Compare the violence of Chris and Billy. Chris’s is much more indirect, relying on her network of contacts, both in inciting the mob at the beginning and in pulling off her attack at the prom. Billy’s is more outward—killing the pigs, his violent fantasies of putting Chris in her place, and his rape of Chris. Does this imply gendered forms of violence? Why would this gendered notion of violence be important to the thematic focus of Carrie? (Follow-up: if violence is gendered as male/physical and female/psychological, how do we explain the physical violence of Margaret White?)

Sue Snell’s actions throughout the novel reflect her desire to atone for bullying Carrie. However, Carrie would not have been put in the path of Chris’s prom attack were it not for Sue’s actions. Does this muddy the novel’s understanding of atonement and redemption or reinforce the novel’s conclusions?

Despite the Bible’s numerous lessons regarding compassion and nonviolence, Carrie’s response to both her mother’s and her schoolmates’ violence is further violence. How does Margaret White’s focus on specific aspects of the Bible inform Carrie’s reactions?