Our reading log for the month of September is
CARRIE by Stephen King
ABBYGALE BASIO
Carrie White was raised by her mother, Margaret White. Throughout Carrie's life she was treated poorly and was regularly locked in the hallway closet to pray for her sins. When Carrie started school she was the constant target of ridicule and practical jokes. Carrie was seventeen when she started her first menstruation cycle in the girls shower room at her high school. All the girls in the shower room laughed at Carrie and threw tampons at her. When Carrie realized she was bleeding, she became frantic. The gym teacher, Mrs. Desjardin, was angry with Carrie for a moment until she realized Carrie had no clue what was going on.
With the arrival of Carrie's first menstruation cycle, she began to notice that she could make things happen, such as lights going out and an ash tray that fell off a secure location. Carrie's mother comes home from work and is angry that Carrie has the curse upon her that all sinful women have and locks Carrie in the closet until Carrie asks for forgiveness for her sins.
Carrie begins to work with her ability to make things happen. Carrie just has to do a mental flex and she can levitate things. At first it is small things like her hair brush. These little things exhaust her at first, but within a few days Carrie can lift her bed with her on it and not get winded. Carrie has already begun to use her new abilities to stop her mother's abuse.
One of the girls at school, Sue Snell that had made fun of Carrie in the shower room feels bad about what happened and convinces her boyfriend Tom Ross, to ask Carrie to the prom. Carrie accepts and goes to prom, but when she gets there she is the unfortunate one that is in the path of a deadly prank. Thinking it had been a trick from the front, Carrie uses her telekinetic powers to lock everyone in the prom and begins killing. Carrie heads home, killing everyone in her path. When Carrie White reaches her home, her mother is waiting with a knife to kill her demon possessed daughter. She manages to stab Carrie, but before Carrie dies she kills her mother. Carrie dies scared and feeling alone in the arms of Sue Snell with Sue knowing that because of Carrie, Tom Ross is dead.
RICA ANN COLINA
1. As
a teenager, how could you relate to Carrie?
In this question, we have
different ways where we can relate to Carrie as a teenager.
Jovie
pointed out three situations: first, she
answered “Menstruation is the very first step
in adolescence for girls. Although I didn't considered her first menstruation
as bleeding, I also had a hard time understanding the situation and my mother
was not present at that time to explain to me what I was experiencing.”
“Second is the bullying. Well I
consider myself being bullied when some of my classmates consider me as a
really fat girl. Was I or am I really that fat? It's because they compare me to
my skinny friends and classmates, and not considering me in my own shape. If
you know what I mean. Every girl has their distinctions. Even those Korean girl
groups that others considered as "having identical faces", normal
people say that but fot the fans, who understands them, of course they would
know that each one of them has their distinctions and differences. It's all
about understanding and not about comparing.”
“Third one is her mother's over
protectiveness specially to boys. My parents have been very over protective
that it sometimes insults me and annoys me. When I ask for permission for a
sleepover or camp, they'd ask so many things before ldtting ypu attend. But as
I grew older, I considered those as concern and care. Although honestly its
really annoying.”
Kate answered, “I
can relate to Carrie’s hardship and struggles the being bullied thing and being
different from others. First the bullied incident, I don’t really want to give
further explanation about this matter but I will just say that I can relate how
she was bullied I was also bullied when I was in 1st grade until 4th
grade because I’m not as pretty as my classmates and not as rich as them. I
kept on telling my parents about this bullying but they never listened to me so
I suffered for 4 years. I was physically hurt by those people and they are the
reason why now I can’t remember anything about my childhood because personally
I forced myself to forget anything that was part of my childhood too bad
because even the happy times were also gone now. While the different part is
because my family keep on moving from one place to another from Manila to
Tacloban and in Tacloban I really don’t know how to speak waray and that’s one
of the reasons why they made fun of me because I don’t understand them and the
people in my school thinks I’m different from them. Then from tacloban to
Gensan where again I don’t know how to speak ilonggo and bisaya and it’s also
their reason why I was the laughing stock in the classroom.”
Abby answered, “As a teenager, I’ve known and witnessed a
lot of bullying especially in campuses. Well, after all, it all depends on the
individual on how he/she will manage the bullying. But for me, I’m gonna blow a
job into their faces instead of crying in the corner.”
