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Carrie

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For other uses, see Carrie (disambiguation)}}}.

Carrie (1974) was Stephen King's first published novel and also one of his shortest. King has commented that he finds the work to be "raw" and "with a surprising power to hurt and horrify". It is one of the most frequently banned books in U.S. schools http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/100mostfrequently.htm and the film version was banned in Finland. Fans often see it as more of an emotionally touching story due to its portrayal of high school bullying and it has, at times, been a favorite amongst the Goth subculture. Much of the book is written in epistolary structure in the form of newspaper clippings, letters, excerpts from books, etc. Brian De Palma created a film version in 1976. This is one of the few adaptations of a Stephen King novel that the author himself appreciated.

Contents

Plot summary

[Spoiler warningSpoiler warning]: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The book uses fictional documents to frame the story of Carietta "Carrie" White, a teenager from Chamberlain, Maine, who has been bullied at home for years by her vindictive and mentally unstable Christian fundamentalist mother, Margaret White.

Carrie does not fare much better at her school, Thomas Ewen High School, where her plain looks and unfashionable attire make her the butt of ridicule; at the beginning of the novel, she has her first period while showering after her physical education class. Carrie, who is terrified, has no concept of menstruation; her mother never spoke to her about it, and she has been a social outcast throughout high school.

But the thought that this could be Carrie's first period, or that sympathy might be appropriate, never occurs to her classmates; as with everything else, they use it as an opportunity to taunt her. Led by Chris Hargensen, the most beautiful and popular girl in school, they throw tampons and sanitary napkins at her instead of helping. When gym teacher Miss Desjardins sees what is going on, she at first berates Carrie, but is horrified when she realizes that Carrie had never had a period before and has no idea what is happening. She helps her clean up and tries to explain. Later, she talks to the principal and wants all the girls who taunted Carrie barred from attending the upcoming school prom as punishment.

Carrie gradually discovers that she has telekinetic powers. She has apparently possessed the gift since birth, but conscious control over it disappeared after her infancy, although she remembers incidents throughout her life that could be attributable to telekinesis; for example, a shower of rocks on her house at the age of three (similar to Shirley Jackson's heroine Eleanor in The Haunting of Hill House). Carrie practices her powers in secret, developing strength, even though it is physically tiring and she is continually pressed to the limit. She also finds that she is somewhat telepathic, enough to be able to discern people's real feelings toward her; for instance, she knows that the gym teacher who pretends concern is actually contemptuous of her, little better than the girls in the shower room.

Meanwhile, Sue Snell, another popular girl who had earlier teased Carrie, begins to feel remorseful for her participation in the locker room antics, takes pity on her and offers to become her friend. With prom fast approaching, Sue sets Carrie up with her boyfriend, Tommy Ross, one of the most attractive and popular boys in the school. Carrie is suspicious, but accepts, and makes her own outfit, including a pink gown. Carrie's mother won't hear of her daughter doing anything as carnal as attending a school dance, revealing much of her own past as she explains why. She believes that sex in any form is sinful, even after marriage. She also knows all about Carrie's telekinetic powers, even though she considers them a kind of witchcraft; it seems they run in every third generation of her family. Carrie is tired of hearing that everything is a sin; she wants to try to live a normal life and sees the prom as a new beginning.

However, Chris is incensed that she is unable to attend prom. She initially attempts to get her father, a lawyer, to force the school principal to sue for her right to go to prom. The principal, however, is tired of being bullied by Mr. Hargensen and throws him out. Chris devises her own plan of revenge with her boyfriend Billy Nolan. Billy, along with some friends, drives out to a farm and slit two pigs' throats to fill buckets full of pig blood, and suspends the buckets over the stage with a pull cord. Chris, meanwhile, arranges with her school friends to rig Carrie's election as prom queen. When Carrie and Tommy go up to get crowned, one of Chris' friends will pull the cord on Carrie, ruining the happiest moment of her life.

The plan succeeds beyond their wildest hopes. Tommy is mortally injured by one of the falling buckets, and he and Carrie are drenched in blood. Everyone in attendance, even some of the teachers, find themselves laughing at Carrie, because, as Sue says later, "after all those years of laughing at Carrie, what else could you do?" Carrie is finally pushed over the edge. She leaves the building in agonized humiliation, but once outside, she remembers her telekinetic gift and decides to use it for vengeance. Initially planning to lock all the doors and turn on the sprinklers to wreck the dresses and hair of all of the snobby girls that bullied, Carrie forgets about the electrical equipment set up for the dance band and the PA system. Watching through the windows, she witnesses the electrocution death of two of the students and a school official. The last thread of her sanity snaps, and she decides to kill everyone, eventually causing a massive fire that destroys Thomas Ewen High School, trapping almost everyone inside.

