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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Sontag calls for the reader's sympathy for the wounded Taliban soldier whose pain graced the cover of "The New York Times" by suggesting which of the following?
(a) The man deserved greater respect for serving his government in war.
(b) The man's loved ones would discover the images one day.
(c) The man was a human being.
(d) The man's suffering should be a private affair.

2. Sontag suggests that a catastrophic event that is experienced in real life. . .
(a) "does not often seem to be happening."
(b) "induces more stress when it is televised."
(c) "will often seem eerily like its representation."
(d) "causes greater pain than one that is experienced on television."

3. Noting the long history of the "iconography of suffering," Sontag lists three types of art which depict incredible agony. Which of the following is NOT one of them?
(a) The Pieta.
(b) Images and scultpures of the Passion of Christ.
(c) The statue of Laocoon and his sons.
(d) Images of the martyrdom of the Christian saints.

4. Which of the following pairs of images appeared side-by-side in a 1937 issue of "Life"?
(a) A mother holding her child while looking at the sky and Vitalis men's hair cream.
(b) A dying Republican soldier and Vitalis men's hair cream.
(c) A dying Republican soldier and a mother holding her child while looking at the sky.
(d) The bombing of Guernica and Vitalis men's hair cream.

5. Although the camera captures the scene in front of it, Sontag suggests that the ______ may manipulate the image.
(a) Editor.
(b) Photographer.
(c) Press.
(d) Media.

6. Fenton received directions from the War Office to do which of the following?
(a) Avoid photographing the ill, wounded, dying and dead.
(b) Glorify war through patriotic images.
(c) Generate propaganda for Britain.
(d) Graphically depict the horrors of war.

7. Sontag lists many effects of photographs depicting war victims. Which of the following was not one of the effects she lists?
(a) "They simplify."
(b) "They inspire."
(c) "They create the illusion of consensus."
(d) "They reiterate."

8. Sontag claims that images of suffering in Africa send a double message. Which of the following best represents that message?
(a) Places like Africa always face horrors like this; therefore, intervention is a waste of resources.
(b) Suffering like this only happens in backward places like Africa; thus, America and other developed nations are clearly superior.
(c) The suffering depicted in the photographs was inhumane and should be prevented; however, it is to be expected of a place like Africa.
(d) Violence is abhorrent in any case; therefore, we must interfene to stop such atrocities.

9. Sontag argues that Goya's "The Disasters of War" was a turning point in the depiction of suffering. What does she cite as her reason?
(a) The starkness of Goya's craft.
(b) The subtlety of the portrayal of war.
(c) The detailed descriptions accompanying the work.
(d) The captions, challenging the viewer to look.

10. Which painting does Sontag "find it difficult" to look at?
(a) Picasso's "Guernica."
(b) Da Vinci's "The Last Supper."
(c) Callot's "The Miseries and Misfortunes of War."
(d) Titian's painting of the flaying of Marsyas.

11. The protagonist of J'Accuse, the 1938 anti-war film, cries out which of the following in German and in English?
(a) "Your sacrifices were in vain!"
(b) "The face of war!"
(c) "The horror!"
(d) "War is ugly!"

12. Paraphrasing Woolf, Sontag states that the privileged class fails to respond to images of war with the appropriate pain. She describes this as a:
(a) Failure of empathy and imagination.
(b) Failure of wealth.
(c) Failure of ignorance.
(d) Failure to behave humanely.

13. Sontag references an agreement in which the United States, France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy and Japan came together to renounce war. What is the name of this agreement?
(a) The Treaty of Versailles.
(b) Kellogg-Briad Pact of 1928.
(c) The Non-Aggression Pact of 1937.
(d) The Treaty of Brandenburg.

14. Fenton's "The Valley of the Shadow of Death" is unique for which of the following reasons?
(a) It ignores the directions from the War Office.
(b) It requires hours of production and setup.
(c) It provides a uniquely poignant depiction of the horror of war.
(d) It is the only photograph in his collection that did not need to be staged.

15. According to Sontag, photographs of atrocities are best received if they are:
(a) Well-lit and high-contrast.
(b) Images of familiar places or people.
(c) So artistically simple as to seem uncomposed.
(d) Close-ups of compelling scenes.

Short Answer Questions

1. In its early days, photography was thought to:

2. The media may inform the public of war crimes and atrocities, but often fails to capture the:

3. Sontag observes that "Here Is New York" had no need for captions, but suggests that:

4. To whom did the "Here Is New York" exhibit donate the proceeds?

5. Sontag describes the way people experienced televised images of war in their own homes as which of the following?

(see the answer keys)

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