Carrie

by

Stephen King

Tommy Ross Character Analysis

Tommy is Sue Snell’s boyfriend. He’s a popular jock, but he also has a good reputation, even among the school outcasts, for being intelligent and kind. When Sue asks him to take Carrie to the prom, he is initially reluctant, but he goes along with the plan out of love for Sue. He appears to hold genuine affection for Carrie, calling her beautiful and holding her hand at prom. The two of them have a great time at the dance until they’re voted Prom King and Queen, at which point Chris and Billy drop pig’s blood on them to humiliate Carrie. One of the buckets strikes Tommy in the head, knocking him unconscious. He is later killed in the electrical fire that Carrie starts, although fortunately he is never aware of what’s happening to him. It is heavily implied that Tommy gets Sue pregnant, but she miscarries at the end of the novel.

Tommy Ross Quotes in Carrie

The Carrie quotes below are all either spoken by Tommy Ross or refer to Tommy Ross. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Puberty, Adolescence, and Coming of Age Theme Icon
).
Part 1: Pages 91-117 Quotes

The mean tricks have been going on ever since grammar school. I wasn’t in on many of them, but I was on some. If I’d been in Carrie’s groups, I bet I would have been in on even more. It seemed liked…oh, a big laugh. Girls can be cat-mean about that sort of thing, and boys don’t really understand. The boys would tease Carrie for a little while and then forget, but the girls...it went on and on and on and I can’t even remember where it started any more. If I were Carrie, I couldn’t even face showing myself to the world. I’d just find a big rock and hide under it.

Related Characters: Sue Snell (speaker), Carietta “Carrie” White, Tommy Ross
Page Number: 97
Explanation and Analysis:

But he saw for the first time (because it was the first time he had really looked) that she was far from repulsive. Her face was round rather than oval, and the eyes were so dark that they seemed to cast shadows beneath them, like bruises. Her hair was darkish blonde, slightly wiry, pulled back in a bun that was not becoming to her. The lips were full, almost lush, the teeth naturally white.

Related Characters: Carietta “Carrie” White, Tommy Ross
Page Number: 100
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1: Pages 117-137 Quotes

She knew it wasn’t as alright as Helen had said. It couldn’t be; she would never be quite the same golden girl again in the eyes of her mates. She had done an ungovernable, dangerous thing—she had broken cover and shown her face.

Related Characters: Sue Snell, Tommy Ross
Page Number: 126
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2: Pages 141-170 Quotes

And if he didn’t come, if she drew back and gave up? High school would be over in a month. Then what? A creeping, subterranean existence in this house, supported by Momma, watching game shows and soap operas all day on television at Mrs. Garrison’s house when she had Carrie In To Visit (Mrs. Garrison was eighty-six), walking down to the Center to get a malted after supper at the Kelly Fruit when it was deserted, getting fatter, losing hope, losing even the power to think?

No. Oh dear God, please no.

(please let it be a happy ending)

Related Characters: Carietta “Carrie” White, Margaret White, Sue Snell, Tommy Ross
Page Number: 147
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2: Pages 171-196 Quotes

He shrugged. “Let’s vote for ourselves. To the devil with false modesty.”

She laughed out loud, then clapped a hand over her mouth. The sound was almost entirely foreign to her. Before she could think, she circled their names, third from the top. The tiny pencil broke in her hand, and she gasped. A splinter had scratched the pad of one finger, and a small bead of blood welled.

Related Characters: Tommy Ross (speaker), Carietta “Carrie” White
Related Symbols: Blood
Page Number: 186
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Carrie LitChart as a printable PDF.
Carrie PDF

Tommy Ross Quotes in Carrie

The Carrie quotes below are all either spoken by Tommy Ross or refer to Tommy Ross. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Puberty, Adolescence, and Coming of Age Theme Icon
).
Part 1: Pages 91-117 Quotes

The mean tricks have been going on ever since grammar school. I wasn’t in on many of them, but I was on some. If I’d been in Carrie’s groups, I bet I would have been in on even more. It seemed liked…oh, a big laugh. Girls can be cat-mean about that sort of thing, and boys don’t really understand. The boys would tease Carrie for a little while and then forget, but the girls...it went on and on and on and I can’t even remember where it started any more. If I were Carrie, I couldn’t even face showing myself to the world. I’d just find a big rock and hide under it.

Related Characters: Sue Snell (speaker), Carietta “Carrie” White, Tommy Ross
Page Number: 97
Explanation and Analysis:

But he saw for the first time (because it was the first time he had really looked) that she was far from repulsive. Her face was round rather than oval, and the eyes were so dark that they seemed to cast shadows beneath them, like bruises. Her hair was darkish blonde, slightly wiry, pulled back in a bun that was not becoming to her. The lips were full, almost lush, the teeth naturally white.

Related Characters: Carietta “Carrie” White, Tommy Ross
Page Number: 100
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1: Pages 117-137 Quotes

She knew it wasn’t as alright as Helen had said. It couldn’t be; she would never be quite the same golden girl again in the eyes of her mates. She had done an ungovernable, dangerous thing—she had broken cover and shown her face.

Related Characters: Sue Snell, Tommy Ross
Page Number: 126
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2: Pages 141-170 Quotes

And if he didn’t come, if she drew back and gave up? High school would be over in a month. Then what? A creeping, subterranean existence in this house, supported by Momma, watching game shows and soap operas all day on television at Mrs. Garrison’s house when she had Carrie In To Visit (Mrs. Garrison was eighty-six), walking down to the Center to get a malted after supper at the Kelly Fruit when it was deserted, getting fatter, losing hope, losing even the power to think?

No. Oh dear God, please no.

(please let it be a happy ending)

Related Characters: Carietta “Carrie” White, Margaret White, Sue Snell, Tommy Ross
Page Number: 147
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2: Pages 171-196 Quotes

He shrugged. “Let’s vote for ourselves. To the devil with false modesty.”

She laughed out loud, then clapped a hand over her mouth. The sound was almost entirely foreign to her. Before she could think, she circled their names, third from the top. The tiny pencil broke in her hand, and she gasped. A splinter had scratched the pad of one finger, and a small bead of blood welled.

Related Characters: Tommy Ross (speaker), Carietta “Carrie” White
Related Symbols: Blood
Page Number: 186
Explanation and Analysis: