I.

Culture of the American Family

Many families are dual-income earners. Although most women work outside the home,
household and child-rearing responsibilities are still overwhelmingly the responsibility of
women. The "double day" of women consists of working and then returning home to do
domestic chores.

The typical model of the family is the nuclear family consisting of two parents and their
children. Upon marriage, adult couples are expected to form their own household separate
from either of their biological families. The nuclear family is the cultural ideal but is not
always the reality. Adoption is common to them.

Most Americans will marry and get divorced at least once during their life; thus, most
individuals will live in a variety of family arrangements. A person may grow up in a single-
parent family, go on to marry and live in childless couple arrangement, then get divorced,
live as a single for a couple of years, re-marry, have children and live in a nuclear family
arrangement.

Child rearing practices are diverse, but some common challenges apply to all families. It is
common to put children in day care programs at an early age. For wealthy families, this
entails finding the most elite day care centers; for less wealthy families, it may involve
finding scarce places in federally-funded programs. For all working families, day care can be
a cause of anxiety and guilt.

Another change is the increasing age at which young Americans leave their parental home.
Traditionally, a person past "college age" who lived with their parent(s) was viewed
negatively, but today it is not uncommon for children to live with their parents until their
mid-twenties.

Female occupations both in the home and in the workplace are valued less than men's.
Women are more likely than men to suffer from a sense of disempowerment and to have a
distorted or low self-image.

II. Comparison/ Contrast with the Culture of Filipino Family

Similarities:
Structure of the family
Status of women in the family
Domestic practices
Biological kinship

Differences:
Child-rearing practices
Family values
Access for divorce
Family ties
III. Connection to Another Area of Specialization

Womens Rights

Married Womens Property Act of 1848

New York State passed the Married Womens Property Act in 1848, allowing women to
acquire and retain assets independently of their husbands. This was the first law that clearly
established the idea that a married woman had an independent legal identity.
Voting Right Act of 1965

With the formation of the National American Woman Suffrage Association in 1890, the
womens rights movement focused almost exclusively on attaining the right to vote. In 1920 the
19th Amendment granted women this right. In theory, the 19th Amendment extended voting
rights to all women. However, the vast majority of African Americansmen and women
continued to face restrictions on voting, such as literacy tests and other measures that
discouraged them from registering to vote. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 finally banned such
restrictions.

Protective Labor Legislation

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, and the Womens Trade Union
League, founded in 1903, spearheaded efforts to limit womens work hours and the types of
work they could perform. By 1908 the states had passed 19 laws limiting work hours or
abolishing night work for women.
Equal Pay Act

The Equal Pay Act made it illegal to pay different wages to men and women who performed
the same work. However, the new law had little effect on narrowing the wage gap between the
sexes. Most female workers remained in jobs traditionally held by women, offering low wages
and little prospect for advancement.

Civil Rights Act

It barred employment discrimination based on sex as well as race, color, or ethnic origin. The
act originally prohibited only racial and ethnic discrimination, but Virginia congressman Howard
W. Smith added the word sex in an amendment to the act. It also prohibits discrimination on
the basis of sex in any educational program receiving federal funds, including athletic programs.
Reproductive Rights

Womens efforts to control their own reproductive systems have been an important part of
the womens rights movement since the mid-19th century. Initially, women advocated the
practice of voluntary motherhood, whereby a woman had the right to refuse to have sexual
intercourse with her husband if she did not want to become pregnant.
IV. The Song Lyrics

Sandra Barry Manilow


She's a great little housewife
Though sometimes she talks like a fool
But she helps at the store in the holiday rush
And she picks up the kids after school
And she puts down the phone when her
husband comes home
And she changes from mother to wife
'Til she feels the words hanging between
them
And she hangs by her words to her life


She says I swear I love my husband, I love
my kids
I wanted to be like my mother
But if I hadn't done it as soon as I did
Oh there might have been time to be me
For myself, for myself
There's so many things that she wishes
She don't even know what she's missin'
And that's how she knows that she missed


She's a sweetheart, except when she's
moody
It's hard to get through to her then
Depressed for a while when the youngest
was born
Oh but that happens now and again
She might take a drink with the housework
Or when Michael's kept late at the shop




A Martini or two before dinner
But she always knows when to stop

She says I swear I love my husband and I
love my kids
You know I wanted to be like my mother
But if I hadn't done it as soon as I did
Oh there might have been time to be me
For myself, for myself
There's so many things that she wishes
She don't even know what she's missin'
And that's how she knows that she missed


Oh they used to hold hands at the movies
Now it's seldom if ever they go
Once you've paid for the sitter and parkin'
the car
There's no money left for the show
She was doing the dishes
When a glass fell and broke on the tile
And she cut her wrist (quite by mistake)
It was real touch and go for a while


She says Oh God I love my husband and I
love my kids
You know I wanted to be like my, my
mother
But if I hadn't done it as soon as I did
Oh there might have been time to be me
For myself, for myself
There's so many things that she wishes
She don't even know what she's missin'
And that's how she knows that she missed



V. Definition of Terms

Martini a flavored cocktail made of gin or vodka

Housewife - a woman who does not go out to work but stays at home to manage the
households


VI. Literary Genre: Song


Song is a short lyric or narrative text set to music. The music often reproduces the mood
of and lends a heightened emotional expression to the song's text, which is often a poem. In
modern usage, the term song is usually restricted to compositions for one or two voices,
frequently with instrumental accompaniment.