Ara answered
“I can relate to Carrie in a way that no matter how much I think that
what other people say doesn't matter, it will still has an impact to me. That i
would still want to be "in" with the girls in school just to feel
normal.”
Nadzla answered “I couldn’t relate to Carrie
because first of all I am living in a society where I have friends and
classmates that are not bully. Secondly, I haven’t experienced bullying and
become a bully because I know how it feels to be bullied. As a teenager, we
have different way of living and way of interpreting ourselves. She has a
supernatural ability and I have none but normal life.”
For me, as a teenager, I could relate to
Carrie especially on lacking of self confidence because of my physical
appearance, specifically, having pimples. It is not easy to face every people
and they looked at you as if you are so dirty. I am trying to go out of my
comfort zone, but this matter made me trapped and it made me discouraged to
continue to be a better person.
2.
Carrie
is telekinetic. If you would be given a chance to have supernatural abilities,
what would it be and why?
For Jovie
and Ara, they wanted to have the ability of controlling time. They pointed out
that time runs fast and time is really precious. Jovie answered that “by stopping
it once in a while, I could enjoy spending it with the people I love and the
things that I love to do.” Ara added that “if you have the power to control it,
you could do a lot with it. I could prolong life, go back to the past or go to
the future. You could really be powerful if you could control time.”
Kate
wanted to have a power like Jean Grey of X-men because she said “Jean Grey of
X-men has telekinesis, telepathy and phoenix force. I wanted to have a great
control over my infinitely powerful abilities. First telepathy, I wanted to
manipulate and control the minds of others and even higher order animals within
a vast, potentially limitless radius. Telekinesis so that I can enable to
levitate myself or other objects, and manipulates them. Lastly Phoenix force so
that I can able to tap into the vast powers from the sum of all life and I am
capable of controlling and wielding the boundless and unlimited powers of the
Phoenix Force. I can create and control flames at will as well as control and
manipulate pure matter, energy, and thoughts completely. And I also can
resurrect myself after death.”
Abby said
“Well, if I would be given a chance, I would like to have the ability to
swim and fly for a lifetime and also have the ability to know all of the
underlying knowledge of things.”
Nadzla
answered that she would like to have an ability of Remote Viewing. She said
“According to an article about Human’s Supernatural Abilities it has the same
essential power as a photographic memory but the brain can track the items or
people as they move throughout a room or specific area. I think I need this
superpower to use my brain because knowing that our brain is the most powerful
tool around everything. And I have a
poor memory usually I really easily forget a lot of things so this supernatural
ability is the most effective and powerful way for me to become a superhuman.
This unique supernatural ability has the capacity to see everything clearly and
just a blink of an eye everything has already store or register in the brain
especially the happenings around us.”
If I would be given a chance to have
supernatural abilities, I would like to have an ability to be invisible
whenever I like it. This ability is always my dream since I was a child. I
would like to use it when I feel depress, when I wanted to go to the places I
really like for free and follow those persons who made me feel upset. I also
wanted to use this ability to witness the truth in every lies.
3.
If you would be an
additional character in the novel, what role would you like to be? (ex. sister,
friend, neighbor, etc.)
In
this question, Jovie and Ara wanted to be the friend of Carrie while Abby and
Nadzla wanted to be Carrie’s twin sister and lastly, Kate and I wanted to be
Carrie’s big sister.
Jovie
said, “I would want to be Carrie's confidante. She's just so pathetic and just
by reading the novel, it makes me want to help her. Although it may be hard to
change her heart because she was used of herself versus the world I really want
to help her. Just don't let me meet her Mom. Or at least I would just be
someone who passes in her life but makes her realize that there's goodness in
life. Make her feel that she's cherished by a friend. And make her realize the
true value of a friend and the feeling of having a genuine friend.”
Ara
answered, “I would like to be Carrie's friend. I would make her highschool life
memorable, I would be just like a sister to her and treat her nicely. I would
protect her from the bullies and I would make her feel that she's not alone,
that she has a friend to turn to, that even though her mother is abusing her
she still has a reason to smile.”
