“My name Precious Jones. I was born in Harlem. My baby gonna be borned in Harlem. I like what color – yellow, thas fresh. ‘N I had a problem at my ol’ school so I come here.”
The voice of Precious does change the way we see her and the way others in the community see her. As soon as precious opens her mouth most people write their own biography of whom Precious must be, often employing stereotypes and failing to take into consideration the various factors that are affecting Precious such as her upbringing.
Part of the reason that girls like Precious slip through the cracks of the system so often is because of these mental assumptions we make of people, in this case based upon speech. Because Precious spoke so improperly many wrote her off as a lost cause that was neither worth the time nor the effort of school faculty. This is where the school and the community let Precious down. They never stop and think about why Precious does not speak properly and considering the fact, in the case of the school, that they possess her file which details the causation of her lack of an education due to abuse at home this can only be a case of gross ignorance or apathy by the school towards Precious. What is worse is that the school continued to pass the buck by allowing her to move on all the way to the ninth grade without being able to read, write, or properly interact in a social setting.
As to how the reader will inevitably see Precious, it becomes apparent rather swiftly that she is lacking a proper education. Additionally, she often is seen using a violent tone which is often associated with a string of profanity. This gives us the impression that Precious lashes out at those who would ideally support her and furthers her isolation from them leading to her continuing to slip through the crack of the system.
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