Carrie and Christine: gender and adolescence
SJI
-cut-
>And Carrie didn't have an evil power (telekinesis isn't evil in and of
>itself), only ended up *using* the power in bad/evil ways when pushed to the
>breaking point.
Yes, and that's an important distinction The only thing I would
disagree on is that Carrie never used, or allowed her powers to
manifest, as anything other then a device for revenge.
Sal
HOGAN1985
at the beginning of sentences.
i'm about to begin development on a paper discussing the differences in
adolescent struggles as portrayed in both christine and carrie. these books
have abstractly similar plots, in which social rejection drives a character to
find solace or release through an evil power or force. as it stands right now,
the paper will focus on the difference in gender portrayed in the novels. any
thoughts or resources i should consider, anyone? please email me at
g...@duke.edu. thanks for your help.
Greg Bloom
and arnie's character. i finished a very rough draft of it last night, will
revise it tomorrow to add it parts focusing on the issue of power and
sexuality and how it differs/compares between the books. thanks again for
the thoughtful answers.
here's the rough draft, in case anyone should care to read what i have to
say (i'd especially like input on christine; i just reread carrie, but did
not have time to do christine as i just thought of this topic.
Throughout Stephen King's works of horror, many themes implicate adolescent
struggles and teenage isolation as sources of terror and destruction. Two
of his early novels, Carrie and Christine, are actually set in high school
and focus on the conflict between that social setting and the unstable main
characters. In the abstract, these stories are somewhat similar in their
arc. A social reject struggles to be accepted amongst high school peers,
turns to a source of unnatural power for solace, and is overcome by the evil
of that power in the climax of death and destruction. The
protagonist-turned-monsters of the two stories are of opposite sexes, which
differentiates the novels by making the metaphors for adolescent angst and
themes of each story contrast according to their respective gender-formed
narratives. Nevertheless, a comparison of the two books shows that,
despite differences in gender experience, King sees the teenage years of
rebellion, sexual frustration, and homosocial conflict between awkward,
immature, and inexperienced members of the same sex struggling with their
assumed gender identities as being fraught with danger and terror.
The story of Carrie takes the familiar Cinderella fable and gives it a
horror twist. Carietta White is the classic social outcast, the pitiful
scapegoat of the cruel high school arena. Carrie's social dysfunction is
largely the result of her ultra-fundamentalist oppressive mother, who
forbids the girl from partaking in any of the normal activities and manners
of girls. Consequently, Carrie develops into an ignorance of all things
sexual and social. However, Carrie does not live in a virtual vacuum like
her mother. As the natural forces of puberty bring some sexuality out of
Carrie's otherwise dormant body (triggering her telekinetic powers along
with her menstruation), Carrie simultaneously begins to question her mother'
s ruthless domination over her. Torn between her Puritan upbringing and the
slowly dawning knowledge of her own innate femininity, Carrie slowly throws
off her mother's control over her actions. In her first overt defiance,
significantly occurring right after the disastrous menstrual scene, Carrie
refuses to take the blame for her own menstruation; instead she is driven to
point out, however vulgarly, that those very feminine qualities are present
in her mother ("You SUCK!" "You F-CK!" And then thinking to herself, "how
else do you think she got you") (57). The domestic scenes in which Carrie
rebels against her mother at first privately and then openly with her
attendance to the prom could be examples (albeit very extreme) of any
pubescent struggle between daughter and overprotective parent. Margaret
White, deluded as she may be, correctly senses the sexual roots of Carrie's
defiance, linking the prom with yet another image of menstruation when she
reacts to Carrie's news of Tommy's proposal: "Boys. Yes, boys come next.
After the blood the boys come. Like sniffing dogs, grinning and slobbering,
trying to find out where that smell is. That.smell! (95)"
This is a surprisingly accurate summary of the events of the book. Beyond
the initial scene of menstruation and final act of destruction, Carrie is
almost a completely passive character; her only other real actions in the
book are the closely-linked defiance of her mother and private development
of her own innate powers. The events that take place are driven by external
forces, counteracting each other in reaction to Carrie's newly-budded
sexuality. King imbeds menstruation deeply within the story to create a
sexual existence for his otherwise sexless main character. Her powers, we
are led to believe, are linked inextricably with menstruation; not only are
they genetically linked on the female chromosome, but she becomes aware of
them simultaneously with her first period. Throughout the middle of the
book, Carrie hones these powers as a girl would play with herself in the
mirror. Kept under religious parental hold for so long, this is Carrie's
only identification with herself as a female, sexual creature. When she has
finally ventured out into the prom, that ultimate social (and sexual) event
of teenage life, Carrie realizes that this is the most important event of
her life as a woman. Her apocalyptic reaction to the final rejection
(significantly coming in the form of a grotesque massive menstrual flow in
front of the entire community) is with full force of her battered and
enraged sexuality.