Abby said,
“I would like to be her twin, so that I can also have the same ability as
hers.” Nadzla added “I would like to be Carrie’s invisible twin sister who can
transform into a ghost. In that way, I can be her mirror abining back with her
in a world of possibilities and in her crisis. I could be her partner in crime
and her companion. And being invisible could be interesting because I could see
who bullied and hurt her and I could take revenge for my poor Carrie. And I
will help her in many powerful ways.”
Kate said,
“I would add a loving,
caring and understanding big sister I think It would be because I had a
bullying experience too when I was in elementary and also in high school and
because my mother and father both work abroad so I usually talk to my sister
and she always comfort me. That’s why I would recommend a sister.”
For me, I would like to be the big
sister of Carrie because I could really feel that she needed someone to comfort
her and someone who will always be there when she feels alone. I would let her
feel that she is not different from any humans and that she is unique. Like
what my mother told us that your sister is the one who knows your weaknesses
and strengths and who would be always there when your friends tend to left you.
4.
What do you think is the
reason why Carrie's mother acted strangely when Carrie had her first
menstruation?
We all agreed on Ara’s answer that because
for her mother, sexual intercourse is a sin and that anything related to it, no
matter how minor, is also considered as a sin. She also knew that if Carrie is
already having her period then the next thing that she would do is to have a
boyfriend because she's already at the age where girls do this.
Jovie added, “She
based her beliefs in the Bible but she was somehow being extreme that she even
considered menstruation as a bad thing and against God's ways. And because
Carrie was an unwanted child and she was scared that Carrie might do and
experience the same thing.”
5.
If you have the same
situation as Carrie, how would you be able to cope with your surroundings? (as
in, to get rid of the bullying)
Jovie answered, It's really hard specially when her mother
keeps on bugging her to repent inside that closet and her Mom doesn't have
anything to say other than repentance. Everything starts at home. So if you
were not properly raised, how would you cope up in school? Even in your own
home, you can't have a proper talk with your Mom. So if she can't talk to her
Mom, to whom will she tell her problems about school? It's different talking to
your own Mom about your problems than telling those to your teacher. There's a
different bond between your own Mom than to your second Moms in school (the
teachers). I sometimes talk to God and cry it all out whenever I had problems
in school. It really helps me spiritually and somehow emotionally. But it's
still different to be able to talk to someone personally. It's hard to find a
friend that would willingly stay by your side even if he/she knows that it
would be both of you versus the world. They're one in a million, honestly. So
honestly, it’s a difficult situation and I would really be having a hard time.
A change of environment might do.”
Kate said, “I would just leave the school, honestly I
don’t know but maybe I would leave the school and find a place/school where
nobody knows me. Others may think you’re a coward because you’re running away
from your problem but sometimes it’s better to runaway for your own sake at the
same time for those people too than to stay there and look what happened to her
classmates, she killed them all.”
Abby simply answered, “As soon as
my patience still works, I’m gonna neglect them.”
Ara, just like Kate, answered “I would just
transfer to another school because even if I ignore them they would still come
at me and if I would fight them they would just fight back. So the best thing
for me to do is to just get away from the problem.”
Nadzla pointed out
two important factors, “Firstly, I would show minimal reaction to their
bullying because the more you show reaction, the more you show that you are
affected the more they will do it to you and repeat it again and again and
again. Secondly, Outsmart the bullies will also help. Knowing that bullies
aren’t smart, so I have the advantages. I would just laugh at everything they
say towards me, the worse the insult the harder I would laugh at those poor
headed and I would not even cry in front of them. And I would think that they
were just frustrated joke tellers.”
Just like Jovie and Kate, I would go to the place where nobody knows me. I
would start my new normal life there and use my ability not to scare people but
to let them realize that having a strange ability is not bad at all. And, if
there would be bullies there, I would kill them with my good deeds.
ARA NNEKA DIALAWI
Carrieta White- She is the protagonist in the story. She is
considered as a freak in their school because she doesn't dress like them, act
like them and talk like them. She is always bullied in school by her
schoolmates and classmates especially Chris' group. Because of this she doesn't
have friends and she's always alone. The reason why Carrie is a misfit, is her
mother because she is so religious and she wants Carrie to follow her. However,
Carrie is still a teenage girl and she wants to experience what normal girls
experience despite of her mother's strict rules. Even though she's a shy girl
but she is really friendly and kind. She was just labeled as a freak because
she doesn't fit in the girls in their school. In the latter part of the story
she developed her dormant power, which is telekinesis. When she finally became
so full of the insults and badgering, she used her power to make them stop
forever.
