Themes and message

Abuse and neglect

One of the main themes that Push explores is the consequences of childhood abuse and neglect.

Precious is sexually abused by both her mother and her father, and her mother also treats her like a slave and frequently assaults her physically. She also suffers from neglect, as she does not get any of the support t…

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Being an outsider

Push also explores the issue of feeling like an outsider. Especially at the beginning of the story, Precious feels ignored and excluded by the system for a number of reasons:  She is illiterate, she is overweight, she is lower-class, she is African-American, she is an incest victim and she is a young mother. Because of all these characteristics, members of the establishment - especially those who are white and well off - ten…

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The importance of education

A positive theme in the story concerns the importance of education and its potential impact on people’s lives. Though Precious’ initial experiences with the education system are not particularly successful, even the early parts of the story contain some suggestions that she does enjoy some aspects of her school life - though pe…

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Beauty

Another theme in the story is focused on ideals of beauty. Early in the story we learn that Precious has trouble accepting her own appearance, as she is frustrated about both her size and the color of her skin: “Sometimes I pass by store window and somebody fat dark skin, old looking, someone look like my muver look back at me. [...] Who I see? I stand in tub sometimes, look my body, it stretch marks, ripples” …

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Message

The message of the story is closely connected to the title Push, which is used both literally and symbolically throughout the novel. When the word first appears in the story, it is used literally, as Precious recalls the EMS-worker who helped her give birth to her first child (p. 10).

Symbolically, Push refers to Precious’ repeated efforts to push through or push ahead…