How do the Prologue and the Epilogue structure the narrative? What effect does the Prologue’s foreshadowing have on the plot? Does the Epilogue provide an effective and satisfying ending?

A key theme in the text is the battle between faith and reason. Are characters better off if they fall on one side of this divide or if they are conflicted? Why?

Discuss the way cinematic references affect the portrayal of the characters.

Is The Exorcist a horror story or a detective story? Which characters best embody the two genres?

How does the text use the desecration of holy figures and the desecration of the human body to portray the battle between good and evil?

Father Karras throws himself from a window, committing suicide and killing the demon in one fell swoop. Does this death represent a resolution for his character?

Discuss the novel’s title. Who is the exorcist—Karras, Merrin, or someone else? Is that person the main character? Why or why not?

Discuss the roles and obligations of both parents and children in the text. How do the relationships between parents and their children come to define characters?

How does the novel tackle ideas of East and West, the old world and the new world, and colonialism?