-Carrie
Patient Reader,
Well, Carrie took me a whopping six hours to complete. I must say, the work presented a few problems to me as soon as I began. First, it dealt entirely with a teenage girl who is ostracized beyond and conceivable comparison. Secondly, I knew the premise, journey, and ending of the novel before I began this little journey of mine and, thus, the work (inevitably) loses some of its initial impact. If you must know, I certainly am no teenage girl, and have not the degree of separation with my peers as our young Matilda has with hers. This is not to say that this short debut is not cringe worthy or shockingly intimate, and, in fact, after a few ponderous moments, I was able to produce a few tidbits of revelation that I would love to share with you. Refill by the way?
For those who are not so informed, Carrie acts as the Cinderella story as told by S.K, which means a lot more blood and a very creepy evangelical mother. The point of this blog is not to ruin the joy of reading the novel for the first time to S.K "virgins", so I will spare you plot details and spoilers and jump right into the thoughts I gathered from its pages. However, inevitably, in order to discuss these thoughts, I must disclose plot situations and scenarios in order for you to garner the full effect. Ye be warned, oh spoiler loathers!
As soon as I began reading it, Carrie immediately reminded me of Bram Stoker's Dracula. Carrie takes on an epistolary form, in that it is told primarily through various interviews, transcripts of trials, novels, biographies, and other "records" provided by the main characters. Stylistically, I loved how this played into and disclosed the vast impact that the "White Affair" had on the town of Chamberlain, Maine, and the whole country for that matter. Very snazzy way for King to style his first novel.
Now then, now that my nerdy diatribe over style has passed, allow me to dive into the swirling soup of thoughts (chicken noodle, if you must know) produced from my quick yet revealing look at the young girl who attended her senior prom with Satan as that beau on her arm.
The most blatant, it seems, message this novel brings to our poker table is a feeling of isolation, a fear or cycle we (I trust) all have been through. To put it bluntly, high school is hell, no matter who you are or what clique you belong to. That being said, I did not perceive Carrie's relationship, or lack thereof, with her high school fellows to be the cause of her anger and eventual rampage. In fact, the anger that allows Carrie to tap into her devastating telekinetic abilities stems from her relationship with her mother, Margaret. Margaret's evangelical Nazi state causes Carrie's eventual rebellion, so (thought I), why not track the reason for Margaret's madness? As this ultimately leads to Carrie's rage and Chamberlain's judgment. To put it simply, Margaret is filled with guilt, a guilt of being unclean after being forced to lie with her husband after he kissed the bottle of Jack too many times that evening. Carrie, then, is a product of that horrible incident and a walking, breathing manifestation of Margaret's guilt. Needless to say, Margaret is...unkind...to her young daughter.
It would be unfair to base Margaret's madness on her religion, as her form of religion was very different from the one practiced by the family before Ralph (Carrie's father) died. Indeed, this is a case of a belief taken to an extreme. Margaret threw out the religion she held in a, "Well, I can do this religion thing better...I'll make my own! Harumph!" way. Thus, Margaret White tainted, distorted, abused, an ancient, ritualistic belief in a Christian God (heck, "God" can be given to any deity these days). Margaret White overplayed her hand, hit when she should have stayed, and the wise old powerful cosmos card dealer made her pay. Along with her daughter and the entire town of Chamberlain.
From this abuse, we can trace down Carrie's subsequent misery at home, misery at school, and the welcoming way in which she abused her destructive power. The "White Affair" was a long time in the making, me thinks.
So there. My thoughts on Carrie. A testament to the results that can be garnered if mankind abuses the knowledge it has in a supernatural/paranormal entity or God. Does that seem like a stretch? I do not believe so.
On to the next! 'Salem's Lot. (Insert excited noise here) Vampires my friends! I cannot wait to wander into Jerusalem's Lot, Maine and discover what madness and lessons await me...and you I suppose, friend. This one may take me awhile longer, so I will update periodically as my thoughts come to me (Carrie was a rare exception, seeing as how it was short to begin with) in order to update you on my progress and opinions. Besides, this would not be much of a party if I just sat here next to you with my nose in a book, silent and ponderous. Well, it could mean more scotch for you I suppose...
In the meantime, I encourage you to read Carrie yourself and give me your own feedback, as this is a journey we are taking together. You would also do well to watch the 1976 film of Carrie directed by the amazing Brian DePalma (information below) also. Could you also pass me my pipe tobacco on the table next you? Many thanks.
Keep the cards close to your vest, patient reader.
- I
Carrie (1976) at IMDB
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