VII. Universality of the Material


What makes the song universal or applicable to everyone is that it talks about mother. And
everybody has a mother. Once we heard the word mother, there is a positive connotation
awakened within us. This song is about a mothers commitment, sacrifice and love. These
three words are connected. Since a mother is truly committed to his family, she can sacrifice for
them even leaving everything for herself. This is a fact that no other love, aside from the love of
God, can beat a mothers love.


VIII. The Singer and the Composer

The Singer


Barry Alan Manilow Pincus is presently 69 years old. He was
born on June 17, 1943 at exactly 9:00 in the morning in Brooklyn, New
York. His parents are Harold Pincus, a Jewish, and Edna Manilow, an
Irish American. Aside from being a great singer-songwriter and
producer, he also plays instruments such as keyboards and accordion. He
also worked as song arranger/ director and composed commercial jingles
for many products including Kentucky Fried Chicken, Band Aid and
Pepsi. He was awarded three straight American Music Awards and has
been included in the 2002 Songwriters Hall of Fame.




The Composer


Enoch Anderson, aside from working with Barry Manilow as
songwriter, is also a professor. During his child life, he already
showed talent in storytelling. He had written many songs even he was
still in high school. And Sandra was one of the first songs he sent to
Barry. But among his composed songs, the one that he loved most is
Sunday Father which simply shows his attachment to family. Being
interviewed on how he came up writing the lyrics of Sandra, he
answered the following lines.


Enoch: I was going to bed late one night very tired and suddenly (in my imagination) there was
this woman there with a story she needed to tell. I remember sitting on the side of the bed
annoyed, because I really needed to sleep, but I scrawled down the lyric. I named it Sandra,
because I didnt know anybody by that name and figured it would save me being accused of
writing about someone in my life, but that didnt work! Every woman I knew (all of whom I
thought were having happy lives)including my sister!accused me of writing it about her.
Whoever Sandra was, I guess she just stepped out of the collective unconscious! Interesting
how many lyrics ARENT based on ones own life, but just sort of float in across the radar.

IX. Figures of Speech and Symbolism

Theres no any figure of speech or symbolism included in the lyrics of the song.


X. Plot

Man in a Hole


In the introduction of the song, it is evident that Sandra is hardly performing the typical
roles of a mother. These roles include working in a store during Holidays, bringing and picking
up her kids in school, and performing household chores. From the lyrics of the song, the
sentiments of a mother can be felt. And there are some interpretations that Sandra is just
consoling herself by saying that she loves her husband and kids, and she wanted to be like her
mother; thats why, she is sacrificing for them. But it is also obvious that she had regrets for
being married at an early age because she is still wishing for many beautiful things to happen in
her life. I considered the story behind the song a man in a hole because at the last part of the song
it is implied that Sandra killed herself by using a broken glass to cut her wrist. This way she was
able to escape from her tough life as a mother.


XI. Point of View

Third Person Point of View

The story was told in third person point of view where in the one who narrates the story
has knowledge of what the main character thinks. The narrator allows the readers to have an
access on the characters thoughts. It uses the third person pronouns such as he or she.


XII. Character

Sandra

Round Character

The characteristics of Sandra in the song are very realistic. There are complexity and
depth in her personality. She also showed positive and negative traits. For her positive traits, it is
implied in the song that she possessed good characteristics as a mother, daughter and wife; while
for her negative traits, it is said in the lyrics of the song that she sometimes talks like a fool and
she is moody.

Dynamic Character

In the beginning, Sandra is portrayed as someone who is strong to bear the hardship of
being wife and mother, a woman who can bear sacrifices for her family. Sandra didnt stay like
this because in the last part of the song, Sandras love for her family was replaced by her desire
to make herself free from that kind of life.


XIII. Setting

Since the meaning of the song is universal, we can say that the story can happen
anywhere in the world where there is a great mother. But we could also say that the general
setting happens in America and the specific setting is in Sandras house. It was a holiday
season and the most important event happened when Sandra is washing the dishes.


XIV. Themes

The following are just few of many lessons that can be learned from the song.

One should be ready in entering a marriage life.
Women should be given equal rights.
Second to the pure love of God is a Mothers love.
For a wife to survive, she needs attention, respect and love.











~ BARRY MANILOW~



A WRITTEN REPORT IN WORLD LITERATURE



DR. ANNALIE M. MANANQUIL
Professor


MS. CATHERINE Q. ARAGON
MAEd- 1 (ENGLISH)