008. Carl

    Push by Sapphire is a phenomenal novel, but isn't without its problematic text. The style is unique and at times difficult to follow, but when the mentions of incest between Precious and her father are known, one may be turned off by it immediately. Incest is such a taboo topic in our society, not to mention its illegality. To find out that the main character of a fiction novel is not only involved in incest with her father, but to find out she contracts AIDS and has two children from her own father is a deep and riveting thing to realize. The book is so hard to digest, that at times it feels like it's some sort of test to see if you can make it all the way through. Not many things or people deal with incest in today's media (books, TV, movies, video games) but it is so well implemented into the story of Push that it might feel blasphemous to ask, "Why don't we see more stories with incest involved?"

    The short and obvious answer is that it's "not right". The topic itself is extremely taboo in our culture and the word itself is frowned upon by others when used. Thinking critically about the novel, however, brings to light the idea and analysis if implementing incest in to the novel was right or warranted. So, was it right? Probably not. Did it work? Yeah, to some extent. The most important question to ask yourself is if it made the novel better. I, as taboo as it may seem, think it added a new layer of realism to the book and immediately sold you on the character of Precious. If you didn't feel sorry for her or even feel for her by the time you realized what was going on, the full realization of the incest going on and the two children fathered by Carl, might swing you to fall in love with Precious and root for her more so than ever before.

    Sapphire uses incest in a taboo way, but a necessary one. The topic makes Precious a gripping novel and adds to the staying power that the novel has in your head. Am I advertising incest and saying we should talk about it more and implement it in every form of media? No way. But, carefully exploring and critically analyzing incest in an artful way is something that takes careful precision and practice to achieve a positive result - the same way that Sapphire did with Push.