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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Sontag claims that Jacques Callot's 1633 painting, "The Miseries and Misfortunes of War" was unprecedented for which of the following reasons?
(a) The painting emphasized the savagery of the conquering army.
(b) The painting glorified the horrors of war.
(c) The painting portrayed shocking violence and bloodshed.
(d) The painting was the first anti-war protest work.

2. Sontag discusses a famous series of photographs taken by Tyler Hicks, titled "A Nation Challenged." What does this series depict?
(a) The destruction of the Twin Towers.
(b) A wounded Taliban soldier.
(c) Osama Bin Laden.
(d) Hugo Chavez.

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

4. 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) Violence is abhorrent in any case; therefore, we must interfene to stop such atrocities.
(d) The suffering depicted in the photographs was inhumane and should be prevented; however, it is to be expected of a place like Africa.

5. The conflicts in the Balkans in the 1990s stood out to many onlookers for which of the following reasons?
(a) Most people believe that atrocities like that do not happen in Europe.
(b) Government propaganda incited great public interest.
(c) The media hyped the conflicts by airing footage during each broadcast.
(d) The violence was more extreme than other conflicts of the era.

Short Answer Questions

1. Sontag discusses "Here Is New York," a photography exhibit depicting September 11th. Whom did the organizers ask to contribute photographs?

2. The mass media bombarded viewers with shocking images because:

3. Faced with "information overload," people remember a photograph because it is a quick way of storing information, much like which of the following strategies?

4. Sontag claims that American journalists have always followed one tacit prohibition. What have American journalists always avoided?

5. According to Sontag, _________ also influences the public's perception of war.

Short Essay Questions

1. Sontag asserted that "cameras have always kept company with death." What did she mean by this assertion?

2. According to Sontag, how does a photograph in the news media differ from a written account? How does the audience change?

3. Discuss the significance of "Here is New York," the exhibit of photographs taken on September 11th during the collapse of the World Trade Center.

4. What did Sontag mean when she claimed that the memory of war is mostly local? What does this mean for international news firms?

5. Sontag suggests that the same photograph might elicit "opposing responses." Discussing a specific example, explain how this might be possible.

6. Why do images of pain challenge us to look without flinching? According to Sontag, what purpose does this serve?

7. Explain Sontag's objection to the idea that a news broadcasting program can "give you the world." Why did she argue that compressing world news into broadcasted programming is bad?

8. Explain the connection Sontag made between religious narratives and iconography and the Western understanding of images of suffering. Discuss at least one example from the text.

9. Discuss the reaction of the British public to the image of trenches of unburied bodies taken 10 days after a British defeat during the Boer War. What does this reaction say about the sensibility of the public?

10. Discuss the purpose of Virginia Woolf's "Three Guineas" as explained by Sontag, and explain why Sontag opens her book with this reference.

(see the answer keys)

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