I started reading Push this week and one of the first things that stood out to me about this novel was the language. The book is written so the dialogue sounds like Precious and at first I could not decide how well I liked this technique, but there is so much voice and personality conveyed that within a few pages I felt like I could hear Precious talking right next to me. This really made me realize how powerful language can be in a novel. I have never been one who cares for swearing and I usually do not like books and movies with excessive swearing, but I think for the purpose of this book it was almost necessary. At some point during my reading I realized I was able to overlook all the swearing because of the attachment I started to feel towards Precious’ character. Her character was very pitiful and the reader cannot help but feel sympathetic to her story. There have been movies that I have watched and books I have read in which the swearing was just plain tacky and completely pointless. In Push however I think it was Sapphire’s goal to goal to make the novel as real as possible, the story had a message and as I have not read it all I cannot say what that message is yet, and Sapphire wanted to make sure she got her message across. Aside from the swearing I also liked the realism created by Precious’ dialogue. Her voice was completely evident in every passage of the novel which made it that much easier to “get to know” Precious, I felt completely involved in her life from the first few pages. There seems to be a barrier between reader and character that slowly bridges itself as the character develops and language, especially in this book, plays an important role in how quickly this happens. Do you think that the swearing adds to or retracts from the novel?
-Elizabeth
I too liked the language in this book. It was a very important addition to Precious's character. It put you right in her head like you were Precious saying these words. Literacy is a big theme in this story. It shows the importance of reading and Precious was so proud when she started reading. I watched this movie when it first came out. I will say that the book gives much more detail into the horrors she experienced and in the movie Precious seemed to not be as strong minded as the details described in the book. I ended up having a more extreme view of each of the characters that come into the story. The movie does follow the main plot and theme of the book just a lot of details and situations were left out of the movie that help you to really understand the horrors Precious went through.
ReplyDelete- Cassa Arnold
I also liked the use of dialect in the writing. As discussed on other blogs and Db, sometimes it can get in the way. In this case, it did not and instead, it added a sense of realism to the dialog. As the OP said, "I felt like I could hear Precious talking right next to me."
ReplyDeleteCassa, I agree taht literacy is a major theme in this novel and I think that the actual dialect shown through misspelled words helps to drive that home. The severity of the mispronunciation that Precious has when speaking shows one of the lesser known effects of poor literacy or illiteracy, disability in communicating orally with others (as opposed to doing so in writing, which is well known).
I thought "PUSH" was a great read,and enjoy reading books written in different dialect. I was able to identify a lot with different themes of her story, not the illiteracy, but a few other key themes, race, culture, racism/prejudice as a Black female. The book, like many others, was more in depth, as far as what the character experienced, sexual abuse, substance abuse. The movie, "Precious" was a great film, but it seemed to glorify all the negativity in her life. Definately a page turner.
ReplyDeleteI am not a fan of language either, but I think that it was really important for this book. I think it even shows how far she comes in her journey to literacy; as she begins to read and write, her vocabulary expands and deepens... eventually, she rarely uses swear words to express her emotions or thoughts and reserves them for emphasis (which I personally feel is the entire point of having swear words, unfortunately-- many people overuse them and devalue their significance).
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post.
Swearing is always an interesting element in books. It can often ruin a moment just as well as it can make a moment. In this book swearing is instrumental. When I was nine years old, I had a family friend explain to me that I wasn't allowed to cuss. I felt as if that was not fair because I had hear adults swear, and even some other kids at school swear. I didn't understand why my Dad's neighbor thought he could tell me that I wasn't allowed to swear. So I asked him why i couldn't, and without hesitation he responded, "Because you don't understand what your saying." For the longest time I just thought he was telling me I couldn't swear because I was a kid, but I realized in my late teens that he said this because I had no idea of the power or force of those words. While reading a book like Push I see that power and force of those words being appropriately used to convey a picture clearly in the story.
ReplyDeleteI love the language of Push. It just wouldn't be such a profound book without the dialect. Without the dialect you don't see Precious's growth. Without the dialect you don't understand just how little Precious starts with. I've already asserted my position on swearing. I don't think it is ever okay to take the Lord's name in vain. I just don't see how that can add to any book. However, I think the swearing makes the book more realistic. So I'm waving on the appropriateness of the swearing. It just fits, you know. You said, “I think it was Sapphire’s goal … to make the novel as real as possible.” I think she achieves this. Because as I was reading, I felt really in tune to the character. I could hear her in my head as I read the book, partly because I had already seen the movie, but because the characters were so real.
ReplyDeleteSheffield,
ReplyDeleteGreat connection to the power of words. That theme is prevelent in Precious and ties in to the literacy theme in our course. I heard a three year old say s*** the other day after she spilled juiced and it about floored me. It just flowed out of her mouth like it would an adult. I wanted to ask that mother if she knew exactly how much her child was learning about language from just watching her.
I have to admit, I am a heavy user of "swear words" and the first several pages of Push floored me, as far as the frequency of those words. But as others have said, the more I read, the less I paid attention to them. I posted on Db that the dialect was so real I felt like I was sitting there listening to Gaby Sidibe (who plays Precious in the movie) tell me the story. The language in this case is essential to get that realistic effect, and to connect to the reader as powerfully as Push did for me. The language also shows the lack of education, caring, whatever it may be among parents such as Mary, and the parent Amanda Walker referred. Mary taught Precious it was natural to use those words in everyday references of people, which unfortunately is a very real component in our world today.
ReplyDeleteLike Amanda, I very much liked "Sheffield's" post. Not only his connection to the power of words, but the fact that there should be more people like the neighbor who told him not to swear until he understood what those words meant!
Another point I'd like to share...in working in a high school I've noticed a huge change in the use of language. I remember when I was in high school (not that long ago in 2002) students would get detention if they said "shit" in class. Now it's like there are certain acceptable words, or as long as you don't direct those words at a teacher in a negative way they are simply overlooked. It's almost like the words are seen as casual conversation.