Precious : A Short Analysis Of Family Dynamics

Next, briefly introduced is the relationship with her grandmother Tootsie. Not much is known about Tootsie other than she cares for Precious’s daughter Mongo who suffers with down syndrome. Looking at the way Tootsie reacts to Mary one can say she does not agree with how she is raising Claireece. (Magness et al, 2009) Unfortunately, her grandmother never reported any abuse or lying that Mary had been doing. Although she tries to inconspicuously let the social worker know there is no food, Tootsie never says anything. This single act could have changed Precious’s life often by not saying anything, we allow problems to continue to happen.

Dysfunctional families tend to develop unspoken rules that govern the way the family operates. Rule 1) Rigidity – Dysfunctional families develop ways of operating that become entrenched over time. There is an expectation to always act in a certain way. Roles are defined and members are expected to stick to them. Rule 2) Silence – Dysfunctional families encourage and enforce a conspiracy of silence in the family. Any issues or problems are not spoken about. Rule 3) Denial – Dysfunctional families tend to operate in a state of denial about the problem the family is facing. If they deny the problem hard enough and long enough they may begin to doubt their own perceptions and intuitions. Rule 4) Isolation – Dysfunctional families tend to hide the

This book was probably the most brutal reading I’ve ever read. However, I found it incredibly eye-opening and excruciatingly honest about what life can be like for girls in impoverished and uneducated situations. Sapphire’s writing makes her character, Precious, seem real by incorporating her feelings, questions, and by writing in altered English grammar to make it seem as if her feelings are being spoken. I really enjoyed reading this book as it brought life and sensitivity to the statistics I’ve been reading about in my nursing clinicals and classes this semester.

The movie Precious, is drama-based film that tells the story of a 16-year-old girl named Claireece Jones (Precious). Unfortunately, she is struggling with her family, the school system and with her own internal emotions. Her mother despises her due to Precious having two kids from her father. She was kicked out of her high school had to go to an alternative school to get her GED. Precious also is struggling with her internal emotions and capabilities, she has been raped, verbally and physically abused. Some of the main characters that influenced Precious’s life are Miss. Rain, her English teacher at the alternative school and her mother Mary.

Sweet smiles of three thirteen year old boys fill the gym as they sit in the bleachers, intrigued by a Harlan basketball game. Their mother sits next to them, cheering for their team with her other two children. The enthusing boys, Matt, Mark, and Matt, along with Grace and Joel, are enjoying the attraction, yet they're protected and cared for by their mother, Angie Kenkel. She is a role model; a hero. The dedication and the endeavor in a mother’s life to raise and care for a family shows the true love for her children.

(Bowen, 2000.) Although not much insight is given into the awful relationship Mary had with her late husband, there’s is evident that she resents her daughter. Precious became the target of neglect and abuse due to the fact that, her father raped her and her mother instead of protecting her became jealous of her own daughter. Mary intentionally tries to impair her daughter Precious by constantly demoralizing her by telling her that she is ugly, fat and stupid. Mary is fixed on the idea of hurting her physically, emotionally and psychologically. Mary is a constant remind to Precious of how she will be nothing without her. As a result, she internalizes this tension and many aspects of her life suffers. Precious is performing poorly at school, her physical health is bad as she is overly obese and she is a loner in the sense that she makes no effort to befriend anyone. She is constantly worried about what her mother is going to do to her for the day or she is constantly on edge with her mother, not knowing what to

In a sociological perspective, family is interpreted as a social group whose members are bound by legal, biological, or emotional ties or a combination of all three. The sociological theories the connect to this concept are functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionalism. First, functionalism states that the family socializes children, it provides emotional and practical support for its members, and it provides its members with a social identity. Secondly, conflict theory states that members create disagreements, and create emotional support and comfort. Finally, symbolic interactionism claims family members and intimate couples interact on a daily basis. "Families are defined as a relationship by blood, marriage, or affection" (Seccombe 5).

