The Arts section of the New York Times contains a review of the book 'Push' by Sapphire. Firstly, the reviewer argues that 'Push' is 'meant to be a story of female empowerment and triumph.' This is accurate, seeing as Precious manages to gain an education despite her horrific 'childhood.' She also forms friendships and becomes independent through becoming a mother. On the other hand, Precious is prevented from triumphing because she is diagnosed with AIDS, thus the reader is aware that the characters life will be cut short. This suggests that masculinity will ultimately always dominate, as her father's abuse towards Precious becomes eternal, meaning she will never be able to escape from him.
Sapphire's style of writing is also analysed, as Kakutani explains how Precious's highly colloquial language 'allows us entree into her heroine's state of mind.' He therefore argues that despite the fact that the language is in parts rude and could be offensive for some readers, the language is personal to Precious. As a result the reader is able to connect with her more easily. The reference to 'heroine' implies that her language presents a beneficial view of Precious, because the character is being true to her ghetto Harlem upbringing by speaking in this manner. Consequently, the language used is realistic and allows Precious to express the anger and pain she feels.
However, the book does contain some unrealistic elements. For instance, Precious has 'difficulty learning the alphabet. Only pages later, her teacher is trying to get her to read "The Color Purple" in class.' Sapphire is desperately attempting to give this book a 'Ragged Dick' style, by constantly pushing the idea of progress, even willing to sacrifice realism. Yet juxtaposed to this is the reference to 'The Color Purple' which is based in the 1930s, therefore progress is prohibited as the Precious is forced to look to the past for help.
Furthermore, 'Push' bravely creates stereotypes, for example men are portrayed 'pigs who only think about sex.' This statement is supported by the rape of Precious by her father, but also by Rita's father killing her mother and the rape of Rhonda by her brother, for instance. Although these cases highlight the issues relating to deprived areas in the 1980s, the book portrays black men in a highly negative light. Sapphire's view of black men is supported by evidence, as "Young black men without a high school diploma are more likely to be found in a cell than in the workplace." (PewReport 2010.) If black men are still unable to progress in American society, literature should at least provide motivational stories for these men, rather than representing them as useless to society.
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