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Carrie, and the effects of bullying on victims

‘Carrie’ is a horror book written by Stephen King, about a teenage girl named Carrie with telekinetic powers who gets bullied at school and ultimately snaps at her senior prom. The book was adapted multiple times into a movie. I’ve seen the one made in 2013, but haven’t gotten around to reading the book yet.

The movie gave a clear picture of the effects of bullying on victims we saw in class, except the telekinetic powers of course. It showed Carrie getting more and more disconnected with her mother for example, or how lonely she was. The telekinetic powers could’ve been a metaphor for psychotic symptoms in my opinion or the general decline in her mental health.

Even though Carrie’s revenge was extreme, I think many victims relate to wanting revenge on their bullies. I’ve found a research paper about this titled “Exploring revenge as a mediator between bullying and victimisation in gifted and talented students”.

-Charlotte Siffert

Link to website for the book: https://stephenking.com/works/novel/carrie.html

Link to research paper: https://cipp.ug.edu.pl/Exploring-revenge-as-a-mediator-between-bullying-and-victimisation-in-gifted-and,76539,0,2.html

Sarıçam, H., & Çetinkaya, Ç. (2017). Exploring revenge as a mediator between bullying and victimisation in gifted and talented students. Current Issues in Personality Psychology, 6(2), 102–111. https://doi.org/10.5114/cipp.2018.72267

Stephen King | Carrie. (z.d.). https://stephenking.com/works/novel/carrie.html



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Comments

  1. Adrià BorràsMay 30, 2025 at 10:32 AM

    Hi! I'm glad someone mentioned Carrie because I'm a big fan of the 1976 movie. As you said the story is uncomfortable and her actions can't be justified, but they are the consequences of a damaged brain caused for all the pain she endured. I'd like to describe that "powers" as rage. I see them as a representation of that sadness, internal violence and repression that someone introvert creates when they feel traped and violated. And at the end that powers become another exterioritzacion of violence and cruelty, the same that her agressors performed. It's like a circle of violence: Carrie becomes a monster because she was abused by monsters. Violence representated as a disease that contaminates inocent people.

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