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Lucy Brancoli
Mrs. Mann
AP Literature-- Per 1
27 April 2016
Pushing the Boundaries
The most innovative and prestigious literary works are derived from some of the most creative
and intelligent minds throughout history. Translating their thoughts to words, these authors are
not only incredible writers but insightful philosophers. History also shows us that these skills
were only accumulated by upper class, white males who were allowed to obtain an education.
The Great Gatsby, 1984, Hamlet and Of Mice and Men are some of the most recognizable
classics and their commonalities include that they are all: penned by white male authors and
have white male main characters. This drastic underrepresentation has made our literary canon
narrow in its ideologies and points of view. One of the most unacknowledged and
under-represented groups in America is making a breakthrough thanks to Sapphire. This African
American author uses her novel PUSH to bring a new fire to the literary canon; introducing the
perspective of a black, teen, female character while also making relevant political, social and
economic commentary; Push breaks boundaries while still upholding the values of a classic.
Precious is an African-American teenager from Harlem, New York, who lives with her
abusive, welfare queen, mother and has two children by her father. Saphires imagery
surrounding the appearance and actions of Precious and her mother, Mary Jones, demonstrates
the problems with poverty in society. Mary Jones exemplifies the most stereotypical,
lower-class, African American; she is: dependent on welfare, illiterate, troubled, violent,

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overweight and lazy. Mary wastes her life away on the couch being waited on by Precious. This
is the classic imageries of the Fat Poor. As professor Claudia Mller describes it:
The image comprises associations of being lazy, passive, immobile, resigned, and
unproductive, characteristics or behaviors that are attached likewise to the poor
and to the obese According to the stereotype the poor and obese are marked by
eating too much or unhealthy food, consuming legal drugs like alcohol or
cigarettes, or using food stamps or welfare for their needs, which in the logic of the
stereotype enables consumption without production in exchange. (3)
This is first reflected in the novel when Mary is sitting on the couch yelling at Precious to bring
her more food and Precious is Try[ing] not to see grease running down Mamas chin, try not to
see her grab a whole ham hock wif her hand, try not to see myself doing the same thing
(Sapphire 21). This is where we see the differentiation between Mary and Precious; Precious has
a desire to stop and improve where Mary is perfectly content wallowing in her own filth, on the
sofa. Precious also recognizes this when she says I am a girl for flowers and thin straw legs and
a place in the picture Sometimes I pass by store window and somebody fat and dark skin, old
looking, someone look like my muver look back at me. But I know it cant be my muver cause
my muver is at home(Sapphire 32). Though Precious has not fully come to appreciate herself,
as she still idealizes white beauty, she sees the difference between her and her welfare queen
mother and wants to make a change. This is Sapphires way of pushing a success narrative to
inspire people, from all walks of life, to persevere and challenge popular habit; a universal and
timeless theme that follows the rules of a classic novel. In an interview with NPR on All Things
Considered Sapphire stated that she made Precious overweight because,

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That's a factor that African-American women deal with, and I think quite a few
people in this culture deal with, not fitting into the norms of the societal beauty
paradigm. You know, we just don't fit literally and figuratively And I wanted to
point to that. And I wanted to show that this girl is locked out through literacy.
She's locked out by her physical appearance. She's locked out by her class, and
she's locked out by her color.
Precious weight isn't nearly as extreme as Marys but it does represent a section of women that
are blocked by society. The parallel between the two characters explores the idea of the fat poor
and how we as a society have to look into how we distribute welfare as well as educate people to
avoid getting to that point. Though poverty has not always looked like this, it is still relevant in
all circumstances because of the idea of equality and balance.
Sapphire uses the image of Mary and Precious to demonstrate the problems with systemic
poverty that has appeared time and time again. In our modern society, we are moving away from
equal distribution of wealth; the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, as the
middle class disappears. This economic gap is said to be caused by numerous things but the
prevailing cause is racism. Through Americas history, black people have been persecuted and
ridiculed, placing them in a lower class of society. Though we have moved forward from the
days of slavery and segregation, the war on drugs was the next cause of institutional racism. The
war on drugs particularly placed young black men, from urban communities, in prison.This
caused many urban, black communities to lose a large part of their families and workforce
causing people to slip into an economic downslide. American government professor, Christine
Pappas states, I also use this novel to discuss the public policy process, federalism, diversity,

