Influential action in the dialogue situations contained in the novel "The Exorcist" by William Peter Blatty

Abstract

The present research aims to identify the manifestations of speech and action verbs, explore their nature, characteristics, and images in the dialogues found in the events of the novel ''The Exorcist'' by William Peter Blatty, which is one of the most famous horror novels in the world.  To ensure coverage of these events, two dialogue texts from each chapter of the novel were analyzed, based on an analytical and descriptive comparison. The key research findings are as follows:  The level of influence by a speech action verb is directly proportional to the sign of strength in the speech act; the influence of action verbs is evident through the recipient’s reactions which came in the form of emotional, psychological, or behavioral expressions; other types of speech act verbs were utilized to achieve this goal. It is hoped that this research will contribute to providing approaches between the signs of strength in an influential speech act, and the elements of success in influencing the recipient.