Analysis of the Novel Push by the American Author Sapphire - Book Report/Review Example

Rape versus the Society From long ago, African Americans have always been the face of suffering in the United s. From poverty to poor education, they have suffered amongst themselves and at times they have been the cause of their own perils. The novel, Push by the American author Sapphire illustrates the life of a typical African American girl born in a poor family and faced with many challenges self afflicted and some by the society. The author clearly depicts the real environment that the African American society lives on through it, I am going to educate them on ways of recognizing such problems and getting out of them. The main character in the book is Precious, whose life is narrated like a journal. From it, we can see how the system has failed Precious resulting in her suffering. Precious was sexually assaulted by her father repeatedly leading to both her pregnancies. Her mother, apart from doing the same to her, also physically abused her and emotionally abused her too (Sapphire 65-67). The school did not bother to investigate her cases of pregnancies, even though she was a minor. Apart from the pregnancies, which were telltale signs of the abuse she faced, they failed to recognize other signs such as her wetting herself in second grade, having the reading skills of nursery child in grade school and still being in elementary school in her teens among others. The above shows us that mentality rape in the society of African Americans needs to change as illustrated bellow. Rapists in the society are people who only care for their own need without caring for others. They look for the weak in the community and use them to satisfy their own needs, then leave them to suffer after. Rape victims are troubled having to deal with babies resulting from the sexual abuse and the psychological damage that comes with it. This changes their lives because they are afraid to come out in the public as rape victims. This is because they do not want to deal with the stigma that comes with it. The rapists can therefore be branded as predators that prey on the weak in the community and they can range from people we know, such as family members, to strangers whom we meet on the streets or shops. This is clear as one man was charged with rape of several women in the Harlem Park of Manhattan. In mid August of 1995, a man was able to rape two women in the park hours apart from each other. He was only able to be stopped when his third victim fled for her life to safety (Nytimes.com 1-3). A research study was done where they compared rape among the African American community with that of the White American women. It was determined from the study that the African American women were less likely to report cases of rape to the authorities compared to the white Americans who were rape victims. However, not all did this for it was 23% of the African Americans reported while 31% of the white victims reported (Schulz 6). Reasons for rape turned out to be, as reported by them, the state of living circumstances that made them victims. This was mostly reported by the African Americans who stayed in the slums and projects of the cities. Furthermore, just like in the book, African Americans were repeat victims of rape incidents. In the book, Precious was raped repeatedly by her father, leading to both of her pregnancies. The study suggested that efforts towards prevention of rape should begin with the eradication of poverty in the society (Schulz 7). This is because, a majority of the rape victims live in areas that are in poor neighborhoods, thus exposing them to situations that are most likely to lead to their rape. Another issue is the setting up of community help centers and societal support groups that would help in the healing process of the victims. Other means of curbing the effect of are also being implemented from the time this study that was conducted. People are now speaking up on the issue that is affecting ladies of the African American community. The issue has been attributed to the violence in masculinity and victimization. Because of the nature of men rapist being violent and forceful allowing them to be able to attack their victims who are frail and less muscular thus overpowering them (Moseley and Gomes 1). It is now being picked up by the media and being publicized thus informing them of the authorities that are affecting the African American community. Victims of rape are also being advised to speak up on their story. Through them coming out, they are able to start the process of self-healing and informing the community on the situation facing the ladies in the community (Moseley and Gomes 10). If the community is informed on what I s happening to the ladies then they are bound to offer their support to victims and prevent further victimizations. Also, as the community, they should offer support to the victims. For a victim to come out and declare that they have been raped is t=not easy and it takes a lot of courage. Therefore, instead of laughing at and making fun of their tragedy, one should offer their love, time and understanding their situation. Lastly, the police should be on top of the situation. Many people have reported cases to them, yet they have neglected to carry out further investigations. They perform investigations, but when they come up empty handed, they let the case go thus leaving dangerous predators out in the street putting others at risk. They should put more emphasis on the investigations that they carry out on rape cases just like they do in murders and kidnapping cases. From the above, it is evident that rape and rapist do more than could to the society. Rape victims are left vulnerable and handy capped as seen both in the book and in real life situation. The victims are damaged physically, emotionally and mentally leaving them in distress. The society too has a hand in this since they do not give support to the victims and discriminate them leaving them stigmatized. This should be changed and more emphasis on the victims with help from the community. If this were put in place, then cases of rape would be reduced in the community with more policing and more support and help from the society. Works Cited Moseley, Walter, and Rae Gomes. Ten Things To End Rape Culture.Thenation.com. N. p., 2014. Web. 27 Apr. 2014. Nytimes.com,. Manhattan Man Charged With Rapes In Harlem Park. N. p., 2014. Web. 27 Apr. 2014. Sapphire,. Push. 1st ed. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996. Print. Schulz, Priscilla. Sociocultural Context Of African American And White American Womens Rape. Musc.edu. N. p., 2014. Web. 27 Apr. 2014. Read More