Directed by Lee Daniels. Characters Rita, Rhonda, Jermaine, Mary, and Ms. Blu Rain all appear in the novel. He push me back on a cushion. She look at me, butter skin, light eyesI know boyz love her. As I read the obituary Precious grew up to became an outstanding beautiful young lady. These fantasy scenes occur throughout the film and shed little light on Preciouss inner life. Mary arrogantly thinks Precious and Mongo are stupid and not perfect. Sapphire's second novel, The Kid, is out this week. But . Or does it provide an accurate picture of life in Harlem, a well-known area of New York City with a rich history? I axes, Wheres my baby? Last week we went to the museum. Precious is Obese. Make Payment Wayfair Credit Card, Hes not going to just be a dancer on stage like Michael Jackson. Precious decides to run away with Abdul. Shouldn't the hospital staff have been more proactive during Precious's initial contact with them? I wonder who it could be. I dont know how many months pregnant I am. Ms. "Here, stand on this. She is regularly . The film portrays a teenage girl, Claireece Precious Jones (Gabourey Sidibe), raised in New York City's Harlem, who finds herself abused and twice impregnated by her father Carl Kenwood Jones (Rodney Bear Jackson), who abandons the family after the incident. I wish I had a light-skinned boyfriend with real nice hair. Directed by Lee Daniels, 'Precious' is a drama film that follows a 16-year-old named Claireece "Precious" Jones (Gabourey Sidibe). Why Im thinking about those stupid boys now I dont know. Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door Online, But spoiler alert the book does not offer a feel-good ending. While unconscious, Precious has an elaborate fantasy sequence of being an actress on the red carpet at a movie premiere, where suddenly it starts to rain. This Spanish guy in E.M.S. Please extend my sympathy to all of her family. She fell backwards trying to get away from me n started screaming, security! The meetings provide a source of support and friendship for Precious as well as the revelation that her color and socioeconomic background were not necessarily the cause of her abuse. Precious raises Mongo and Abdul and protects them from Mary, and lastly, the three live happily ever after. Bitch know how old I am. I ain did nothin! Claireece Jones a.k.a Precious was born in November 1971 to Mary and Carl Jones but her parents gave her a TROUBLED childhood filled with poverty and ABUSE! It opens with the funeral of Precious, who has died of complications related to her HIV/AIDS infection, and then follows her son, Abdul Jamal Jones, as he grows up. Women of all ages and backgrounds attend the meetings. Momma said I can't dance. My 14-year-old patient had never seen even the most basic information about HIV transmission or prevention. Well I be damned, I done heard everything, white bitch wanna visit. Fish In A Tree Shay Character Traits, She tryin to talk all gentle now and shit. Otherwise, Preciouss cosmos, for better and for worse, is a universe of women: the social worker (Mariah Carey, scrubbed of any vestige of divahood); the teacher, Ms. I know I had one. I ain crazy. There is no question that life in Harlem during 1987, or for that matter in 2009, is miserable, but this is not the first time in history that artists and filmmakers have been confronted with dreadful circumstances. I know whats coming. At home she is verbally, emotionally, physically, and sexually abused by her parents. The quest for a stove that can save the world. She uses a "minimal English that defies the conventions of spelling and usage and dispenses all verbal decorum" (Mahoney). I say, Shut up mutherfuckers Im tryin to learn something. First they laugh like trying to pull me into fuckin with Mr. Wicher and disrupting the class. Opens on Friday in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta. We had fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, and Wonder bread for dinner. Its hot but I do not take off my leather jacket even though its hot, it might get stolen or lost. Despite devastating news from her mother following her baby's birth, Precious also starts to believe that she can escape the grip of her abusive mother--who, up to this point, was Precious' only real support. In todays art world, dominated by wealth and privilege, many directors are either overwhelmed by the social conditions they see or at any rate see no possibility of their being changed. Rather than explaining the social relations that produce such extreme forms of backwardness as hers, Precious obscures the causes and sensationalizes the results. While in the hospital giving birth to son Abdul Jamal Louis Jones, Precious tells a social worker that her first child is living with her grandmother. We see her walking down the street with two kids in hand among a sea of people. Both the movie and the book upon which it was based underscore some of the difficulties in contemporary cultural life and its