Writing
Precious describes her situation as feeling like she is "drowning," as she is overwhelmed by the abuse and negativity she experiences. However, she finds some solace in writing, and uses imagery to describe how writing "could be the boat" to "carry [her] to the other side." As such, writing is depicted here as a boat that can take Precious through the harder parts of her life.
Vampire imagery
In one passage, Precious describes how people like herself and her family are seen by society. She says "I know who they say I am - vampire sucking the system's blood." With this use of imagery, she shows how people like herself who have been dealt a difficult hand in life, are demonized by wider society as being like "vampires."
Grease imagery
Precious describes how she is seen by others as being "ugly black grease to be wipe away." Here, she shows how she has internalized a sense of shame, resulting from other people's unsympathetic attitudes towards her, seeing herself as being dirty and "ugly."
