In the novel Push, by Sapphire, the author answers what the meaning of life is. Precious Jones was a teenager with a less than honorable past. She was raped by her mother and father, her peers and students look down upon her, and her family disregarded her. Throughout her life she believed that she was hopeless and she would never get anywhere in life, however, she was wrong. As a child, Precious was taken advantage of by her father, as well as her mother. She was continuously abused, and eventually got pregnant at the age of 12. Through the actions of her father and mother Precious believed that love did not exist. Her father had taught her how to hate someone, and her mother taught her how to use the system of government for their benefit. …show more content…
Some even believed that she was unteachable, and would pass her despite the fact she had not learned. The students disrespected her and made fun of her nearly every day. In this environment, Precious was disabled from learning how to read or write. On top of it all, her school discharged her when the administrative board received word that she was pregnant for the second time. With these circumstances accumulating, Precious believed that she could never learn to be better. On the other hand, after she was discharged from school Precious sought out an alternative form of schooling to better herself and receive an education. After Precious gave birth to her first child her grandmother took the child and raised him herself. This seemed like a good idea for the child to be raised in a home where he would not be abused, however the grandmother left Precious in the broken home. Through the act of abandoning the abused teenager, Precious felt that her family disregarded her and did not want to help her escape. This belief eventually leads Precious to leave her broken home and move into a home for abused mothers, instead of living with her
She was seduced at an early age and then fell in love with a preacher, but was overcome by an exciting younger man. She experienced every form of lust and desire as well as loss. Somehow though all the hardship she was able to come out on the other side a more complete woman and ironically did so without any of these
Baby narrates her story through her naïve, innocent child voice. She serves as a filter for all the events happening in her life, what the narrator does not know or does not comprehend cannot be explained to the readers. However, readers have reason not to trust what she is telling them because of her unreliability. Throughout the beginning of the novel we see Baby’s harsh exposure to drugs and hurt. Jules raised her in an unstable environment because of his constant drug abuse. However, the narrator uses flowery language to downplay the cruel reality of her Montreal street life. “… for a kid, I knew a lot of things about what it felt like to use heroin” (10). We immediately see as we continue reading that Baby thinks the way she has been living her life is completely normal, however, we as readers understand that her life is in fact worse then she narrates. Baby knows about the impermanent nature of her domestic security, however, she repeatedly attempts to create a sense of home each time her and Jules move to another apartm...
Janie's Grandmother is the first bud on her tree. She raised Janie since she was a little girl. Her grandmother is in some respects a gardener pruning and shaping the future for her granddaughter. She tries to instill a strong belief in marriage. To her marriage is the only way that Janie will survive in life. What Nanny does not realize is that Janie has the potential to make her own path in the walk of life. This blinds nanny, because she is a victim of the horrible effects of slavery. She really tries to convey to Janie that she has her own voice but she forces her into a position where that voice is silenced and there for condemning all hopes of her Granddaughter become the woman that she is capable of being.
Lee Daniel’s Precious is a movie centered around Precious Jones, a 16-year-old overweight black girl living in Harlem, New York. The movie begins when she is in public school pregnant with her second child by her father. Because Precious is pregnant, the principle recommends an alternative school for her. At home, Precious is a servant to her mother, Mary, who is physically, emotionally, verbally, and sexually abusing her. Mary constantly tells Precious that she is not good enough and that no one will ever want her. At times of distress, Precious tends to dissociate and fantasize about another life where she is a blonde white girl. She wants to be famous and loved by all. Precious arrives at the alternative school hardly knowing how to read or write. She gets placed in a class of girls with a dedicated teacher, Ms. Rain. Ms. Rain asks each student to write in a journal every day, and she will write back to their letters. This is the first time in the movie when Precious feels very
In families, every member tends to have a role. Mary, Precious mother, is her primary caretaker. However, she is also the main and primary source of physical and emotional abuse that interacts with Precious life. Her mother’s source of abuse continues in taking advantage of Precious by using her to obtain welfare checks. Her own mother has no importance regarding Precious education or future. She refers to her own daughter as “dumb” continuously. In comparison, Carl Jones main role is to be the father of Precious, but at the same time her rapist. He has been taking sexual advantages on his own daughter since her childhood until he dies. Carl Jones raped Precious who had two of his children. Carl Jones was also the catalyst of the abuse Precious
Working as a teacher serving at-risk four-year-old children, approximately six of her eighteen students lived in foster care. The environment introduced Kathy to the impact of domestic violence, drugs, and family instability on a developing child. Her family lineage had a history of social service and she found herself concerned with the wellbeing of one little girl. Angelica, a foster child in Kathy’s class soon to be displaced again was born the daughter of a drug addict. She had been labeled a troublemaker, yet the Harrisons took the thirty-hour training for foster and adoptive care and brought her home to adopt. Within six months, the family would also adopted Angie’s sister Neddy. This is when the Harrison family dynamic drastically changes and Kathy begins a journey with over a hundred foster children passing through her home seeking refuge.
