The Science of Stephen King

Religion wasn’t the only factor in how Carrie was being raised by Margaret White. Research has shown how a mother’s lack of affection and focus on authoritarian-style parenting could cause her child to internalize their feelings, ultimately causing anxiety and depression in the child. This authoritarian style of parenting is defined by low levels of warmth and high levels of control, discipline, and punishment.16 This absolutely describes the White parent-child dynamic. The ideal style of parenting, according to experts, is an authoritative approach. This includes a high level of warmth; nurturing and communication, with a high level of control; setting clear expectations and following through with fair discipline. Even though Margaret may have been raised in a household and culture that influenced her parenting style, this doesn’t mean that she couldn’t have changed her behaviors for the benefit of her daughter. Culture can explain behavior but doesn’t excuse it. In an ideal world, Margaret would have sought out resources for help in balancing her parenting style to help Carrie succeed and gain more self-control.

Another theme in Carrie is the psychology of bullying and conformity in high school. Studies have found that bullying in high school is more likely to occur in classrooms and situations in which the norm has been established to support the bullying behaviors.17 Teens spend most of the day with their peers and will tend to engage in bullying rather than intervene when an incident occurs. Chris Hargensen, as the main perpetrator of Carrie’s torment, has a lot of influence over the other girls in the novel. They willingly go along with her actions and are rewarded for their conformity. A 2016 study found that adolescents will often try to avoid negative evaluations from others by keeping their opinions and behaviors in conformity with others.18

What sort of long-lasting effects do those who are bullied, or bully, suffer? A study that looked at the psychology of those who were victims and perpetrators of bullying found that:

Kids who had been victims only (who never bullied others) had greater risk for depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, generalized anxiety, panic disorder, and agoraphobia as adults. But worse off were kids who were both bully victims and bullies—they experienced all types of depressive and anxiety disorders, and suffered most severely from suicidal thoughts, depressive disorders, generalized anxiety, and panic disorder, compared with the other groups of participants. In fact, about 25 percent of these participants said they had suicidal thoughts as young adults, and about 38 percent had panic disorder.19

If the characters in the novel had survived, they would ultimately have lived with the effects from their actions.

The novel ends with Carrie dying from the wound inflicted by her mother, the ultimate bully. “Blood was always the root of it, and only blood can expiate it.”20 Carrie was powerless but became powerful. She harnessed the strength of her telekinesis to get revenge on those who had wronged her. Although King isn’t completely pleased with the novel, it seems an appropriate first venture into publishing. Sometimes the least expected person can come out and surprise everyone in the end.

CHAPTER TWO

The Shining

Since Stephen King came into the literary scene in the 1970s, he has inspired numerous fellow authors. A new generation is finding his writing, thus creating their own brand of horror with odes to King and his impressive body of work. So, it begs to reason that King himself has found inspiration in the authors who came before him. Not surprisingly, he has been quite vocal about the importance of reading if one wants to become a writer. “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”1 He further explains how finding inspiration is a good thing. “You may find yourself adopting a style you find particularly exciting, and there’s nothing wrong with that. When I read Ray Bradbury as a kid, I wrote like Ray Bradbury—everything green and wondrous and seen through a lens smeared with the grease of nostalgia.”

In honor of their favorite sci-fi author, the crew of Apollo 15 named a crater on the moon “Dandelion” after Ray Bradbury’s novelDandelion Wine(1957).