#262 | What Makes Stephen King’s Horror Classic “Carrie” Instantly Relatable for All of Us?
Quick SUMMARY:
Douglas Vigliotti explores the horror genre for the first time by discussing Stephen King’s debut novel, “Carrie”. Vigliotti provides background on King’s prolific career, examines the novel’s themes of adolescent cruelty, isolation, and the struggle for power, and shares personal reflections on its emotional impact. He highlights memorable quotes and encourages listeners to revisit literary classics, especially this one, because it not only birthed a literary sensation but also helped mainstream an entire genre.
Listen to the episode:
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TOPICS COVERED IN the EPISODE:
Introduction to the Episode and Newsletter (00:09) - Host introduces the podcast, this episode’s focus on horror, and mentions the companion newsletter.
Stephen King’s Background and Career (01:21) - Overview of Stephen King’s prolific writing, genre versatility, and cultural impact.
“On Writing”, and Choosing "Carrie" (02:40) - Mentions King’s memoir "On Writing," and explains why "Carrie" was chosen for this episode.
Summary of "Carrie" and its Themes (04:01) - Describes the plot of "Carrie," its protagonist, and central themes of adolescent cruelty and telekinesis.
Personal Reflections on Growing Up and Fitting In (05:30) - Host reflects on the universal struggles of adolescence and the story’s emotional resonance.
Power Dynamics and Relatability of "Carrie" (06:53) - Explores the theme of power for the powerless and the personal connection readers may feel.
Horror Genre and Cultural Impact (07:53) - Comments on the horror genre’s popularity, oversaturation, and "Carrie’s" role in mainstreaming horror.
Favorite Quotes and Their Meanings (08:24) - Shares and analyzes two favorite quotes from "Carrie," discussing their deeper significance.
Closing Remarks and Listener Engagement (09:38) - Wraps up the episode, encourages subscribing, and provides contact information and book promotion.
Final Thank You and Newsletter Reminder (10:50) - Thanks listeners and reminds them about the newsletter and where to find more information.
READ THE TRANSCRIPT:
Welcome back to “Books for Men”, a podcast to inspire more men to read and bring together men who do. So this week, we are turning back to a work of fiction, and it's in a genre that I've never shared before, which is pretty interesting considering the widespread popularity of the genre. And that is horror. It is called “Carrie” by Stephen King. Many of you have probably heard the name Stephen King before, and I will talk a little bit more about that, but his book clocks in at around 200 pages or so, and it came out in 1974. So, before I share any more about the author or the book and some of my larger takeaways, favorite quotes, and why I think you should read this book. First, I did want to just remind you about the companion newsletter that goes with this podcast, and that's just a once a month email that rounds up all of the episodes from that month, complete with full book and author information, all of the top quotes or my favorite quotes, episode summaries, as well as additional book recommendations and some helpful links. So if you're interested in signing up for that, all you have to do is visit the website BooksforMen.org.
01:27 - All right, so now let's pivot back to this week's book. And of course, let's first start with the author. I mean, what can be said about Stephen King that hasn't already been said? He occupies a sort of weird place as a modern-day famous writer, as in someone who, even if you don't read, you probably know his name. But I think this comes with good reason. He's just a force of nature, really. When it comes to quality and quantity, there are very few like him, maybe ever. He's just so prolific. It's pretty scary. Not just that, but almost everything he writes goes to Hollywood, and it actually gets made. Or a large percentage, which is just wild. He's essentially a small but huge business at this point, and I think his total book count is somewhere in the 90s when you can buy novels, collections, and non-fiction work. He's crossed over many genres, of course, the one that today's book sits in horror, which is probably his most famous, but also crime and mystery, sci-fi, fantasy, and suspense.
02:40 - I almost shared his classic writing memoir “On Writing” because it's not just widely heralded, but it's also very entertaining. Tackling his childhood, what led him to writing, his coke addiction, the zillion rejection slips that he got as a struggling young writer, like so many before him and after him. And then the book concludes with this interesting piece on his near-fatal accident while walking in 1999. He was struck by a van. So I guess let this be two for the price of one. And this is a reminder that that is also a great book that you should perhaps pick up and read. But ultimately, I settled on sharing “Carrie” because it was his debut. And of course, he's more known for his fiction. It was the book that allowed him to quit teaching and become a full-time novelist, and I think that it's always inspirational and fun to read debuts, because all greatness starts somewhere, right? So “Carrie” the book. And more importantly, the protagonist of our story is a young teenager who is bullied at home by her mother, who is a religious fanatic who abuses her, and at school by kids, making fun of her relentlessly and constantly.
