Revenge
This is a prominent and recurring thing throughout the novel and serves as the basis for the majority of Carrie’s actions towards the end of the book. Revenge takes form initially through Chris Hargensen, a popular tormentor of Carrie’s, when Rita, the gym teacher, for humiliating Carrie on starting her period, punishes Chris. Chris tries to exact her revenge by employing her boyfriend, Billy, to play a prank on Carrie during prom. However, this backfires on her, leading to her eventual death at Carrie’s hand. The message being conveyed here is, ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth’ – her actions eventually resulted in her own demise. Revenge can also be seen when Carrie kills masses of her peers by causing an explosion at the prom. Of course, killing of hundreds of the students cannot go without its own consequences, and Carrie ends up dying from her own wounds, thereby reiterating the universal concept of karma.
Religious beliefs
There are many allusions to strict Christian beliefs throughout the novel. This theme in mainly introduced through Carrier’s mother, Margaret, who seals in the notion that Carrie is inherently evil and ‘other’ since the introduction of her powers from a young age. It is clear that Margaret is deeply at odds with her faith, having resented Carrie’s birth due to the fact that it was induced by marital rape by her late husband, but at the same time, having enjoyed the rape. Margaret is at odds with her identity and as such finds the Church a place of solace to go to for guidance. Eventually, Margaret’s strong beliefs that Carrie is evil lead her to attempt to kill Carrie with the goal of saving her from sin– the irony here being that to murder someone is a sin in itself.