crisis of perspective. I ain't crying either. Maybe to gone n git it over with. In his latest work, White Girl in Danger, Jackson reimagines the soap opera. Boy say Im laffing ugly. Precious attends the alternative school with her teacher. Plus, she said who wants to see my big ass dancing, anyhow? She quiet quiet. I sit in the same seat everyday, in the back, last row, next to the door. Set in Harlem in 1987. "To create the art that I create, I have to compartmentalize. Birth date? When I go to answer the buzzer I realize Im still grabbing the knife. The buzzer ring. Its partly a bootstrap drama of resilience and redemption, complete with a hardworking teacher (Paula Patton) wrangling a classroom full of disadvantaged girls. Michiko Kakutani, a book reviewer for The New York Times, states that Precious' "voice conjures up [her] gritty unforgiving world." I know it's not possible, but if that heart in me could I love more? Yeah, I say. "This is what happens to a vast majority of people who have been abused," Sapphire says. Twelve years old, twelve years old, she say over n over like she crazy (or in some shock or something). WHOoooo like owl in Walt Disney movie I seen one time. Reprinted with permission of The Penguin Press HC. Precious fears that she and Abdul might have come down with theHIV virus. I was standing at this sink when the pain hit me, and she hit me. Anyway Im in Mrs. Lichensteins office. If there is anything that I can do forTo Robin and family, you have most sincere sympathy for the lost of Precious. Mary, brimming with rage, thwarted love and plain meanness, is a character bound to provoke discomfort. A writer insisted that his novel was fiction, but a detective was sure it could help solve a murder. With leading roles played by popular stars such as standup comic MoNique as the abusive mother, for example, Mariah Carey as the social worker, and Paula Patton as the alternative school teacher, the film was more or less guaranteed a wide following. She is the epitome of the Welfare Queen, an image that has been used by both Republican and Democratic Party administrations alike to criminalize poor people and justify cuts in welfare and other social programs. She is also the 2009 recipient of a United States Artists fellowship. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(10)60077-3. Rain), Maria Carey (Ms. Weiss), Sherri Shepherd (Cornrows), Lenny Kravitz (Nurse John), Kimberly Russell (Katherine) and Gabourey Sidibe (Precious). Come now, you are pregnant, arent you, Claireece?. For example, she says, when Abdul dances he says he feels "warm and dark like my mom.". She say, Was you ever, I mean did you ever get to be a chile? Thas a stupid question, did I ever get to be a chile? The film opens in the economically devastated Harlem of 1987, when the neighborhood was afflicted by a major crack cocaine epidemic and high unemployment. Next topic for the day. WITH: MoNique (Mary), Paula Patton (Ms. View Los Angeles obituaries on Legacy, the most timely and comprehensive collection of local obituaries for Los Angeles, California, updated regularly throughout the day with submissions from . Somehow Precious might work things out, but life in Harlem will remain the same. Its located on the 19th floor of the Hotel Theresa on 125th St. Thats not too far from here. I press talk. Finally she say, So Claireece, I see were expecting a little visitor. But its not like a question, shes telling me. Mary begs Ms. Weiss to help her get Precious back but Ms. Weiss ignores her and leaves her without saying a word. Claireece got kicked out of school because of her pregnancy, she was sent . Why they put some shit like maff first period I do not know. Ad Choices. Sign up for our daily newsletter to receive the best stories from The New Yorker. Its like the police or something. He say, Claireece is so ugly she laffing ugly. His fren say, No, that fat bitch is crying ugly. Laff laff. But they ain nice men. What is she gonna do? So, O.K., its Thursday, September twenty five 1987 and Im walking down the hall. Parents: Mary Jones and Carl Jones (Deceased) Reason for Referral. I look back as the door swing shut, the nurse is pulling the tubes out Mommy's hand. The 2009 film directed by Lee Daniels, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, tells a story about the life of a 16-year-old, Claireece "Precious" Jones, who grew up in Harlem during the late 1980s. Pregnant for the second time with a child fathered by her own father, abused. How could so many people and agencies whose main purpose is to protect children like Precious, fail her so miserably? Precious begins the novel functionally illiterate. Im so tired I jus want to disappear. The events and circumstances described in both Push and Precious are terrible, but it is the writers or directors responsibility to make something artistic and enlightening out of even the worst circumstances, instead of this surrender to backwardness that will delight the