Stephen King
With the constant debate on religion and politics, one is unable to openly express themselves on their beliefs without ridicule. Some try to avoid the limelight and steer clear of such controversial topics to keep fans reeling in. However, there are plenty of professional writers who are more than willing to discuss their opinions and beliefs as well as writing entire novels on them with spins. Stephen King is no exception. Growing up a Methodist, he still says [a]he believes in God and he has based some of his best-sellers on similar beliefs, or lack thereof.
King was born on September 21, 1947 in Portland, Maine to Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. When he was a toddler, his parents divorced and him and his older brother went to live with his mother. He spent most of his time travelling between Fort Wayne, Indiana, with his father’s family, and Stratford, Connecticut. They moved back to Maine when King was eleven. He graduated high school in 1966. He began writing during his sophomore year of college, with a weekly column in his school’s newspaper. He graduated from the University of Maine in 1970 with a Bachelor’s degree in English. His first professional short story sale was in 1967. The short story was titled “The Glass Floor” and was sold to Startling Mystery Stories. His first full-length novel, Carrie, was released in 1974.
Carrie is about a quiet, shy, withdrawn girl with telekinesis who is nearing the end of her senior year in high school. She happens to have a hysterical mother who is obsessed with religion. She is a Christian, which is a person who believes in Jesus Christ and worships him and his teachings, who believes that Carrie was a mistake and she should have killed her as soon as she was born, but she was “too weak”. She also had no idea she was pregnant. She just thought she had a cancerous tumor in her “lady parts”. Her mother also abused her and treated her cruelly because it’s what she thinks God would want. One day in the shower at school after gym, Carrie got her first period and she had no idea what was happening because her mother had neglected to tell her. She runs out of the shower screaming that she’s dying and she’s in pain and that she’s bleeding. Her fellow classmates bully her about it and throw sanitation products at her and telling her to “plug it up”. The gym teacher then talks to the principal and has the girl who started yelling at Carrie banned from prom. That girl doesn’t think it’s fair, so she plots revenge against Carrie. However, one of the other girls feels bad about the bathroom incident, so she convinces her popular, athletic boyfriend that everyone likes, to take Carrie to prom. Carrie hesitates at first, thinking that he’s playing a prank on her, but eventually accepts. She makes her own dress, since her mom owns her own store, and is excited about going to prom with someone. Her date is really nice to her, even though she’s terrified that he’s going to suddenly be rude and p...