The novel Christine is more complex in its narrative composition. While
the elements of Carrie's ugly-duckling story are in operation here, there
are other narrative strands woven together, from romance, to nostalgic male
bonding, to the monster story of Frankenstein. The central character, Arnie
Cunningham, shows traces of Carrie in his awkward development. Raised under
the iron fist of an overprotective mother (perhaps not as zealous in her
control as Margaret White, but controlling nonetheless), Arnie has been
"managed" all of his life (20), leaving him with no sense of independence or
social skills. This social ineptitude along with a terrible case of acne
leaves Arnie with only friend and narrator Dennis. However, Arnie discovers
a way through which he can assert himself when happening across Christine, a
1958 Ford Plymouth. The first strike in his own defense is against his
parents, who immediately object to him owning a car. Like Carrie going to
the prom, owning Christine becomes a declaration of independence, an
assertion of his coming of age. Arnie's work on Christine is simultaneous
with visible changes in his own constitution-the first signs of the
symbiotic relationship that will soon turn ugly. His acne disappears, he
becomes more self-confident, and starts dating high school beauty Leigh.
Like Carrie, Arnie's first steps of independence act initially to bring him
into manhood. Unfortunately, his particular rite-of-passage takes him, in
Christine, down the wrong road.
Whereas Carrie is framed by menstruation as a metaphor for her incipient
sexuality, the overriding metaphor in Christine is the car. Long a symbol
of American teenage independence and sexuality (especially in movies and
music, as made clear in the many Bruce Springsteen references throughout the
book), the car is much more than a mode of transportation in Arnie's and,
indeed, any American boy's mind. This text repeatedly drives home the
connection that even Leigh blurts out unwittingly: "Cars are girls" (203).
References to Christine, as well as other cars, as submissive females to be
maintained and driven by the dominating male make it clear that Arnie is not
simply fixing up an old piece of junk; he is asserting his dominance as a
man through his love of Christine (Madden in Lant and Thompson, 1998:147).
The hints that Christine had been "waiting" for Arnie to buy her suggest
that he is uniquely destined for this car; perhaps Christine simply brings
out these dark impulses restrained in Arnie. A life of being a social
outcast and watching his best friend date cheerleaders makes him the perfect
candidate to pour his heart out and allow himself to be taken over by
Christine. While Arnie believes that he is rebuilding Christine, that very
symbol of exaggerated, testosterone-injected sexuality begins to manipulate
him. While on the outside it would appear as if she is doing him good,
Dennis, Leigh, and his parents instinctively recognize what is really
happening: Arnie is losing his innocence through this newfound male
dominance, but is gaining the abusive, reactionary, and illicit moral
attitude that so closely resembles the decrepit old man who "pimped" the car
to him in the first place. Dennis' efforts to protect Arnie are
ineffective; Christine gains a life of her own by feeding off of Arnie's
sexual energy, and goes on a rampage of death and destruction before she is
finally defeated by Dennis and Leigh. Unfortunately, Arnie is too absorbed
in Christine, as if in the end the overpowering female dominated him, and he
perishes simultaneously with her.
The books are very different in complexity, with Carrie's themes examining
adolescence in more of a social context than Christine's love-triangle
between Arnie, Leigh, and the car (or Arnie, Dennis, and Leigh, or Arnie,
Dennis, and the car, etc.). However, the metaphor of menstruation and that
of cars lead us back to the same deep source of anxiety in any confused
teen. Carrie and Arnie simply want to fit in to their normal respected
roles; however, sexual malfunction within those roles proves fatal, not only
to them, but to their loved ones and community. Perhaps speaking as a
former social outcast, King is showing us the world through the eyes of two
innocent children who grow up too much, too fast. For these losers and
rejects, the true horror lies in adapting their own unformed, untamed
sexuality into a society in which such urges often bring cruel results.
hot toddy
>thanks guys, there were some interesting points brought up
>about christine, and arnie's character. i finished a very rough
>draft of it last night, will revise it tomorrow to add it parts
>focusing on the issue of power and sexuality and how it
>differs/compares between the books. thanks again for
>the thoughtful answers.
You know, I had totally forgotten why this thread started. Thanks for
starting a lively discussion....
><snip>>
>1958 Ford Plymouth.
Actually, to be technical, she's a '58 Plymouth Fury.
Interesting paper, I hope you do well with it. I'd be interested in seeing
the final copy when you get all the whitewalls scrubbed and the chrome
gleaming.
Todd
Lawyers, I suppose, were children once.
-Charles Lamb
Zorina Wrenn
Funny how some of these American words sound:)
Prom. Shortened version of *promotion.*
--
Lady Zorina The Sly Minx
Official Castle Seamstress
Keeper of the Royal Tapestries
CotC #72, CotB #40
Aquarius YOTDog
CH Gustavsson <ba...@hotmail.cmo> wrote in message
news:GmNr4.3402$7f7....@nntpserver.swip.net...