They abused her, even harder than Richard, who had killed himself after you had been taken away. You were his last string of hope, and he didn't know how to react.
In the movie “ Precious “ by Lee Daniels, Gabourey Sidibe plays a sixteen years old, illiterate and overweight girl name Precious, who lives in Harlem, New York. She lives with her mother Mary Jones, who was entropic and abusive to her. The abuse and oppression was so traumatic for Precious, she would often dissociate herself from the situation and pretend to be someone else. Losing track of time, her situation and herself was her coping mechanism; throughout the movie it appeared that she would have these dreaming episodes where she would be another person in a much better situation. Precious become pregnant twice from her biological father, who had abandoned the family and infected both she and her mother with the HIV virus. She suffered long-term physical, emotional, sexual, and verbal abuse from her from her parents; symptoms from her personal oppression were depressive and withdrawn attitude. Often she was very quiet and appeared unengaged and inattentive in class.
Marie, who is a product of an abusive family, is influenced by her past, as she perceives the relationship between Callie and her son, Bo. Saunders writes, describing Marie’s childhood experiences, “At least she’d [Marie] never locked on of them [her children] in a closet while entertaining a literal gravedigger in the parlor” (174). Marie’s mother did not embody the traditional traits of a maternal fig...
As previously stated, her father, Carl, sexually assaulted and raped her a copious amount of times and impregnated her not only once, but twice. The abuse began when she was only three years old and continued until she was fifteen; Precious was pregnant at twelve years old. Child rape occurs every two minutes in the United States and sadly one in three girls will be sexually molested before the age seventeen. Sexual abuse is an atrocious, disgusting and horrendous issue that happens every single day to an immense number of children. “Precious” acknowledges this topic and again, shows the negative effects it has on an individual. Although Precious was a victim of sexual abuse and incest; she wanted more for her and her children’s lives. A child who is the victim of prolonged sexual abuse usually develops low self-esteem, a feeling of worthlessness, an abnormal or distorted view of sex and has a higher risk of committing suicide. On the other hand, Precious did not let her destructive sexual abuse define who she is. “I cried the other day and I felt stupid, but f*ck that day. That’s why god made new days,” she says. Despite her rough past, she is strong enough to continue her life. The director and writer incorporated this issue to increase resilience in children subject to dysfunctional families and to sexual and physical abuse. In children who do not have to contend with those problems, the movie
.... Precious was finally proud of herself for doing well in school. In addition, her friends, her teacher, and her social worker were recognizing her efforts–these were some of her external esteem needs. Finally, at the very end of the movie, it is arguable that that she was self-actualized, even though this stage is never able to be satisfied because as one grows psychologically there are always new opportunities to continue to grow. However, for the time being, she was happy and free from her mother.
Most people have experienced some form of violence in their family. Many of these dramatic events involve children becoming victims of abuse. In the movie “Precious” an African American sixteen year old female is tormented by her parents. Precious is the victim of several different form of abuse including: sexual, neglect, psychological, and physical. She is pregnant with her second child, both her children biological parent is her own father, who constantly rapes her. Precious’s mother is envious of her daughter because of the sexual relationship he has with his daughter. This creates conflict among them resulting in physical and psychological abuse. Precious escapes from realty by imaging herself as a glamourous star. With the help of her
During the time she was held hostage, she was physically, emotionally, and mentally abuse by her pimp. He impregnated her, but she aborted the baby. He tried to kill her after finding out that she was no longer carrying his baby. She was one of six girls that her kidnapper was holding hostage. Right before her 21st birthday, Jewell escaped.
and was to easy to take advantage of. She suffered a lot and in the end died of
Greedy: She over exaggerates in telling her father how much she loves him just so that she...