04:01 - And this story is really a revenge story, as Carrie realizes she has telekinetic powers and goes on what is basically a bloody rampage after a school prank at prom humiliates her. So that's probably more than I should, or that I even wanted to share. And I will refrain from sharing anything more that happens on a plot level. But King himself has described the work as fusing two ideas together, which is adolescent cruelty and telekinesis. Not your most obvious combination of things, but maybe that is something at the heart of what makes this story so great for me. Even more so, I think this story resonated with so many people because growing up is hard, and being a teenager is hard. I don't care who you are, the jock, the nerd. It doesn't matter what your outward appearance looks like; nobody at that age knows what they're doing. Everyone is just following everyone else, desperately trying to fit in. Find a friend group and survive. Basically, that isolation can be suffocating. And for me, this story is a hyper-realized horror version of this very real emotion that we all experienced.
05:30 - And even if it didn't feel that way for some people when they were in high school, during this time, time and space, at least for myself, have made me reflect back on the reasons why I was doing certain things that I was doing was almost always for the reasons that I had just mentioned, trying to survive. Find a friend group, desperately trying to fit in, even if they're masked as something else. It really was that, in a sense. And that's not to demean any of the friendships or experiences, because there were many great ones. It's just an honest reflection as I get older, and it's also one that I think is widely relatable for so many people. And this story hits on that core emotion. So our protagonist finally gets to express that inner rage. In a sense, she goes from being powerless to powerful. Many stories hinge on this idea of power for the powerless, as I like to call it. So think of every story where a little guy beats the big guys so they defeat the system, or the corporation, or, you know, it's like the little powerless person takes on the big system.
06:53 - I feel like Carrie is the same core emotion as that type of story, but it's just more relatable because it's personal and everyone can tap into the carry inside of them. Nothing is more chilling than one of Carrie's poems, and she writes, “Jesus watches from the wall, but his face is cold as stone. And if he loves me, as she tells me. Why do I feel so all alone?” And while I feel so bad for Carrie, I feel bad for the little kid that's inside all of us that feels or felt that way. Perhaps even if we weren't able to express it at the time. I should mention that I am not a huge horror fan, and to be honest, I think, as I alluded at the top of this episode, the genre has become so popular and in my eyes oversaturated both on the page and screen, but at the same time, one of the most pleasurable experiences as a consumer for me is allowing myself to be surprised. And for you, in your case, it's also worth it to turn back to the classics like “Carrie”, because it is definitely one that not only birthed a literary sensation, but also helped mainstream the genre of horror, which is now so prevalent and so important to modern-day culture.
08:24 - Okay, so I think you have a pretty good understanding of what this book is about, but I will wrap this episode up by sharing just two of my favorite quotes or quotes that I like from the book. And the first one is, “Whenever anything happens in America, they have to gold plate it, like baby shoes. That way you can forget it.” And there is something so cynical about this quote, but it hits on this idea that we can't deal with the negative aspects of life, and so we must sugarcoat them. Or as King writes in this quote, gold plate them. So that way, we can then forget about them, because if we digest them in their true, honest form, they might be too much for us to handle. This is a really interesting idea, and I think that it's probably more pervasive and more common than we like to admit. In the last quote that I wanted to share with you puts a microscope on this idea of innocence, and perhaps not judging a book by its cover, because we all have interior lives, and King writes: “This is the girl they keep calling a monster. I want you to keep that firmly in mind. The girl who could be satisfied with a hamburger and a dime root beer after her only school dance, so her momma wouldn't be worried.”
09:52 - And I think this is a good place to end it. So on that I wanted to one. Thank you for listening, but to remind you that if you are a regular listener to please click subscribe on whatever podcast platform you're listening to this on, because that is the best way for new listeners to find the show. And you could share the message of this podcast with more people and, in return, inspire more men to read. If you want to reach out to me, maybe tell me how I'm doing or what you thought about this episode. There are two ways that you could do so: on Instagram @DouglasVigliotti. It's the only social media that I have or via my website DouglasVigliotti.com. I do want to remind you that I have a new book out titled “Aristotle for Novelists: 14 Timeless Principles on the Art of Story”, and if you'd like to learn more information about that, you could visit the website AristotleforNovelists.com. Last but not least, I wanted to thank you so much for listening and remind you that if you want more information on this podcast specifically, which includes signing up for that newsletter I mentioned at the top of this episode, then all you have to do is visit the website BooksforMen.org.
