GCCCD Literary Push by Sapphire Essay

Literary Essay Research Questions

1. I will research and analyze the novel Push by Sapphire.

2. This analysis will be based on a reader-response criticism.

3. Questions:

1) How does the author create tone and mood? What tone and mood are created at various parts of the work? What relationship is there between tone and mood and the effect of the story?

The author Sapphire creates tone and mood in the novel Push telling us how the life of such a young girl named Precious was taken from her hands. This meaning Precious was not living a life a normal teenager was living.In the beginning of the novel The Mood was very down because Saphirre was just starting to inform us on how precious was not doing good in school, had a baby and after 4 years had another baby, and the father being unknown and then we found out that the father is precious’s own father. The mood that was sent with that one example of precious being physically abused and raped was a very depressing and sad mood. When we as readers read how much trouble precious was having in her life just makes us gasp and really think twice of girls who actually go through that. Self confidence was not very much known in Precious is life because even in class she wouldn’t participate until she went to the alternative school then she started to participate. The relationship between tone and mood is really effective in this novel because the author sets the tone of sadness in the beginning

2)What is the effect of the plot, and what parts specifically produce that effect?

The plot in the novel Push by Sapphire was very powerful throughout the reading because it was coming from the perspective of just a poor black family who had a young girl being physically abused.I think plot in this novel was very powerful also because knowing that a young girl who comes from a family of poverty and also being abused has a big impact on where and how the girl was living. For example in the book she was such a young mother of 2 still in school and not knowing who the father was. her father was so abusive towards her being his daughter. Her father figure was very disturbing because he was the father of her two children. As of precious’s mother is, she wants her to be at home and follow in her footsteps and be a stay-at-home mom. This really wants to be my main point in my research essay because plot in a story and even in real life where one is play the big role in affecting as humans and me reading this novel and many more people are reading this novel plot plays and effect because precious is behaviors the mother’s behaviors and also the following behaviors all led to many effects such as being abused also not raising children correct all the way until being physically abused by parents.

3)What figures of speech (metaphors, similes, etc.) are used?

There were a couple figures of speech throughout this novel for example similes and metaphors. I’m really going to focus on these two figures of speech that I found meaning.As much as precious did not feel welcomed in her school she explained that people there were “ they vampires. They eats, drinks, Wear clothes, talks, fucks, and stuff but when you git right down to it they don’t exist”(31). This was a simile used To compare the people at school to vampires.When precious had baby number two “Abdul” she was very confused in a way she says how she’s about baby I’m happy about baby I’m sad about baby this is where she uses her repetition in words trying to get to a point. She then says “But I was tired. Tired of game lying”(67). She compared her lying about where the baby was to a game knowing that it was not okay so that’s when she told the nurse where her first baby is.

4. My tentative thesis is: The narrator did go through abuse, poverty and low self-esteem however there was always an alternative to get through hard times through education and building relationships.