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Part 2: Pages 215-238
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Carrie, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Puberty, Adolescence, and Coming of Age
Female Sexuality and Shame
Conformity vs. Ostracization
Cycles of Abuse
Sin vs. Atonement
Summary
Analysis
The White Commission interviews Cora Simard, Rhonda’s mother. She describes her experience being on Carlin Street when Carrie electrocuted dozens of people to death. She is home alone when she hears explosions; shortly after, her neighbor Georgette comes over to tell her the school’s on fire, much to Cora’s horror. They leave the house and walk down Carlin Street, where Cora sees the door to Congo Church is ajar. When Carrie comes out, Cora and Georgette recognize her even though they have never seen her before. Then, the street erupts into sparks, killing many people instantly. Cora tries to stop Georgette from running away, but Georgette does anyway and gets electrocuted. Carefully, Cora steps over the live wires to safety. The next morning, she learns of Rhonda’s death. She then asks the Commission what will happen to the world if there are more people like Carrie.
Cora’s testimony shows the preceding scene, in which Carrie electrocutes many Chamberlain residents to death, from a victim’s point of view. This shows the real human cost to Carrie’s rampage outside of Ewen. Cora does not know Carrie at all and has done nothing to hurt her, but both she and her daughter Rhonda are caught in the crossfire of Carrie’s mental breakdown. With this in mind, Cora’s question to the Commission raises the possibility that people like Carrie pose an existential threat, where an emotional meltdown can lead to lethal results for innocent bystanders.
Themes
An excerpt from The Shadow Exploded outlines how Chamberlain is critically damaged by 12:45, with firefighters completely overwhelmed by the destruction. Around the same time, Carrie arrives home. Margaret watches as Carrie enters, her dress in tatters, and calls for “Momma.” Margaret tells Carrie that she should have killed herself after she and Ralph first had sex; she thought her initial miscarriage was God’s judgment, but Carrie is proof that “sin never dies.” She recalls with anguish how Ralph pressured her into sex and admits that she liked how it felt. She holds up her knife and tells Carrie that she nearly killed her at birth, and again when the stones came when Carrie was three, but that she was not able to go through with it—and has suffered the consequences ever since.
Carrie’s final confrontation with Margaret casts a stark light on Margaret’s mindset and religious views. In contrast to most other Christians, who believe in forgiveness for sins, Margaret believes that she was damned the first time she had sex, and that Carrie is her divine punishment. It’s also suggested that the sex was not entirely consensual, which may contribute to her warped views regarding sex. In this way, Margaret’s own trauma and shame has cascaded onto Carrie, contributing to the cycle of violence that has culminated in Chamberlain’s destruction.
Themes
Carrie steps towards Margaret, lamenting how both of them intend to kill each other. Margaret offers for the two of them to pray one last time, so Carrie drops to her knees; when she does so, Margaret lunges with the knife. Carrie partially dodges the attack, but the knife plunges fully into her shoulder. Carrie calmly looks up at Margaret and offers her a “present”: the darkness of death. She telekinetically slows, then stops, Margaret’s heart. Bleeding profusely, Carrie pulls herself to her feet. The fire from outside has spread to the house next door and will soon reach the White residence. Carrie goes outside and begins to make her way to Route 6, feeling that there’s something she must do.
Although Carrie has the telekinetic abilities to finish Margaret without hesitation, her love for her mother ultimately makes her vulnerable when she falls for Margaret’s trick to make her kneel down for prayer. Once Margaret betrays her, however, Carrie no longer has any remorse about killing her. In doing so, Carrie has essentially reached the point of no return, destroying the woman who has driven her to commit such heinous violence. Even so, it is notable that Carrie’s method of killing Margaret is comparatively quick and painless, suggesting that she cares enough about Margaret to keep her from suffering too long.
Themes
Chris and Billy get back to The Cavalier around 11:20. Billy roughly undresses Chris and attempts to force her into sex, so she punches him. After this, Billy forces her onto the bed and taunts her until she stops resisting. The two have sex and fall asleep, not hearing any of the commotion in the town. Just before one, they wake to pounding on the door. Billy is immediately unsettled by how quiet The Cavalier is despite still being open. Billy’s friend Jackie Talbot comes in and informs them that the entire town has gone up in flames, explaining the situation and claiming that Carrie did it. Chris is horrified, but Billy is calm. Jackie panics since their fingerprints are all over the buckets, but Billy promises to take care of it and tells Jackie to go home.
Chris and Billy’s reactions to Chamberlain’s destruction are telling, namely due to the fact that neither of them seems especially concerned about the carnage that they’ve indirectly caused. Chris is extremely upset, but mainly because she is worried about Billy getting in trouble. Billy, for his part, doesn’t seem concerned at all. This suggests that the two of them either don’t understand the scale of what’s happening in Chamberlain, or they simply don’t care.