Chris Hargensen- She is the antagonist in the story. She is
the leader of the girls who always make Carrie's life miserable. She is a
cheerleader, a typical mean girl who rule the girls in the school because she's
rich, sexy and a cheer captain.
Sue Snell-she is also popular like Chris but she is not
really mean. She even want to be a friend to Carrie and she made her boyfriend
bring Carrie to the prom because she was so guilty about what they did to her
during her first period. She was the only one who was not present in the prom
where Carrie lost her control and burned the school. Sue was also the only one
who witnessed Carrie's death.
Margaret White - She is Carrie's mother. She is so religious
to the extent that everything that is against what she believes in is a sin,
she also abused Carrie when she makes mistake and she is always reciting lines
from the bible when she's upset. She believes that Carrie is a demon because
she was the fruit of a premarital sex and also because she has a power. She is
the main reason why Carrie became a misfit in their school because she is so
strict to her, she wants her to go home early, to never talk to the girls in
school for she considers them sinful and to preserve herself and rid of all
temptations and sins.
KATE DIOSOMITO
The experience of Carrie White from the book Carrie by
Stephen King is similar to my 12 years old cousin who lives in Tennessee, that
cousin of mine when she was 8 years old she was always bullied that it made her
transfer from one school to another every year because she can’t take the
bullying. She was called different kinds of hideous names. She was physically
hurt and emotionally bullied. When I talked to her I asked her what their
reason was for doing those things she told me it is because her skin color is
different and she came from a different race. My cousin is morena and has a
curly hair and there was a time when she told me that she really wanted to be
white and have a long shiny hair like other girls in her school. One of her
classmate has a maid that is “Filipina”, and my cousin’s classmate told
everyone from her class to stay away from her because she’s a filipina and
Filipinas are house helpers. My cousin was so depressed when she heard that,
and nobody ever talked to her again. At the end, she persuaded her mother to
transfer her to a different school where nobody will discriminate her. She
ended up moving to another school and thank goodness she was treated better
there. My cousin and Carrie are both bullied, emotionally and physically, although
she don’t have the same powers with Carrie but I’m sure she already killed her
classmates in her imagination (good thing really she doesn’t have that powers).
She’s now 12 years old and she’s enjoying her life but I hope it will not
happen again to her or to anyone else.
JOVIE ANN MATANGUIHAN
"You were kids" he said. "Kids don't know
what they're doing. Kids don't even know their reactions really, actually, hurt
people. They have no,uh , empathy." (P. 56 Carrie Epub Edition)
Sue Snell and her boyfriend Tommy was talking about Carrie's
first menstrual encounter incident at the shower room. Sue said she was not
sure if she was sorry but admitted that she had this spark of guilt bothering
her. Tommy tried to console her with these words. Well, I agree with Tommy that
kids really don't know what they're doing. After all, they're still kids. And
for kids, the'yre either looking for someone to make fun of or they're looking
for someone to blame for no paryicular reason. I bet that makes them feel good
and feel free. Kids really don't understand and still can't grasp this empathy.
Although there might be some who already understands.
"But sorry is the Kool Aid of human emotions. It's what
you say when you spill a cup of coffee or throw a gutterball when you're
bowling with the girls in the league. True sorrow is as rare as true
love." (P. 85 Carrie Epub Edition)
Sue Snell confessed this before the book tells us how Tommy
and the other lives were taken from the tragedy happened during the prom. She
said that she was not sorry that Tommy was dead anymore. I liked this line
because it speaks the truth that usually, saying sorry is used frequently
without meaning it. People say sorry just for a reaction about the bad thing or
the wrong thing done or happened. Sometimes people even say it while laughing.
It's like a common reaction. People say sorry for the superficial things but
when it comes to sympathizing to other's sorrows, were out of words and we
can't express or we don't know how to express how truly sorry we are towards a
person.
"Your pimples are the Lord's way of chastising
you." (P. 63 Carrie Epub Edition)
This was the evening, while they were having their dinner.
when Carrie was about to tell her mother that she was asked by a boy to the
prom. Margaret White, Carrie's mother, was an extreme Christian ethic follower.
