Novel Sing To The Dawn : Sample Questions and Answers

Question:
Write about a memorable event in the novel. Explain how this relates to a character in the novel.

Answer:

In the novel Sing to the Dawn by Minfong Ho, a memorable event in the story is when Dawan is
announced as the winner for the scholarship to further her study in the city. This event is closely
related to Dawan as she did her best to attain the scholarship.

When Dawan is announced as the winner for the scholarship, she is shocked as she never expects a
girl would win the prestigious award. This part is memorable as it relates to her determination later,
when she seeks help from people around her, to let her achieve her dream. Her determination is
shown when she goes to see the head monk to help her convinve her father, to let her go to the city.
Her father believes that a girl furthering her study is a waste of time. Since she knows her father
respects the head monk, she is confident that, if the head monk persuade her father, he will let her
go. However, it turns out to be a sour affair for her as the head monk, similar to others in the village,
belief that a mere schoolgirl like Dawan does not deserve a higher education. She is so frustrated that
she runs out of the temple crying. Yet, she does not stop there. She is still determined in convincing
her father to let her go. Looking at Dawan's determination, it is indeed a memorable event when she
is announced as the winner for the scholarship. It sparks the determination in her to secure what is
hers. We as teenagers should always follow Dawan's characteristic.

Next, after she is announced as the winner for the scholarship, Dawan shows her caring side when
she is more concerned of her brother's feeling. After knowing the result, friends surrounded her. Yet,
she has mixed feeling of happy and worry at the same time. She is looking for her brother Kwai. As
usually they will walk home togeher after school, that day she is worried as Kwai is seen clutching to
his books, looking sad. Then Kwai disappears. When she reaches home, Kwai is not there either.
This shows that Dawan is caring towards her brother. Even she is happy that she gets what she
always wants, she is aso concerned about Kwai since she knows that he has high hope to get the
scholarship as well. This is shown when they are sitting on the old rickety bridge at dawn, whenKwai
tells her about his dreams of exploring the city if he gets to go there. Kwai also tells about how he will
come back to the village and help his father with new ways of farming. Remembering all these,
Dawan is sad for her brother. She is in dilemma as she herself really yearn to be there in the city, but
at the same time, she is concerned of her brother's frustration of not getting what he always dreams
of. Here, we can see that Dawan is caring towards her brother even she has got what she wants. I
believe we should always be caring towards our siblings, like what Dawan shows towards her brother,
Kwai.

Other than that, this is a memorable event for Dawan when she is announced as the winner for the
scholarship as this shows Dawan's bravery to speak up for herlself. In her village, it is uncommon for
girls to speak up. For example, Dawan is not confident at first when she wants to ask questions to her
teacher. However, with Kwai's encouragement, she speaks up. She ia surprised when her teacher
doesn't ignore her. Then, she is brave to talk to her father, to let her pursue her study in the city. She
asks her father to let her try, giving example of the sparrow that is never let out of the cage. Her father
is shocked but eventually he grants her his permission to let her go. We can see Dawan's bravery
here as she speaks up for herself with his father when her mother is also afraid of him. I believe we
should be brave like Dawan, in fighting for our right in life.

All in all, it is a memorable event when Dawan is announced as the winner for the scholarship as this
shows us her determination, caring and bravery in fighting fir her right for education. Let us be like
Dawan, fighting for our right, as well as for our society's whenever it is needed of us.
Question :
Based on the novel sing to the dawn by Minfong Ho , it is true that one has to face many challenges in
her life before reaching his or her goal. Based on one of the novels that you have studied, describe
how far this is true and support your answer with textual evidence.

Answer :
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, who has faced
many obstacles in her way to catch her dream to study in city school.

One of the obstacles faced by Dawan is facing her brother, Kwai’s initially jealousy that leads to a rift
between the two previously-close siblings. They had stop talking nicely to each other for
sometimes. It started right after the bell ring at school in the first day she knew the result. Dawan
called out for Kwai who was standing alone in the doorway but he just turned away and stalked out
abruptly. In my opinion, one should not feel jealous of their sibling’s 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 don’t want Dawan to go there. In chapter three, at the first Dawan asked his
permission to study at the city, he even accused Dawan for stealing her brother’s only opportunity to
study in city school. Her father thinks that proper study in the city is no place for a girl. He thinks even
if Dawan success, she still could not make any changes to their village. I think her father should not
mind about the gender discrimination. He cannot stop Dawan from being successful in her life just
because she is a girl. He should give her an opportunity to shoe what she is capable of.

Lastly, Dawan face another problem when she and her mother went to see her cousin, Noi, and his
husband, Ghan. However, they do not want to help her to convince her father to let her study in the
city school. In the meantime a truth was discovered when they actually tells Dawan and her mother
about how the city actually are. In chapter four, Noi has described the city as cruel and ugly. She also
add that the city is not suitable for a young, healthy girl. In my opinion, Noi should help Dawan as her
family member. Besides, she has to think positive about Dawan.

The conclusion is, Dawan is a very determined and ambitious girl. Even though she had faced a lot of
obstacles, she still wanted to study in the city school. Dawan was nervous and worried at the start 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 calm appeal helped her father realize that
Dawan too had a dream that her father could share in.

Question :
Based on the novel sing to the dawn by Minfong Ho , it is true that one has to face many challenges in
her life before reaching his or her goal. Based on one of the novels that you have studied, describe
how far this is true and support your answer with textual evidence.

Answer :
Introduction
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, who has faced
many obstacles in her way to catch her dream to study in city school.

Contents
One of the obstacles faced by Dawan is facing her brother, Kwai’s initially jealousy that leads to a rift
between the two previously-close siblings. They had stop talking nicely to each other for
sometimes. It started right after the bell ring at school in the first day she knew the result. Dawan
called out for Kwai who was standing alone in the doorway but he just turned away and stalked out
abruptly. In my opinion, one should not feel jealous of their sibling’s 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 don’t want Dawan to go there. In chapter three, at the first Dawan asked his
permission to study at the city, he even accused Dawan for stealing her brother’s only opportunity to
study in city school. Her father thinks that proper study in the city is no place for a girl. He thinks even
if Dawan success, she still could not make any changes to their village. I think her father should not
mind about the gender discrimination. He cannot stop Dawan from being successful in her life just
because she is a girl. He should give her an opportunity to shoe what she is capable of.

Lastly, Dawan face another problem when she and her mother went to see her cousin, Noi, and his
husband, Ghan. However, they do not want to help her to convince her father to let her study in the
city school. In the meantime a truth was discovered when they actually tells Dawan and her mother
about how the city actually are. In chapter four, Noi has described the city as cruel and ugly. She also
add that the city is not suitable for a young, healthy girl. In my opinion, Noi should help Dawan as her
family member. Besides, she has to think positive about Dawan.

Conclusion
The conclusion is, Dawan is a very determined and ambitious girl. Even though she had faced a lot of
obstacles, she still wanted to study in the city school. Dawan was nervous and worried at the start 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 calm appeal helped her father realize that
Dawan too had a dream that her father could share in.

Homework
Question :
Based on the novel you have studied, which character do you sympathise with? Give reasons for your
answer with close reference to the text.