Ways of Seeing | Short Essay Assignments

Short Essay Questions

The 60 short essay questions listed in this section require a one to two sentence answer. They ask students to demonstrate a deeper understanding of the text. Students must describe what they've read, rather than just recall it.

Short Essay Question - Chapter 1

1. Describe how there is a gap between words and sight, as explained in Chapter 1.

2. Describe how Magritte's painting "The Key of Dreams" is a commentary on the gap between words and image.

3. Explain how an image is a record of a sight.

4. How is a work of art from the past mystifying to the modern viewer?

5. Explain how the commission by Frans Hals could easily be misunderstood by the modern viewer.

6. Describe the metaphor of the...
(read more)