Better Days

In the beginning of this book, precious has very low self-esteem and self-concept. This can be blamed on a few reasons; her mother’s physical and mental abuse, her father’s sexual abuse (rape), and the lack of care that outsiders such as her teachers, neighbors and even family give her. She is stranded without a paddle up until she meets Ms. Rain who helps her self-esteem and self-concept grow tremendously. She teaches her that she can do anything if she believes in herself and that the truth will free her. Precious had been living in denial for most of her life, and now that she has this loving and warm atmosphere in Ms. Rain's class, she finally realizes how precious she really is.

I thought it was very interesting for her to describe herself as a "vampire" or "invisible". There are many times when she is on her way to do something productive and she gets distracted by her disturbing past. "For me this muffin' new. There has always been something wrong wif the tesess. These tesses paint a picture of me wif no brain. The tesses paint a picture of me an' my muver- my whole family, we more than dumb, we invisible.....They vampires. They eats, drinks, wear clothes, talks, fucks, and stuff but when you git right down to it they don't exist." She is not only describing herself as worthless, but her whole family as worthless because all they do is hurt her in some way; never have they been a positive support system that she obviously needed.

Precious stated that all she did during her school years was just "get by" and sit in the back of the classroom. It was evident that once she attended Ms. Rain’s class that she didn't even know how to read. This class even gives her faith in her unborn child. It was heartwarming to find that this time around she really did want to care for her child and make sure it had a better life than her. "Important to read to baby after it's born. Important to have colors hanging from them wall. Listen baby, I puts my hand on my stomach, breathe deep. Listen baby (I writes in my notebook): She is talking to her baby and making a connection with him which she probably would have never done before this new accepting experience in Ms. Rains classroom

It's obvious that Precious has gone through hell and back, but up to this point in the book, it seems as though she is willing to turn it all around for the sake of her and her children. She wants to raise them better than she was raised as a child. She wants to push.