In the film, Precious is a sixteen-year old girl who leads a rather lonely life, for she has no friends and is obese. Her father is a negligent and sick father, who rapes her from time to time, and has been doing so before she could even learn to crawl- since she was three years old. The film shows Precious in her second pregnancy, with both of them as results of her father’s vicious acts. Her mother is possibly the worst and unimaginable character. Naturally, mothers are expected to be supportive of their daughters, but this is not the case with hers. Her mother is a mean woman, who abuses her in every way possible- physically and emotionally especially. She hits her with steel kitchenware without any provocation. All these harsh realities make her to adopt an unhealthy lifestyle and habits like eating junk food and leeching off the welfare they are provided with in their poor conditions. However, the most adverse effect of the abuse is the psychological effects. Her mother’s articulation of her life is that Precious is worthless and will fail in the world. Precious lives in the Harlem ghetto of New York City. Precious is an illiterate sixteen-year old who does not know how to read or write. Her mother, Mary, is

McPhatter, A. R. (1991). Assessment revisited: A comprehensive approach to understanding family dynamics. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services, 1(8), 11-22. Retrieved from https://asulearn.appstate.edu/pluginfile.php/2246773/mod_resource/content/0/McPhatter%2C%201991.pdf 1) McPhatter’s article defines assessment and presents a framework for how family assessment should be derived from an ecological systems theoretical perspective. Since the ecological perspective is centered around people’s relationships with the environment, it allows the social worker to draw a link between the individual, their social environment, and the individual’s functioning and potential for growth.

Not only does Mary cause both verbal and physical abuse to her daughter, but she also causes harm to Precious’ new born, specifically when she throws Abdul to the ground. Much of Mary’s discontent towards her daughter stems from Mary’s husband (who is also Precious’ father), Carl, the father of Precious’ two children. Carl sexually abused Precious and Mary is resentful towards her, once saying, “Uppity now cause he give her more childrens than he did me” (Fletcher, 2008). Precious does a good job of concealing her emotions from the abuse in front of her mother and others, often envisioning a happy place where she has a boyfriend and life is seemingly well. Precious does, however, slip when talking to a social worker, Ms. Weiss, and reveals to her being sexually abused.

The culture of the staff is one of a dysfunctional family. They communicate, but not always in the most effective and efficient ways. Also, they talk about each other and give each other grief. At the end of the day, they genuinely care and love each other. Because of this dynamic, collaboration and communication is strained at times, because everyone likes doing their own thing. They do ask each other for opinions, but do not necessarily take each other’s advice.

Like Sita and Nora, Push’s character Precious has pressure to maintain responsibilities that include: getting an education, being a mother, and caring for her own mother. Although Precious wants to achieve her goals by learning how to read and write, her parents restrict her through verbal, physical, and even sexual abuse. At the age of 12, her father, Carl rapes her and --because of this-- Precious becomes withheld in school for getting pregnant. At frequent times, the reminder of the incestuous abuse causes the mother to yell and express aggression

Throughout this course I have learned about sociology and certain sub-categories. Some of these include social institutions, social hierarchy, and socialization, these are relevant to an educational socialization. But, the sociology that I am going to focus on is related to family. Status, role and reference groups are classified in the sociological studies of family. For reasons that I am focusing on family, is that family is extremely important to me and the bonds that we had is unlike most families. It is a bond that has been broken and I am slowly trying to mend it back together.

Many Americans see the significance in the value of family because it is the main foundation and structure of society itself. The superiority of group relationships, such as in a family, is what lots of people critic the excellence and pleasure of their lives. Families in American society believe that connectivity fosters success in the lives within a family. Family relations offer individuals a good judgment of comfort and therefore form faithfulness and accountability towards others. The average family has problems but can be fixed by implementing the important qualities that define a strong family relationship. Without alteration there can be no progress. Change is inevitably apart of what has to be done in order to form the strong foundation of family that everybody desires to have. Family support plays a significant responsibility in one’s capability to make positive decisions, which prevents them from going down the fallacious path. The quicker families conform to the significant qualities a strong family encompasses is when they start to see the improvement in the relationships with their family members. Some say that family involvement has no impact or place in their life whereas others concede to the circumstance that they can’t live without it. Parents and families have the utmost undeviating and permanent influence on children’s learning and progress. Although few Americans proclaim family involvement has no place in their morals, our society displays that when

Much of the ethnic and religious ideologies existent in numerous communities today are the result of history’s shaping the societies into what they are today, particularly during the earlier stages of the development of a religion or the peak of an era. The principles and ideals formed then have gone through alterations with time, as cultures have merged since their foundations. While some views and philosophies have been virtually discarded, common beliefs pertaining to order, power, and manner within a family have been preserved and passed down through generations upon generations. Such morals often span to the extent of violence, especially where