right-wing ideologues who argue that the poor are poor because of their moral and intellectual inferiority. The author now lives in New York City, and is openly bisexual. In fac some of the other natives get restless I break on em. She's pregnant for the second time to her abusive father; at home she must wait hand and foot on a poisonously angry mother (Mo'Nique, winner of the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress). If there is anything that I can do for you please let me know. Much like Mary, many people still buy into prevailing and harmful myths and misperceptions about the risks of HIV/AIDS. Stop it! It ring again. mommy! Then she kick me side of my face! Whats your daddys name?, She say, Whats the babys fathers name?, I say, Carl Kenwood Jones, born in the same Bronx.. You been hightailing it round here. Pain hit me again, then she hit me. I like him, I pretend he is my husband and we live together in Weschesser, wherever that is. Abused by her mother, raped by her father, she grows up poor, angry, illiterate, fat, unloved, and generally unnoticed. Well then, Claireece, Im afraid Im going to have to suspend you, You cant suspend me for being pregnant, I got rights!, Your attitude, Claireece, is one of total uncooperation, I reached over the desk. Carl Kenwood Jones, also known as "The Father", is the overarching antagonist from the 1996 book Push by Sapphire, and the 2009 film Precious based on the book. I jus fall in Mr. Wichers class sit down. Huh? I say. Sapphire refuses to concede a step to critics who claim her writing is so graphic as to occasionally be regarded as unrealistic. What you doin! She call Mama a fool. Precious is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). Rest Easy Till I See You Again Cedell Brooks Funeral Home, 25662 A.P. He slam his hand down on the book and say, Try to have some discipline. He a skinny little white man about five feets four inches. How? I look good, smell goodfresh, clean. Rain ignites a passion in her students for literature and writing. I wish Miss Butter would leave me alone but she jus staring at me, her eyes getting bigger and bigger. Im like in a ball from the pain. Call or just drop in, the 19th floor I press talk tell her I heard her the first time. This is your second baby? she says. At what point could there have been interventions that would have protected Precious? I dont know why Im telling you that. I have won. Claireece Precious Jones is on Facebook. Precious tells her about her daughter Mongo. Precious, overweight and illiterate and played by an extraordinarily poised first-time actress named Gabourey Sidibe has a young daughter and is pregnant for a second time. "Ramona Lofton (Sapphire)". The accomplishment boosts her spirits. No man was never nice like that to me before. The class laugh some more. "Sometimes I don't even remember what I've written," she says. Robin and Family..I don't know if you remember me but I have tried finding you on facebook many times..I don't know the words to tell you how my You are one of God Angels we love you very much precious and i am sorry you don't meet Malaysia and we are having another girl our name is aalaysia when we meet again in haven we will have a good time together from your brother Allaheye Jones andFrom Allaheye Jones and Raniesha Cummings precious you are great sister and sister in law we miss talking to you but we know god call you home to be with him. Ice Class 1a Super Ships For Sale, Come on, little man, your mommy's traveling. I jus standing there n pain hit me, then pain go sit down, then pain git up n hit me harder! But her eyes don't open, she don't move. Excerpted from The Kid by Sapphire. Precious lives a life that includes many sociological issues that have unarguably caused her great pain throughout her young life. security!, I dont say nothin. O.K., as I was saying Ive called Ms. McKnight at each one teach one. A peckerwood as my mother would say. You will. Once Precious and Abdul are gone, Mary collects the TV and brings it back upstairs. Precious cooks a meal of pigs' feet. But their love is also enabled by institutions and government policies. What that hoe want? I came here to learn maff and you gon teach me. He look like a bitch just got a train pult on her. The social reality is appalling and deserving of treatment, but director Lee Danielss presentation of the story and of life in Harlem in general lacks any real insight into the horrific circumstances confronting this oppressed young girl. It's quiet. "Hard beat of Harlem; Books". Already pregnant with her second child, the abused Precious is struggling to persevere by cocooning herself within the protective realm of delusion, where everyone is kind, everything is bright, and she is the star. Despite her mother's insistence that she apply for welfare, Precious enrolls in the school. "I could write another way. I cant remember not knowing. Precious is a victim of various psychological traumas and anxieties she