The Outsider

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. How much do you trust the people in your closest circles? What does this novel suggest about the limits of trust, faith, and doubt?

2. How do you confront things that you can’t easily explain? Do you try to find a credible interpretation of your experience, or do you accept that some things are beyond your ability to understand?

3. Ralph’s experience with the Outsider challenges his notion of justice by making him reassess when the law can be weaponized to implicate innocent people. Do you agree with this perspective? How would you work around the limitations of a system of justice in order to achieve a fairer society?

4. Ralph resists what the evidence points to because it is beyond the realm of his preconceived notions of reality. What do you think are the factors that limit people from changing their assumptions and preconceptions of the world around them? What are the things that have caused you to personally reassess your assumptions of others and/or the world?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. How might the character of the Outsider function as a commentary on the banality of evil? Use the characterization of the Outsider’s abilities and limitations to support your answer.

2. How does Holly’s status as the only woman with a major role in the investigation play into the novel’s tensions of belief and justice? How might this drive larger commentary on criminal justice as a male-dominated field? What are the challenges Holly faces in her character arc?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. The word “Outsider” in the title could refer to more than just the antagonist of the novel. Who else could be considered an outsider? How could their exclusions from larger groups or communities drive the thesis of this novel?

2. Discuss the allusions to Edgar Allan Poe’s story “William Wilson” in the context of metafictional techniques. How does King use the story to reinforce your awareness of the story’s fictional nature? Why might this be helpful in developing the novel’s themes?

3. Analyze the symbolism of Ralph’s and Holly’s dreams at the end of the novel. Do these dreams escape interpretation? If so, share your theories for why King decided to write their dreams this way as a coda for the story.

4. Discuss Ollie Peterson’s character arc in the context of his motivations. How do his motivations shift through his appearances in the novel? Do you think he gets justice in the end when the truth that Ralph, Samuels, and the others fabricate for the press is shared with the world?