“ Push” is a fictional memoir of Claireece Precious Jones. Illiterate, obese and sexually abused by both her parents, Precious gives birth at the age of 17 and is expelled from school after the discovery of her second incestuous pregnancy. Sapphire is resolute in her exploration of deprivation and ignorance, yet the painful progress of Precious is leavened by periods of instinctual tenderness and searing innocence, and slowly her prose starts to vibrate with warmth and energy. The story is extremely overwhelming as it narrates the struggle of a young girl who beats many hurdles to discover her self-worth. This story is very relevant in the human services field as it focuses on the need to acquire knowledge and education to solve the problems one is facing. Precious encounters many challenges as a young girl, and it is only through acquiring knowledge that she is able to redeem herself from all the challenges she is facing in life.
The book depicts Precious as a psychologically and sexually abused girls who interrupts the series of abuse with new survival and transformational tactics. There are various hurdles like female persecution, illiteracy, the aggressive environment, a dwindling system of education which are represented in the book and it is as a result of acknowledging such impediments along with the affirmative transformative attitude that in the end, Precious Jones turns into a self-empowered and strong woman, who has positive outlook about life.
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As a demonstration of the hurdles, the environment could be taken as an element which plays a pivotal part in the psychological and physical evolution of Precious Jones because she feels trapped both emotionally and physically in her house, by the society and her family which restricts her. In addition to the significance of the novel’s setting is the impact of her questioning of why her life is different from that of the blue-eyed blond teenagers she sees on the TV, she thinks that her would view her differently if her life were different– to her father she is invisible and a sex item (Daniels, 2009). Precious is ignored at her home and the white society – society has demonstrated to her that it is only white women who are visible and noticed. Such feminine oppression turns out to be a change motif for Precious as she yearns to learn, for people to see her as a beautiful girl as she is, she notices that she is a respectable individual who ought to try all her best to be successful in life.
Moreover, Precious’ literacy work which recounts her history authenticates her life as a being. It is evident that writing turns into a resolution for Precious, a window that leads her to the future. Through writing or reading she can accomplish anything as it unlocks her imaginations, it brings out her real self and as well enables her to envision things which have not happened and although she is not literate this does not inhibit her from acquiring education (Sapphire, 2014). Indeed, she has continuously sought to become literate even though the system of education failed her due to her economic status, sex and race and particularly the system continuously dismisses and ignores marginalized women, people of color maligns obesity and is unable to offer opportunities for the underprivileged.
Furthermore, once she realizes her position and the way the system operates, she can make decisions, beat her limits, and establish her own realism. For example, she perceives Each One Teach One as a constructive makeover; Precious believes that school could change her story and life entirely. As stated by Daniels (2009), for Precious, a school is a safe home which would transform and heal her completely. At school, she creates a feeling of community, a thing she had certainly not experienced and which is an essential feature in her transformation. People knew her and helped her uphold her sense of self and her experiences, simply because she is becoming literate.
In conclusion, the story of Precious is one of hope as she climbs for better opportunities as well as self-reliance. It complements the human services classes by showing the power of education. Education is power and Precious uses it to get herself from suffocation. Through acquiring some skills, she can make herself acceptable and visible in the family and society. Education empowers and lifts her past the obstacles she faces in her life, and eventually, she becomes an author.
References
Daniels, L. (2009). Precious: Based on the Novel'Push'by Sapphire.
Sapphire. (2014). Push. Place of publication not identified: Lectorum Publications.
