Today, in this edition of King’s Korner, we will be discussing the very first novel by Stephen King, Carrie.
Carrie has become a staple in the horror movie genre, with parodies of it popping up over the decades. The scene at the high school prom that ends with a bucket of pig’s blood is engrained in the minds of horror movie buffs.
But before we talk about the movies, what was the actual about?
The novel actually is broken up in newspaper articles, interviews and even the inner thoughts of Carrie. The reader gets to understand the effect that Carrie had on her town after her goal of revenge began.
The novel begins with Carrie White, a friendless and awkward 16-year-old girl who just received her first period. Since her mother is a fervent Christian Fundamentalist, she never told her about how women have a period and understandably Carrie is extremely shocked to see herself bleeding in a foreign place to her. It makes it even more embarrassing for her because all of this time of discovery happens to her at school. The girls who have all received their period, or at least were aware of what it was, torment her and throw tampons at her; saying “Plug it up!”
A teacher finally comes to intervene and help the traumatized Carrie.
Her mother feels no sympathy for her daughter because she believes that Carrie got her period because she sinned and this was God punishing her. For this reason, she locks her daughter in a closet full of religious artifacts. The distress from her earlier trauma and being locked in a confining area push her over the edge and she breaks the mirror in the closet with her mind.
Carrie, with her new knowledge of her telekinetic and telepathic abilities, attempts to strengthen them and have them better under her control.
Since the incident, the teacher has made sure that one of the bullies, Chris, responsible for the “plug it up” incident is banned from attending school prom. Incensed, she wants to get revenge on Carrie. (Even though of course it’s not her fault.)
Chris and her boyfriend Billy make a plan. They decide to rig the Prom Queen ballots so that Carrie will win. They then fill two buckets of pig’s blood and sneak into prom.
While prom is going on, Chris and Billy climb into the rafters above the stage in the auditorium. When Carrie comes up on stage to receive her crown and sash for prom queen, they tip the buckets so that Carrie becomes drenched in blood. Afraid of getting caught, Chris and Billy run out the back doors.
Carrie, completely humiliated, runs out of the prom. However, she remembers her powers and realizes that she can enact revenge on the people who made fun of her. She then locks the doors to prom and sets off the sprinklers; making the electrical equipment malfunction and electrocute the students around them. Not satisfied, she also starts a fire that engulfs the whole school, killing nearly everyone inside.
In the end, Carrie destroys the whole town. She also gets into a fight with her mother who believes that she has been possessed by the devil. Carrie kills her while protecting herself from her mother’s attack.
Mortally wounded from this, she sets out to find Chris and Billy and spots them trying to flee in Billy’s car. Using her powers, Carrie takes control of the car and crashes it, killing them both.
Finally, her injuries cause her to lose too much blood, and Carrie dies.
If you come back to King’s Korner next week, you will see my review of how the movie with Sissy Spacek lives up to the novel.