Themes
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Chris is hysterical, causing Billy to slap her. They discuss the situation with the buckets, but Billy says he’s not worried since he wore gloves, and that if any of the other boys are brought in, he’ll skip town. The two of them get into Billy’s car to head to town, but both immediately realize Carrie is in front of their car, covered in blood and shambling towards them. Billy floors it towards her, with Carrie’s presence growing in his mind as he does so. Suddenly, control of the car is wrenched away from him, and it crashes head-on into The Cavalier. Both Billy and Chris are seriously injured, and moments later, the car bursts into flames, killing them. Carrie, near death, begins to drag herself across the parking lot aimlessly.
Aside from Margaret, Carrie’s killing of Chris and Billy is the most personal murder, with her specifically seeking them out to kill them. Interestingly, however, Carrie never explicitly discovered that Chris and Billy were the ones who dumped the pig’s blood on her—she knew it more because of an implied instinct. This suggests that, at least on a subconscious level, Carrie was able to telepathically discern who targeted her and seek revenge on them.
Themes
Sue parts ways with Sheriff Doyle and sits on some steps for a while, thinking solemnly of Tommy’s death and Carrie’s hand in it. She also thinks of how Carrie murdered her mother—and then jolts up, realizing she has no way of knowing this. Even so, she knows it for a fact, and she also knows that Carrie is badly hurt. Sue makes her way to the White residence, which has been engulfed in flames, and spots a trail of Carrie’s blood. She thinks of following Carrie but is worried Carrie will kill her. For a while, she sits in the grass, crying, as her mind telepathically follows Carrie’s path towards The Cavalier. Eventually, Sue gets up and begins to run towards Carrie. She does not need the trail of blood to do so.
While many people in Chamberlain have been shown to have telepathic connections to Carrie, Sue’s seems to be especially strong. Much like Carrie was able to follow Billy and Chris by instinct, Sue is able to do the same with Carrie, and even shares enough of Carrie’s thoughts to realize that Carrie has killed Margaret. This signifies how, despite rarely actually interacting, Carrie and Sue’s fates are inextricably linked to each other’s.
Themes
In The Shadow Exploded, Congress ponders the implications of the TK gene and the ethical debate of what to do with a child who tests positive for the TK gene; the only way to fully contain them is to kill them. In The White Commission, the investigators interrogate Sue about her meeting with Carrie at The Cavalier. After some tense back-and-forth, Sue explains how she walked three miles to The Cavalier by following Carrie’s trail instinctively. The Commission doubts this latter part, which frustrates Sue and causes her to accuse them of scapegoating her. When the Commission asks her why others didn’t flock to Carrie, Sue speculates that her zone of influence was shrinking due to her weakening. When the investigators tell her this is an uninformed guess, Sue counters that they are all uninformed when it comes to Carrie.
Congress’s discussion about the TK gene highlights the ethical dilemma of handling children with a potentially destructive gene. Carrie’s outburst shows the immense risks of the TK gene, but as Congress points out, the only permanent solution to this risk is deeply inhumane. The dilemma of the TK gene is also seen with the White Commission, who seem to be attempting to scapegoat Sue in an effort to avoid dealing with the main problem on their hands: that a teenage girl, of her own volition, was able to destroy an entire town.
Themes
Sue climbs up to the parking lot of The Cavalier. She makes her way to Carrie and sees that she’s lying in a pool of her own blood, too weak to turn over. Sue helps turn her over, and the two have a wordless telepathic conversation where Carrie accuses Sue of tricking her. Sue denies this but is overwhelmed by Carrie’s intense emotions and painful memories. Carrie probes Sue’s mind, unearthing deep-held emotions, and finds that Sue is honest about not wanting to trick Carrie. Carrie begins to die, so Sue tries to pull away from her mind but is unable; she bears mental witness to Carrie’s anguish as she passes. Sue runs out of the lot for a long time, finally stopping in a large field. She screams wordlessly and feels blood begin to flow down her thighs.
The strong link between Carrie and Sue culminates with the former’s death. As a result of their telekinetic connection, Sue is forced to let Carrie probe her mind and feel Carrie’s mental agony as she dies, but she is also exonerated by Carrie, who realizes that Sue meant no harm by having Tommy invite her to the prom. In this way, Sue gets the atonement she’s desired all novel, but it’s a bitter victory, with her enduring the same trauma that Carrie has endured all her life. This echo of violence is symbolized by her miscarriage—which evokes both Margaret’s miscarriage, as well as Carrie’s first period, which began the path to this tragedy in the first place.
Themes
