Push

Summary

The book's main character Claireece Precious Jones, a sixteen-year-old pregnant African American girl undergoes a series of great hardships in her young life. Abused by her mother, raped by her father, infected with HIV, pregnant with her second child, dismissed by social workers, and given up on by society, Precious grows up poor, unloved, unwanted, angry, obese, illiterate, and without any significant goals in the harsh world of Harlem, New York. The book’s title “push” is of significant importance, as it demonstrates that Precious has to push through her inner and outer demons in order to survive in this world. She discovers the power of education that ultimately changed her life to the better. Precious learns to read, which enables her to process her trauma by identifying herself with other female literary characters. She also attends school, which enables her to build new connections who believe in her and who encourage her. Precious discovers her hunger for life and feels that she can push through anything and everything as long as she believes in herself. 

Genre

Contemporary Realistic Fiction

“Contemporary realistic fiction is set in modern times with events, settings, and characters that could occur in the real world. Authors create characters, plots, and settings that stay within the realm of possibility” (Galda, Cullinan, & Sipe, 2010, p.17). Many readers can associate themselves with the characters in the stories, since they also face “contemporary problems such as hunger, divorce, drugs, and homelessness as well as [contemporary] themes such as growing up, making friends, and falling in love” (Galda, Cullinan, & Sipe, 2010, p.17).

Analysis

One theme of the book is Precious struggle out of isolation. Precious has been a victim of sexual and physical abuse since she was 3 years old which affected her psychical well-being tremendously. Precious is haunted daily with horrific flashbacks of her sexual abuse by her father. Precious escapes her trauma by drifting away in intensive daydreams where she envisions herself being a beautiful and desirable star. Her aggressiveness, reserved attitude, lack of confidence, illiteracy, and obesity are other typical effects of her abuse. Precious learns how to break free from her isolation by allowing the power of education guide her. Precious self-esteem is gradually growing by empathizing with others and allowing others in her little circle. Precious also discovers her own sexuality and gradually develops a healthy sexual self-image by celebrating her womanhood and by being proud of what God bestowed her with. 

“Push” has been “challenged on an extracurricular reading list in the Horry County, S.C. school library (2011)” (Doyle, 2012, p.7). The book’s theme centers on poverty, incest, abuse, rape, teen pregnancy, racism, HIV, and homophobia, which many parents condemn to be too “harsh” for their innocent children to bear. “Push” made it on the challenged books list of 2010-2011 due to its sexual as well as mature content and foul as well as improper language.

Classroom Activities

Reader's Response Questions/Topics for Discussion

Activity 1

1. Explain the Harlem culture Precious grows up in and the effect it has on her life. Do you think she would have the same prejudices she has concerning white people, crack heads, and gay people if she grew up in Harlem but was not abused by her father? Why or why not?
2. Discuss Mary's role in the abuse. Why does she allow Precious to be abused and why does she contribute to the abuse? What kind of effect does the abuse have on Precious's educational experience?
3. Race and prejudice play a large role in this novel. Discuss how Precious perceives white people, black people, and "niggers". Explain how white people perceive her.
4. What has the most effect on Precious's prejudice? Sex? Upbringing? History? Ignorance?
5. Precious is seventeen by the end of the novel. In her short time on earth she has been raped, beaten, had two children by her father, and sexually molested by her mother. How has she survived? Explain why she has not given up.
6. Precious uses words most people don't use to describe sex and sex acts. Describe how she talks about sex. Why does she talk about it this way? Given her illness and history of sexual abuse, is it possible for her to ever view sex in a healthy way? Why or why not?
7. Precious never speaks in class until she goes to the Higher Education Alternative/Each One Teach One school. Why does she speak up in class immediately? What does this say about the difference between her first school and the Higher Education Alternative/Each One Teach One school?
8. Why does Ms. Rain make the girls write in journals even though they cannot really read or write? What kind of impact does the journal writing have on Precious and the other girls?
9. Precious talks about being all alone. At what point in the novel does this feeling dissolve? Who makes her feel less alone and how does this impact her healing process?
10. Precious has been abused since she was three, yet she stays in her home and endures the abuse for thirteen years. Why does it take Precious so long to leave herhouse? What role does other's kindness play in this decision
11. Talk about the emotional, physical, and psychological trauma the young women in the book have suffered as a result of sexual abuse. Is it possible to recover from these experiences? Explain which character coped with their hardships the best and why you think they made more progress than the others.

Instruct students to write their responses in their writing journal and then share and discuss in class. 

Activity 2

Watch the movie adaption Precious: Based on the Novel: “Push” by Sapphire. Instruct students to write a movie review

Personal Response

I believe that Push should be integrated in every secondary classroom. Despite its controversies Push offers several benefits. The book enlightens the reader about current social and personal issues which ultimately promotes tolerance and acceptance. The novel celebrates the journey of self-discovery, womanhood, and the power of literature, all which ultimately changed Precious life to the better.

I also believe that Push should not be censored. Children are naturally curious about the world and pose deep and significant questions about literature, life, and existentialism. The book enables children to explore challenging issues that arise in today’s world and offers them “the opportunity to ‘try on’ other lives for the period of time it takes them to read a book and to ponder it later” (Galda, Cullinan, & Sipe, 2010, p.249). The difficult themes in Push also encourage critical thinking skills in children.

Similar Works

• The Color Purple by Alice Walker 
• Gemma by Meg Tilly
• The Darkest Child by Delores Phillips

 Author's Background Information

Sapphire (Ramona Lofton) who was born on August 4, 1950 is the author of American Dreams, a collection of poetry which was cited by Publishers Weekly as, “One of the strongest debut collections of the nineties.” Push, her novel, won the Book-of-the-Month Club Stephen Crane award for First Fiction, the Black Caucus of the American Library Association’s First Novelist Award, and, in Great Britain, the Mind Book of the Year Award. Push was named by the Village Voice and Time Out New York as one of the top ten books of 1996. Push was nominated for an NAACP Image Award in the category of Outstanding Literary Work of Fiction. About her most recent book of poetry Poet’s and Writer’s Magazine wrote, “With her soul on the line in each verse, her latest collection, Black Wings & Blind Angels, retains Sapphire’s incendiary power to win hearts and singe minds.” Sapphire’s work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The New York Times Book Review, The Black Scholar, Spin, andBomb. In February of 2007 Arizona State University presented PUSHing Boundaries, PUSHing Art: A Symposium on the Works of Sapphire. Sapphire’s work has been translated into eleven languages and has been adapted for stage in the United States and Europe. Precious, the film adaption of her novel, recently won the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Awards in the U.S. dramatic competition at Sundance (2009).

Other Books

• The Kid 
• American Dreams 
• The New Fuck You: Adventures In Lesbian Reading

References

Doyle, R. P. (2012). BOOKS CHALLENGED or BANNED in 2010–2011. Retrieved April 10, 2016, from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/sites/ala.org.advocacy/files/content/banned/bannedbooksweek/ideasandresources/free_downloads/2011banned.pdf

Galda, L., Cullinan, B.E., & Sipe, L.R. (2010). Literature and the child (7th ed.). Belmond, CA:Wadsworths, Inc.

Push Topics for Discussion. (n.d.). Retrieved April 18, 2016, from htp://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-push-sapphire/topicsfordiscussion.html#gsc.tab=0

Sapphire | Penguin Random House. (n.d.). Retrieved April 18, 2016, from http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/55306/sapphire

Sapphire, (1996). Push: A novel. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.