Based on the novel you have studied, write about AN EVENT THAT UPSETS YOU.

Give
REASONS why it is so. Support your answer with close reference to the text.
By: Nur Aina Nadiah bt Mohd Iswani (5UIA)
Based on the novel that I have studied, Sing to The Dawn by Minfong Ho, it is about a village girl
named Dawan who wins a scholarship to study in the city. She faces myriad of obstacles and tribulations
to achieve her dream

An event that upset me is when Dawan won the scholarship but she needed to struggle to get
her right. My first reason is, she had to face rejection from her parents to go to the city. Her father is
furious with her because he wants his son Kwai to get the scholarship. It is because he thinks that only a
boy can change their family’s condition. Her mother does not encourage her because she thinks it is
foolish to give her hope to go study in the city. This event upsets me because I believe that parents
should always support their children if it is a good thing to do.

Next, this event of winning the scholarship causes Dawan’s close ties with Kwai suffers because
her brother is jealous of her success. He threatens to take the scholarship from her, making Dawan
worried and defensive. The conflict between them worsens with Dawan thinking is it “him” or “me”. His
betrayal causes her pain. She even gets hurts physically when Kwai pushes her causing her to injure her
ankle. In my opinion, instead of being jealous, Kwai should be proud of her sister as she is the only girl
who wins the scholarship and get the chance to study in the city.

Lastly, by winning the scholarship, Dawan also tries to get support from her cousin, Noi and the
Head Monk to persuade her father. Unfortunately, both of them are not on her side. Noi totally oppose
her decision to further her study in the city. Not only that, Dawan also gets to know about the ugly truth
of the city life. Dawan is shocked with the truth she just obtained because it is really different from what
Noi tells the villagers before. When Dawan visits the Head Monk at the temple, she believes that the
monk can help her to persuade her father. Despite all the efforts, the Head Monk is not helpful at all and
he also has a gender discrimination towards Dawan. He believes things will not turn out this way if her
brother Kwai won the scholarship. This event really upsets me because Dawan is hurt and almost give
up.

To conclude everything, the event that upset me is when Dawan won the scholarship and she
has to struggle for her rights. I believe that everyone should be given a chance to do something that
they like despite what gender they are.