Carrie: Part 1: Pages 91-117 Summary & Analysis

Carrie crosses the current day, May 17th, off her calendar; she dreads returning to school tomorrow. In her bedroom, she practices her telekinesis, starting with a hairbrush. As it levitates in the air, her pulse and blood pressure sharply increase, while her breathing and temperature drop. She proceeds to rock her rocking chair telekinetically, then lifts and drops her bedframe with a loud crash. Margaret, who is downstairs, says nothing. Satisfied, Carrie gets into bed and dreams of stones raining down on those who have hurt her. In an autobiography written by Sue in 1986, Sue emphasizes that, despite all the sharp scrutiny of her after the incidents of Prom Night, she, Carrie, Tommy, and everyone else involved were just children.

At his house, Tommy reacts with shock after Sue asks him to ask Carrie to the Spring Ball. He doesn’t refuse, but he asks Sue what the point is and whether Carrie would even say yes. Sue tells him that Carrie definitely has a crush on him and that she feels she has something to atone for: not only the locker room incident, but her complacency in all the teasing Carrie’s endured over the years. She tells him that this is a chance for her to say sorry in a way that really matters. Tommy agrees to ask Carrie, although he’s not optimistic she’ll say yes. He then tells Sue that he loves her. In Sue’s autobiography, she tells her readers that Tommy asked Carrie out of his love for Sue—his motivations were as simple as that.

On Thursday, Tommy approaches Carrie in study hall to ask her. He really looks at her for the first time and notices that, despite the insults about her appearance common throughout the school, she’s actually quite pretty. He asks her to the Ball, and for a moment, he feels a strange dizziness as though he has no control over his mind; then, it passes. Carrie responds with shock and skepticism, but Tommy reassures her that he’s serious. They go into the hallway to avoid scrutiny, and Carrie ultimately accepts despite her doubt. Tommy touches her hand. The Shadow Exploded discusses Tommy, rejecting the idea of him as a dumb jock who asked Carrie as a joke. Congress cites Tommy’s exemplary school record and reputation even among the school outcasts that, though he was no saint, he was a genuinely kind and complicated person.

Carrie lies in bed, planning the dress she’s going to make for prom. She practices her telekinesis by lifting her bureau up and down—it doesn’t tire her at all—and begins to recall other moments from her childhood when her abilities manifested in subtle ways. She remembers how, after she saw Estelle, Margaret approached her with a knife to cut out her eyes, which was when the stones began to fall. Afterwards, Margaret never spoke of the incident again, and Carrie gradually forgot it. In the present, Margaret calls Carrie down for dinner. In a brief excerpt from The Shadow Exploded, Congress wonders what Margaret thought of Carrie’s telekinesis.

At dinner, Carrie tells Margaret about Tommy and asks to go to prom with him. Although she reassures Margaret that Tommy is an upstanding young man, Margaret still reacts violently, screaming and throwing her tea in Carrie’s face. She tells Carrie to get in the closet, but Carrie refuses. Margaret slaps Carrie and begins to ramble to herself about receiving “the mark” and being taken in cars and roadhouses. When she comes back to herself, she attempts to slap Carrie again, but Carrie telekinetically stops her hand and tells her that she’s going to the prom no matter what, and that she wants to live her own life. Margaret doesn’t respond, so Carrie goes to start on her dress, thinking about how nobody better mess with her at prom. Upstairs, she can hear Margaret reciting the Prayer of Exorcism.