faces constant child abuse, rape, domestic violence, incest, physical and mental abuse. Scott. She wants to move Precious to an alernative school. On the streets she is bullied, called names, and pushed around; at home, things are even worse. Mary opposes the idea of Precious attending the alternative school. He walk over put my hand on Mommy's shoulder. Kids is scared of me. To revisit this article, select My Account, thenView saved stories, To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. Sure you can do anything when you talking or writing, its not like living when you can only do what you doing. image, Statement on offensive historical content. Mrs. Lichenstein look at me like I got three arms or a bad odor out my pussy or something. You done lost your mind? Language: English. But it has existed as long as I can remember. It howls and stammers, but it also sings. That's how big the heart of a blue whale is. I got suspended from school cause Im pregnant which I dont think is fair. Then Miz West live down the hall pounding on the door, hollering, Mary! How Much Is A Yard Of Fabric Cost, The case study "The case of Claireece Precious Jones" would be structured as follows: (1) a presentation of the chronology of abuse sustained by Precious; (2) an identification of formal and informal supports; (3) an identification of treatment indicators of abuse. Or even the welfare agency? Peter Porte Twin Brother, She is portrayed by Gabourey Sidibe. Precious is a few months pregnant with her second child, the product of her father raping her; he is also the father of her first child (who has Down syndrome ). All of the girls come from troubled backgrounds. He dont know what to do. Lions Gate Entertainment purchased distribution rights; Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry served as producers for an additional boost at the box office. Soon after, Precious goes the welfare office. But Im big, five feet nine-ten, I weigh over two hundred pounds. He say, Miss Jones, I said turn the book pages to page 122. I say, Mutherfucker I ain deaf! The whole class laugh. Growing up, Precious has been subject to verbal and physical abuse by her mother, Mary (Mo'Nique). The film is based on Sapphire's 1996 novel Push, which tells the story of Claireece "Precious" Jones, an overweight, illiterate, African-American 16 year old growing up in Harlem in the 1980s. Mrs. Lichtenstein tells Mary about the alternative school she wants to place Precious in. I think we should have a parent-teacher conference, Claireeceme, you, and your mom., For what? I say. Kirishima Eijirou Hair Down, In the late 1980s, illiterate not-so-sweet-16-year-old Claireece Jones is a dangerously-obese junior-high student from Harlem whom people call "Precious" although nobody seems to believe it. She is also the 2009 recipient of a United States Artists fellowship. She was HIV positive and pregnant. Facebook gives people the power. A few pages later, Abdul repeats the phrase to one of his own victims. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. While Sapphires intention may have been just to tell a story, as she asserts in interviews, a definite outlook emerges and it is one that accepts the social status quo. A Strange Loop, a story about a Black, gay theatre nerd, was a surprise success. Trust in the Lord and keep the faith, it will get you through. What he mean is, its hot, 90 degrees, like summer days. My hand slip down in the dishwater, grab the butcher knife. We also see what has happened through centuries of people turning a blind eye to what was happening in our religious institution. But this not school nurse now, this Harlem Hospital where I was borned, where me and my baby got tooked after it was borned on the kitchen floor at 444 Lenox Avenue. But today he is not joking. Her mother physically hits her, throws heavy objects at her head and treats her as a servant. I know that. New somebody in nurse cap sweet-smile me and say, Yes, you did, Miss Jones, you surely did. She moves the men in uniform suits back from my bed. Im on the floor groaning, Mommy please, Mommy please, please Mommy! We dont have assigned seats in Mr. Wichers class, we can sit anywhere we want. I still dont know why I did what the lawyer said, or why I didnt stand up and leave, or why I went back the next day., If you leave silence around any language it starts to sound crazy, or sound like poetry, unhinged from reality., How Michael R. Jackson Remade the American Musical. Because of that Precious takes Mongo out of Mary's arms. I press listen. She has her ups and downs there. In world literature for at least the last century and a half (and, in the more recent period, filmmaking), the exposure of unbearable living conditions has played an important role. What about the school's responsibility and their inaction when Precious became pregnant at the age of just 12 years old by her father? stop it! I shout again. 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