan bravely goes to the temple with much I feel sad for Dawan/ I feel
Dawan perseveres and meets the head monk to get his confidence to get a helping hand from the monk. sorry for
help to convince his father. This is because the head However, it turns out that the head monk is as
monk is the respected person in the village and same as the old-fashioned thinking people in the I felt pity/sympathy for
everyone thinks highly of him. Dawan thinks that the village. Dawan is hopeless and Dawan because no one is
head monk could be neutral /unbiased/ non- heartbroken/distressed because the head monk helping her to achieve her
judgemental who can support her because monks are refuses to help her. I think the head monk should dream.
usually not biased. She even goes to the marketplace to have (patut) been more sensible and
get a lotus bud to impress the head monk. However, to her reasonable. As the head monk, he should have The action of the head monk
disappointment, the head is as biased as other not judged Dawan on her abilities as a girl. makes me angry.
villagers. He asks her that “what could a mere Instead, he should have praised her for coming in
schoolgirl” like Dawan learn in the city. He is first in the test and encouraged her to thrive in As a girl, I totally understands
clearly biased towards Kwai and he washes his her life. He could have done that by talking to her Dawan’s feelings. There are
hands (cuci tangan) of helping her to convince her father. father to let Dawan go to city. I think that is the many capable world-class
Dawan is livid and she thinks that the head monk is a real quality of a good head monk. In this novel, I women personalities
hypocrite. feel like the head monk fails to do the right thing. like Princess Diana, Theresa
May, Datuk Siti Nurhaliza
and Datuk Nicol Ann David.
These women have proven to
the male-dominated
world that women could lead,
solve and end a crisis-they
could do more than just
cooking.
If you were given a chance to change a part of a novel you have studied, which part would you change and give reasons.

How to answer:
State the part/scene that you want to change. Explain the ORIGINAL scene

If I were given a chance to change a part of a novel, I would change the scene where Dawan goes to meet the monk. Tell a bit about the original scene. What happens
in the original scene.

Now explain what you want to change.

I want to change the head monk into a more reasonable person. Explain what happens if the monk becomes more reasonable.

State 2/3 reasons why you want to change the scene

I change the scene because ……………………………………………………….

Conclude the answer.