The Issue of Voyeurism in T.C. Boyles Short Story “Peep Hall”

This term paper deals with the issue of voyeurism in Thomas Coraghessan Boyle’s short story “Peep Hall”. In times of Reality TV, internet pornography and discussions about public surveillance it is not surprising to find the theme of voyeurism, in the work of a contemporary writer as Boyle is.
Though Boyle is an American bestseller author who publishes a new novel or several collections of short stories nearly every year, literature about him and his works is hard to find. Also researches on online-voyeurism are rare even though you get 24.7 million hits on the term “voyeur” at google.de and fifteen of the first twenty hits contain explicit sexuality. Starting a research on a new phenomenon, like online-voyeurism, needs new complex structures to gain serious information. I think it will take years to work scientifically on this complex new media, the internet. That’s why my studies are based on several psychological manuals on sexual behavior and of course the short story itself. I tried to find a psychological profile of a typical voyeur, but I couldn’t find a whole work on voyeurism. This sexual deviation seems to be less important from a criminological aspect in psychological analysis.
Based on the different definitions of a voyeur and articles from psychoanalytical manuals on sexual behavior I will try to give an impression on what a voyeur defines, in the first part of my term paper. In the second part I will adopt that impression on the main character Hart Simpson and clarify the question; is he a voyeur or not? In the third part I will try to show what an impression of the term voyeur the different characters Hart and Samantha with their different perspective on that topic have.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Voyeurism - a Definition
• The Theme Voyeurism in “Peep Hall”
• Hart and Samantha's Impressions of a Voyeur
• Conclusion
• Bibliography
  • Singlepublications
  • Articles from Magazines

Objectives and Key Themes

This term paper examines the theme of voyeurism in Thomas Coraghessan Boyle's short story "Peep Hall." It explores how this theme resonates with contemporary discussions of reality TV, internet pornography, and public surveillance.

• Definition and characteristics of voyeurism
• The impact of online voyeurism
• The portrayal of voyeurism in "Peep Hall"
• The characters' perspectives on voyeurism
• The social and psychological implications of voyeuristic behavior

Chapter Summaries

• Introduction: This chapter introduces the topic of voyeurism in the context of contemporary society and the short story "Peep Hall." It discusses the challenges of researching voyeurism in the digital age and outlines the paper's approach.
• Voyeurism - a Definition: This chapter provides a comprehensive definition of voyeurism based on psychological literature. It examines the criteria for diagnosing voyeuristic behavior, explores its common forms, and discusses the typical characteristics of voyeurs, including their motivations, social behavior, and psychological tendencies.
• The Theme Voyeurism in “Peep Hall”: This chapter analyzes the theme of voyeurism in the short story "Peep Hall." It examines how the story's title and various scenes illustrate voyeuristic tendencies, particularly focusing on the main character Hart Simpson's development and the impact of online voyeurism on his life.

Keywords

The main keywords and focus topics of this term paper are: voyeurism, online voyeurism, "Peep Hall," Thomas Coraghessan Boyle, psychological analysis, sexual behavior, contemporary society, internet pornography, public surveillance.

Details

• College: University of Bamberg
• Grade: 2,7
• Author: Jan Erchinger (Author)
• Publication Year: 2007
• Pages: 10
• Catalog Number: V145120
• ISBN (eBook): 9783640541102
• ISBN (Book): 9783640540648
• Language: English
• Tags: Issue Voyeurism Boyles Short Story Hall”