Although there's nothing wring with that, it seems that she's going in the
wrong way or understands the scriptures falsely. For her, the signs of
adolescence is commiting a sin. First the menstruation, then the prom when a
boy will ask her to be her date. This line caught my attention because I
cknsidet it, somehow, too hyperbolic. I mean, why would God chastise a girl who
just got asked out to a prom? It's just too unreasonable. Although Margaret
also knew that there's been a common thing that happens after that.
"They were still all beautiful and there was still
enchantment and wonder, but she had crossed a line and now the fairy tale was
green with corruption and evil." (P. 114 Carrie Epub Edition)
These were the things that were running inside Carrie's mind
when she was up on stage soaked in blood and everyone started to laugh at her.
I chose this line because Carrie sounded really pathetic. She was just starting
to enjoy life but everyone immediately ruined it. She was trying to change her
belief that there are still things that's wonder and things that could be
beautiful in this world and she could still meet friends but they all ruined
it. Those were just false hopes. She was really pathetic.
MAE ANDREA TABAOSARES
I picked this picture because it shows Carrie's supernatural characteristic that somehow looks creepy.
NADZLA ADAL
Reason:
I have chosen 10 high sounding essential words that were
mostly describe a certain situation and help for the development of the
characters in the story. These words made the story realistic and more
apprehensive to the readers. These words
may help them understand the story in the different world.
Author’s Purpose:
Every author has a certain purpose of using words
either simple or high sounding words. Stephen King’s purpose is to make the
readers understand the intense feeling of the main character towards other
useful characters and the very emotions of each character in different
situations. These words can make the reader’s visualization develop and can
challenge them to go beyond their knowledge about the happenings in the story. Also, King’s use of words are realistic that can
make the readers realize the thought or the message of the story in a special
way.
Hefty
“Both her dismissal and hefty damage settlement in my
pocket.”
Adjective: “quite heavy”: large and heavy : big and strong:
very large: very forceful : Origin of hefty first used in 1863
Shyster
“Shyster lawyer? Is that the phrase you were looking for?”
Noun: “a person who is professionally unscrupulous
especially in the practice of law or politics” Origin probably from German
Scheisser, literally, defecator: First known used in 1844
Bong
“When the first one hit it made a huge bong rose, like a
church bell.”
Noun: “a low-pitched, resonant sound such as made by a large
bell.” Origin of bong: imitative First use in 1853
Crochety
“Unlike the crochety old farmer with a heart of gold”
Adjective: “often annoyed and angry”: given to crotchets
: subject to whims, crankiness, or ill
temper <a crotchety old man> :
full of or arising from crotchets <a crotchety style> first used
in 1825
Pole-Vault
“She reminds me of a pole-vaulter eyeing the bar and
wondering if it’s set too high”
Noun: “a vault with the aid of a pole; specifically : a field event consisting of a vault for
height over a crossbar” first used in 1877
Stark
“Crepe masking the stark gymnasium ginders.”
Adjective: “severe or bare in appearance or outline:
unpleasantly or sharply clear; impossible to avoid.” Old English stearc
'unyielding, severe', of Germanic origin; related to Dutch sterk and German
stark 'strong'. First used before 12th century.
Docile
“She wasn’t that weak, not that liable to full docilely into
the complacent”
Adjective: “easily taught, led, or controlled” easily led or
managed : tractable <a docile
pony> from Latin docilis, from docēre to teach; akin to Latin decēre to be
fitting — more at decent
First known used in 15th century.
Flabbergast
“She was flabbergasted.”
Adjective: “to overwhelm with shock, surprise, or wonder
: dumbfound” origin unknown
First used in 1772.
Fedora
“A gondolier in a huge straw fedora leaning against the
tiller as gorgeous panoply of pinks and reds and oranges stained both sky and
water.”
Noun: “a low, soft felt hat with a curled brim and the crown
creased lengthwise” from late 19th century (originally US): from Fédora, the
title of a drama (1882) written by the French dramatist Victorien Sardou
(1831–1908).
Scuzzy
“And the Billy Nolan people. God, he’s scuzzy”
Adjective: “dirty, shabby, or foul in condition or
character” origin unknown
First used in 1969.
