Push is an inspiring story told from the point of view of Claireece Precious Jones, an illiterate sixteen-year-old African-American girl, and the countless obstacles she overcame while growing up in the Harlem ghetto. While studying about Women and Gender we talked about many issues that arise in the book Push. The first issue that struck me was rape. Precious was sexually abused at an early age. During the interview with Ms. Weiss, her mother confessed that her father had touched her at the age of three. “Precious”'s own mother overlooked the rape and denies any responsibility when it came to verbally and physically abusing her. This issue struck me first and foremost because it was honestly so graphic. The act of being raped on a constant basis caused psychological damage to Precious. He tries to repress the image but at random moments in the book he has flashbacks. "You're just like your mom: die for this!" “He pulled his cock out, the white stuff coming out of my hole wet the sheets.” In my opinion this is by far the most powerful and at the same time graphic passage of the book. This is that I recognized rape as the main problem. The book uses these images to describe to readers how tragic rape is for women. Our book states: “Although violence can have direct health consequences, such as injuries, being a victim of violence also increases a woman's risk of future disease.” He goes on to talk about possible health consequences such as; depression, anxiety, eating and sleeping disorders, feelings of shame and guilt, post-traumatic stress disorder and low self-esteem. He lists many more, but these stood out to me because they were very significant in the Push book. Precious has suffered from every psychological and b...... middle of paper ...... that you are not the only person on this Earth. You are here for a short time and need to leave your mark for others by being kind and courteous to everyone. Overall the novel Push was inspiring and eye opening. You really don't realize how good you are until you're exposed to what other people have to deal with on a daily basis. I'm very happy we were given this book because frankly I wouldn't have read it otherwise, but after reading it I'm disappointed I didn't read it sooner. It can really change your life. Precious grew up difficult but managed to overcome the harshness by pushing.Works CitedSapphire. Push: a novel. New York: Vintage Contemporaries, 2009. Print.Shaw, Susan M., and Janet Lee. Women's voices, feminist visions: classic and contemporary readings. Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2009. Print.