Am I Precious? An Ironic Name

The name Precious' mother gives her (as a middle name, her first name is Claireece) easily stirs up questions as the abuse from her mother occurs and grows more traumatic. Precious is subjected to physical and mental abuse, and eventually sexual abuse as not only her father impregnates her at age 12, but eventually is forced to orally please her own mother. Any one of these events is enough to give a child the impression there is something wrong with them and they are unloved, much as Precious feels. However, why was she named Precious then; a name given to beloved and desirable people or things. In fact, The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines precious as highly esteemed or cherished, which of course is the opposite of how she is treated at home and in her community. Precious is almost used in an oxymoronic manner, rather.

I feel this is one of the more subtle ways Precious is subject to cruelty and abuse and probably has a strong hand in her poor self-esteem. To know what precious means and believe she is anything but is a constant abuse from her parents, without them ever having to actively do a thing more to her. In the beginning of the novel, this is certainly true as she has a terrible perception of herself and belief of what others perceive her as. "Me an' my muver — my whole family, we more than dumb, we invisible." But towards the conclusion of the novel, Precious almost seems to find the motivation and desire to live up to her name, "I'm gonna break through or somebody gonna break through to me - I'm gonna learn, catch up, be normal, change my seat to the front of the class."