Revision on novels
Based on the novel Sing to the Dawn by Minfong Ho, it is true that one has to face many challenges in life before reaching his or her goal. An obvious example is the main character, Dawan, a young Thai girl who lived in the village with her family. Dawan, wanted to further her education in the city. This decision affected the people around her and she faced many obstacles in her pursuit of education.
One of the obstacles faced by Dawan was sibling rivalry from her brother Kwai that led to a rift between the two. They stopped talking nicely to each other for some time. Kwai also wanted to have the opportunity to further his studies in the city but instead, Dawan won first place in the test and was announced as the winner for the scholarship. To Kwai’s disappointment, Dawan decided to take up the scholarship. In my opinion, one should not feel jealous of their siblings’ success instead, they should be proud of them.
The misunderstanding got worst when Dawan told her family about the scholarship result. Her father was very angry and didn’t want to support Dawan to pursue her studies. At first when Dawan asked his permission to study at the city, he even accused Dawan for stealing her brother’s only opportunity to study. Her father thought that pursuing studies in the city was no place for a girl. Her father did not see the importance of education for girls, believing that education for boys would be much more useful. He thought even if Dawan succeeded, she still could not bring any changes to their village because she was a girl. In my opinion, her father should not discriminate Dawan because she’s a girl. He could not stop Dawan from being successful in her life. He should give her an opportunity to show what she was capable of. As a father, he should be proud of her success.
Lastly, Dawan faced another problem when she and her mother went to see her cousin, Noi and her husband, Ghan to ask them to convince Dawan’s father. However, they did not want to help her. Noi painted a negative picture of the city by describing it as cruel and ugly. Thus making it unsuitable for a young girl to survive. In my opinion, as a family member, Noi should help Dawan by supporting her especially when it is about education. She has to be positive and encouraging of Dawan.
Dawan was a very determined and ambitious girl. Even though she had faced a lot of obstacles, she still wanted to study in the city. Dawan was nervous and worried at first but she became calmer and more confident towards the end. She overcame her fears by presenting a logical and sensible appeal to her father. Her sincere and perseverance made her father realised how important it was for Dawan to pursue her dream. He came to his senses that as a father he should be supporting his daughter to achieve her dream.