Perspectives

There are many different ways to put Push by Sapphire into perspective, depending on how you have been asked to work with the novel.

You might choose a thematic approach, where you look at some of the general trends in past and present US society that Push makes references to. For instance, you might consider whether some of the novel’s examples of racial discrimination provide relevant insights about the current state of racism in the US.

You can also dive into specific texts that have some similarities to Push. For example, it might be interesting to compare it to the classic novel The Color Purple by Alice Walker, which is not only similar in many of its plot elements, but is also heavily referenced throughout Push as Precious is asked to read it in her class.

Finally, you may also wish to relate Push to the movie adaptation Precious, which was released in 2009. The movie is similar to the book in many ways, but there are also significant scenes which have been cut, altered or even added. The movie is also visually interesting, especially through the way it depicts Precious’ dream sequences. 

You can read much more about each option on the following pages.