By Briana Ward.
Push is a novel written by a woman named Sapphire. This novel is far from vapid, taking its audience through the mind of a rape victim named Precious. She tells her disturbing story in the most graphic ways so that “WE”, the reader,s could feel her pain. Precious took us from her horrifying struggle inside a dark tunnel to the light of a new life.
She struggled to find her identity that was taken from her by her father. She had no one to turn to, not even her mother. This novel leaves you with a feeling of sadness and hurt even if you are not a victim of such tragedy. Through this hurt and pain, the author sent subliminal messages to teens who are victims of incest and rape.
Reading this story, I was touched. I was affected by what Precious went through. I wondered: how is it that mere words cause such emotion? I was affected because the author covered the trials almost all women go through: low self-esteem, lack of confidence, jealousy, and many more. All women, including me, have problems like these. I was able to find the hidden messages in her because I was once judged and put down.
Hidden within her words, you heard Sapphire calling out, “Even though you have been down, you can get up.” When Precious thought she couldn’t do it, when she began to lose faith for herself and her children, she found HOPE! She found hope in a bittersweet moment, getting kicked out of school for being pregnant, and being placed into an alternative school that changed her life for the better. This was a message Sapphire was trying to send to her readers, “Life is never perfect, even perfect is not perfect.” Precious would always try to find her identity in what she thought was perfection; actresses on television who were slim and lighter skinned. Have you ever felt that you were not perfect? You are not perfect, you’re “YOU”. That’s what perfect is, being who you are. Sapphire helped her readers who have suffered low self-esteem, and were always told they could not do it. But you can!