Walking home, she burns virtually all of downtown Chamberlain. A side-effect of Carrie's gift is broadcast telepathy; anyone within a certain radius becomes aware that the hideous carnage at the school and the explosions and fires downtown are being caused by Carrie White, even if they do not know who Carrie is. A few even catch details of her thoughts.

Carrie returns home to confront her mother, who believes Carrie has been completely taken over by Satan and that the only way to save her is to kill her. Revealing that Carrie's conception was a result of marital rape, she stabs Carrie in the shoulder with a kitchen knife. In self-defense, Carrie kills her mother, using her telekinesis to cause her heart to slow and ultimately stop.

Carrie, mortally wounded but still alive, makes her way to the roadhouse where her father got drunk the night she was conceived. Seeing Chris and Billy leaving the roadhouse, and with their attempt to run Carrie over, she telekinetically takes control of the vehicle from Billy and wrecks the car into the roadhouse, killing them both, and setting the roadhouse on fire. Sue, who has followed Carrie's telepathic "broadcast", finds Carrie collapsed in the parking lot.

In one of the book's more uplifting moments, Carrie and Sue have a brief telepathic conversation. Carrie had believed that Sue and Tommy had set her up for the prank, but Sue invites her to look into her mind and see that it is not true. Discovering that Sue is innocent and has never felt animosity towards her personally, Carrie forgives her and dies; however, before doing so Carrie exacts her final revenge by causing Sue to abruptly have her period.

Carrie draws strong parallels between the onset of the title character's adolescence, especially her menstruation and sexuality, and psychic powers.

Background on the book

Carrie was actually the sixth novel that Stephen King had written, but the first to be published. It was written while he was living in a trailer in Hermon, Maine, on a portable typewriter that actually belonged to his wife, Tabitha. The novel originally started as a short story for Cavalier magazine, but King abandoned it, throwing it into the trash. His wife fished it out, read it and convinced him to continue writing. At the time of publication, King was working as a teacher at Hampden Academy and barely making ends meet ($6,400 annually). To cut down on expenses, King had the phone company remove the telephone from his house. As a result, when King received word that the book was chosen for publication, his phone was out of service. Doubleday editor, William Thompson (who would eventually become King's close friend), sent a telegram to King's house which read: "CARRIE OFFICIALLY A DOUBLEDAY BOOK. $2,500 ADVANCE AGAINST ROYALTIES. CONGRATS, KID - THE FUTURE LIES AHEAD, BILL." "Stephen King From A to Z: An Encyclopedia of His Life and Work" Beahm, George 1988 Andrews McMeel pp. 28-30 New American Library bought the paperback rights for $400,000, which according to King's contract with Doubleday, was split with them. "The Stephen King Companion" Beahm, George Andrews McMeel press 1989 pp. 171-173

King recalls, Carrie was written "after Rosemary's Baby but before The Exorcist, which really opened up the field. I didn't expect much of Carrie. I thought who'd want to read a book about a poor little girl with menstrual problems? I couldn't believe I was writing it." "From Textbook to Checkbook" Wells, Robert W. Milwaukee Journal Sep 15, 1980

The book is dedicated to his wife, Tabitha: "This is for Tabby, who got me into it - and then bailed me out of it."

Carrie was published April 5, 1974 with an initial print run of 30,000 copies for a cover price of $5.95 US.

The hardback sold 13,000 copies, but the paperback (released in 1975) sold over 1 million copies in its first year. Brian DePalma's film adaptation was released ten weeks after King's second book, Salem's Lot was published. "The Art of Darkness" Winter, Douglas E. 1984 Signet pp. 28-35

Prior to Carrie King had been rejected from Doubleday for his novel Getting it On (later retitled to Rage and released under the pseudonym of Richard Bachman). He had also written The Long Walk and The Running Man (both also released under the Bachman penname).

In a talk at the University of Maine at Orono, King said of Carrie, "I'm not saying that Carrie is shit and I'm not repudiating it. She made me a star, but it was a young book by a young writer. In retrospect it reminds me of a cookie baked by a first-grader- tasty enough, but kind of lumpy and burned on the bottom."

For more on King's inspiration for Carrie see Stephen King's Inspiration: Carrie

Trivia

Adaptations

References

See also

External links

[CARRIE THE MUSICAL OFFICIAL WEBSITE]

 

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