Blood Motif
Throughout the book there are references to, and incidents involving, blood. When Carrie starts her period at school, it is this that really ramps up the bullying of her every prank played on her going forward involves actual blood in one way or another. The worst example of this is the pigs' blood that Chris uses to humiliate her at the Prom. Carrie's death is also fairly bloody in that her mother stabs her in the shoulder, causing her eventually to bleed to death over a few hours. Everything comes back to blood in the novel.
Bullying Motif
The motif of Carrie's life is bullying and so this is also a motif in the book. Carrie is bulled everywhere she goes, both home and school. At school she is bullied for her appearance, her general difference to others and of course the very public beginning of her menstruation. At home she is bullied for not being perfect in her mother's eyes, for her "sins" and for anything pertaining to her bodily functions. There is nobody in Carrie's corner at all in her life, and every event that occurs does so because of the way she feels the need to take revenge upon the people who have bullied her.
Pigs' Blood Symbol
The pigs' blood used to humiliate Carrie at the Prom is intended to be a reference to, and a symbol of, the public beginning of her menstruation, which her bullies know mortified her and consequently are never going to let her forget.
Supernatural Motif
One of the key motifs in the novella is the supernatural. Obviously this is most predominantly presented in Carrie's telekinetic abilities, but the supernatural as a whole is also never far from the surface of the narrative. Many of the characters make reference to other well known supernatural happenings and the novella closes with a young woman who is excited that her baby seems to already have the gift of telekinesis that she believes was passed down through her grandmother.
Prom Queen Symbol
Usually, being elected to Prom Queen is a symbol of the popularity of the young woman on the dais; in this novella, being elected Prom Queen is not a symbol of Carrie's popularity but a symbol of Chris'. Chris, banned from Prom for not attending her detention, has enough influence within her peer group that students vote for Carrie because she tells them to. In this way, Carrie's victory is not a symbol of her popularity, but of Chris'.