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and bureaucracy. "Push's" main character, Precious Jones is the original child left behind. The
idea that Push is not only relevant for its literary elements but social and political commentary
makes it even more flexible to be placed in the literary canon, especially that it demonstrates the
struggles of a minority. The black community, and Precious, have noticed this institutional
racism and poverty and have therefore said, Crackers is the cause of everything bad (Sapphire
34). This ideology, though fair due to the circumstances, further polarized the two races
continuing the separation . Sapphires connection to systemic poverty and institutional racism is
relatable over time, because racism has existed forever, as well as to many cultures, making it
transcend region and time, which are all qualities of a classic.
Though many people believe the rules of a classic is that it transcends time, region and
culture, a novel's controversy is an equally important part in its literary merit and classic
classification. Every piece of classic literature has been controversial in society at one point or
another; novels such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Great Gatsby have caused
controversy since their rise. Push will be no different as it does have controversial ideas, claims
on race, the government and society as a whole, but, the difference between older and more
modern works is the level of which we can expose the inequalities. The topic of sexual abuse is
currently one of the most relevant issues in our society, and has existed for many years; Push
doesnt only address the issue of sexual abuse but gives you the most raw and uncensored
version as well as perspective into the victims mind. Probably the most controversial parts of the
novel is where Precious talks about her father raping her. To an outsider, you may think a victim
would talk about the pain and suffering inflicted upon them but Precious says, .. I feel the hot
sauce cha cha feeling when he be fucking me. I get so confuse, I HATE him I HATE myself

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when I feel good (Sapphire 58). The expected hate that ensues with rape is revealed in Precious
statement but the interesting part is that she admits to it feeling good. This twisted pleasure,
demonstrates the true psychological battles that rape victims experience. It shows the depth of
complexity and damage, bringing a new perspective and representation to the world of literature
that we havent seen as well executed before. This imagery is not only controversial but speaks
to a larger audience of both men and women who have been affected by sexual abuse.
The major discrepancy with Push entering the literary canon is that it would have to
replace novels such as Alice Walkers The Color Purple, which follows a similar story line as
well as being more established in the literary community. Toni Morrisons The Bluest Eye also
focus on incestuous relationships and childhood sexual abuse through the eyes of a young
African American girl, who's concerned with her appearance. But as NYU professor, Elizabeth
Donaldson revealed:
But Push is different. Push is, in fact, located within two discernible traditions: 1)
African American literature and 2) contemporary self-help and recovery texts. Sapphire blends
these two seemingly disparate genres in order to emphasize their underlying continuities: The
challenge to ideologies of oppression and the complexity of articulating the formerly inarticulate
subject. As a self-consciously realistic version of The Color Purple and a simultaneously
fictionalized rendition of The Courage to Heal, a classic of the incest survivor self-help tradition,
Push transgresses generic boundaries in order to depict technologies of the self which constitute
a speaking subjects indoctrination into literacy. At the same time, Push depicts a subjects
disciplinary rupture of the official discourses which contain her (51-52).

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The idea of self-help and empowerment of a woman and rape-survivor, makes this story unique,
in the way that, it does not portray Precious as a victim who cannot continue, but a girl who has
just begun. Professor Mary Baron recognizes the merit of this perseverance as she states, I am
going to teach PUSH because I know students like Precious. Last year I talked with a girl
PUSHing a pacifier into the mouth of her three-day-old baby. She was sitting in her "home"
school cafeteria waiting for a bus to the Center for Pregnant and Parenting Teens, her new high
school. This real world application is one of a million stories just like it, showing that we need
representation of strong women like Precious. Unlike her mother who accepts the defeat that
society has placed upon her, Precious is determined to prove them wrong. Precious will continue
to educate herself, her child and prepare for a bright future. As Precious talks to her son Abdul
she speaks, Listen baby, Muver love you. Muver not dumb. Listen baby:
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ. Thas the alphabet. Twenty- six letters in all. Them
letters make up words. Them words everything. Precious does not only want the best for
herself, but for her son. This is to insure that they both do not fall into the same fate as Carl,
Precious father and Mary. Though women may be represented in some texts and African
Americans in another, this is a blend that is uncensored and unapologetic.
Sapphires Push is an unapologetically accurate novel that brings light to the many flaws
in our government and society. This is done through the characterization of Precious and Mary;
illustrating ideas such as the fat poor with appearance and actions. Push is here to make a
statement on how we view or government, society and most of all each other. Push teaches us
that no one is a lost cause or hopeless and all they need is compassion and support, if students are
not exposed to this variety of character, style and morals, we will be continue to live in a society

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dominated by white male ideology that polarizes society. This is a timeless lesson that I hope
students can learn and enjoy for a long time.

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Works Cited
Baron, Mary. Why I Choose to Teach Sapphires PUSH. The Alan Review 27.3 (2000) : 1-1.
Web. 4 April 2016.
Donaldson, Elizabeth. Handing Back Shame: Incest and Sexual Confession in Sapphires
PUSH. Transgression and Taboo Critical Essays. Web. 4 April 2016.
Muller, Claudia. The Welfare Mother and the Fat Poor: Stereotypical Images and the Success
Narrative in Sapphires Push. Current objectives of Postgraduate American Studies. Print.
Pappas, Christine. You Hafta Push: Using Sapphires Novel to Teach Introduction to
American Government. Journal of Political Science Education. Vol. 3, Iss. 1, 2007.
Sapphire's Story: How 'Push' Became 'Precious' All Things Considered. Host Michele Norris.
National Public Radio, 06 Nov. 2009. Web. 12 April 2016.
Sapphire. Push. Vintage Contemporaries: New York. 1996.