> No, no, Carrie wasn´t looking for evil at all.
> Due to the stress that she went trough on her prawnnight (does it spell
that
> way?) her only normal reaction were to use the only power she could
imagine
> (TK).
>
> CH
>
> --
> "Pray that there´s intelligent life somewhere up in space.
> Because there´s bugger all down here on earth."
> (Galaxy song by Monty Python)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
> ------
> SJI <qua...@REMOVEhotmail.com> skrev i
> diskussionsgruppsmeddelandet:cuuuas8mr8le9b7i8...@4ax.com...
> > GreGGish wrote:
> >
> > >i'm about to begin development on a paper discussing the differences in
> > >adolescent struggles as portrayed in both christine and carrie. these
> books
> > >have abstractly similar plots, in which social rejection drives a
> character to
> > >find solace or release through an evil power or force.
> >
> > -cut-
> >
> > Um, well, no. Carrie certainly was, but Arnie in Christine didn't
> > go looking for the evil, the evil came looking for him, and when
> > it had him it wouldn't let go.
> >
> >
> > Sal
>
>
>
CH Gustavsson
certainly doesn´t help all the time.
CH
--
"Pray that there´s intelligent life somewhere up in space.
Because there´s bugger all down here on earth."
(Galaxy song by Monty Python)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
Zorina Wrenn <zor...@earthlink.net> skrev i
diskussionsgruppsmeddelandet:kVws4.1027$vm5....@newsread2.prod.itd.earthli
nk.net...
SJI
>Funny how some of these American words sound:)
>Prom. Shortened version of *promotion.*
Hiya Zorina.
In this case, I think prom is more likely to be a shortened
version of promenade, one of the definitions of which, when used
as a noun, is "a formal school dance at the end of the academic
year".
Sal
hot toddy
>Zorina wrote:
>>Funny how some of these American words sound:)
>>Prom. Shortened version of *promotion.*
>
>In this case, I think prom is more likely to be a shortened
>version of promenade, one of the definitions of which, when
>used as a noun, is "a formal school dance at the end of the
>academic year".
I vote for "promiscuous," which is what a lot of promgoers spend the rest of
the night being....
=o)
Todd
You have to stay in shape. My grandmother, she started
walking five miles a day when she was 60. She's 97
today and we don't know where the hell she is.
-Ellen DeGeneres
CH Gustavsson
I am sorry that my spelling are smelling, may i have a rest now??? =)
CH
--
"Pray that there愀 intelligent life somewhere up in space.
Because there愀 bugger all down here on earth."
(Galaxy song by Monty Python)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
CH Gustavsson <ba...@hotmail.cmo> skrev i
diskussionsgruppsmeddelandet:GmNr4.3402$7f7....@nntpserver.swip.net...
> No, no, Carrie wasn愒 looking for evil at all.
> Due to the stress that she went trough on her prawnnight (does it spell
that
> way?) her only normal reaction were to use the only power she could
imagine
> (TK).
>
> CH
>
> --
> "Pray that there愀 intelligent life somewhere up in space.
> Because there愀 bugger all down here on earth."
Robin
>>Due to the stress that she went trough on her prawnnight (does it
>>spell that way?) her only normal reaction were to use the only power
>>she could imagine (TK).
It's prom night, not prawnnight.
Robin from Houston
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Mark Edler
Mark
HOGAN1985 wrote in message <20000220215922...@ng-fq1.aol.com>...
>I hope that when you do write this paper, you remember to use uppercase
letters
>at the beginning of sentences.
>
>
>
>i'm about to begin development on a paper discussing the differences in
>adolescent struggles as portrayed in both christine and carrie. these
books
>have abstractly similar plots, in which social rejection drives a character
to
Greg Bloom
papers about carrie and christine...
greg
Mark Edler <kra...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:38b3...@news.iprimus.com.au...
Zorina Wrenn
Hey, didn't think about that! Thanks for the correction.
Guess it's been too long between proms for me :P
--
Lady Zorina
Official Castle Seamstress
Keeper of the Royal Tapestries
CotC #72, CotB #40
Aquarius YOTDog
SJI <qua...@REMOVEhotmail.com> wrote in message
news:7bd5bsc61k5lo5lfk...@4ax.com...
> Zorina wrote:
>
> >Funny how some of these American words sound:)
> >Prom. Shortened version of *promotion.*
>
> Hiya Zorina.
>
> In this case, I think prom is more likely to be a shortened
> version of promenade, one of the definitions of which, when used
> as a noun, is "a formal school dance at the end of the academic
> year".
>
>
> Sal
SJI
>I vote for "promiscuous," which is what a lot of promgoers spend the rest of
>the night being....
That's a definition I can live with. Probably because I'm not a
parent. ;-)
Sal
SJI
>OK!!!!!!!!!!!
>I am sorry that my spelling are smelling, may i have a rest now??? =)
Hi there. Uh, I don't see anything in either post you replied to
where I or anyone else was making fun of your spelling. I know
that english isn't your primary language, and since I don't know
any language other then english I don't consider myself to be in a
position to criticize anyone else about their second language
skills. Nor would I generally criticize a person who was born to
my language for spelling or grammar errors.
What got you going on this?
Sal
jgmc...@my-deja.com
"Greg Bloom" <g...@duke.edu> wrote:
> here's the rough draft, in case anyone should care to read
It's nice to see someone willing to do their *own* homework in here.
You've got lots of good stuff so far. Some random comments follow.
- <shakes Greg by the scruff of the neck> Paragraph breaks, man,
paragraph breaks! (I know it's a rough draft, but form follows function
-- you've got to add some structure to make this readable).
- I'd like to see more on the "gender" part of the equation implied in
your subject title, or at least see you state your thesis in this area
more explicitly. Carrie is largely about the power of female sexuality
(and you capture this well); do you see Christine as a parallel story
about male sexual power? It's certainly more complex than that --
Arnie's struggles with his budding mojo are much more conflicted than
Carrie's uninterrupted I-am-woman rise to awareness and power. Whereas
Carrie's power and attendant corruption are clearly rooted and
held within herself, one could argue that Arnie, rather than wielding
any real power, is seduced by the female car and winds up doing her
bidding, that his apparent declarations of independence are really just
the byproducts of Christine's seduction. In both stories, the females
(including the mothers and girlfriends) have the real power. (Note the
parallels between Arnie and the pig-killing boyfriend in Carrie - driven
to do evil via sexual manipulation).
>Margaret
> White, deluded as she may be, correctly senses the sexual roots of
>Carrie's
> defiance, linking the prom with yet another image of menstruation when
> she reacts to Carrie's news of Tommy's proposal: "Boys. Yes, boys come
> next. After the blood the boys come. Like sniffing dogs, grinning and
> slobbering,
> trying to find out where that smell is. That.smell! (95)"
If you can get away with it, it might be interesting to link this quote
to the ones in Christine where the car's smell is compared to a woman's.
> Like Carrie, Arnie's first steps of independence act initially to
> bring him into manhood. (. . .)
> References to Christine, as well as other cars, as submissive females
> to be maintained and driven by the dominating male make it clear
> that Arnie is not
> simply fixing up an old piece of junk; he is asserting his dominance
> as a man through his love of Christine (. . .)
> While Arnie believes that he is rebuilding Christine, that very
> symbol of exaggerated, testosterone-injected sexuality begins to
> manipulate him. (. . .)
> Unfortunately, Arnie is too absorbed
> in Christine, as if in the end the overpowering female dominated him,
> and he perishes simultaneously with her.
It seems to me that your arguments about dominance and independence are
in a bit of a muddle in this section. And are you claiming that cars
are a metaphor for male adolescent power or that cars are a metaphor for
girls? Hard to argue both at the same time.
> However, the metaphor of menstruation and that of cars
> lead us back to the same deep source of anxiety in any confused
> teen. Carrie and Arnie simply want to fit in to their normal
> respected
(respective?)
> roles; however, sexual malfunction within those roles proves fatal,
I think this is a bit of a stretch. I don't really see "sexual
malfunction" in any case: Carrie has the overarching theme of awakening
sexuality and its attendant power (taken to extremes in the end);
metaphorically speaking, Carrie is the epitome of female sexuality
rather than a malfunction.
> Perhaps speaking as a
> former social outcast,
Do you really want to bring the author himself into this? If you are
going to, better do it in more depth than this, or at least document the
claim (I don't believe King has ever described *himself* as an outcast,
for example). You may want to read George Beahm's biography of King,
which deals with his early life and adolescence in some detail.
>King is showing us the world through the eyes of two
> innocent children who grow up too much, too fast.
This is pretty trite, though a forgivable placeholder for a first
draft. Adolescence can be a scary, disorienting thing, both for those
going through it and bystanders, and both of these stories manage to
capture and amplify that scariness. This is what a good horror writer
does, taking everyday fears and exorcising them by turning them into
something else altogether -- remember that King was barely out of
adolescence himself when he wrote Carrie, and was obviously still more
on the side of the teens than the adults when he wrote Christine.
Well, there goes my lunch hour. As I said earlier, lots of good stuff
so far. Please post the final product here, and let us know what the
professor's response is.
JGM
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Mark Edler
fees were bad enough. Good luck with your assignment though... I wish I
could help but I haven't yet read Carrie!
Mark
Greg Bloom wrote in message <890sv3$2i7$1...@news.duke.edu>...