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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Sontag describes a famous photograph from the Spanish Civil War in which two things occur simultaneously. What are those two things?

2. Sontag suggests that the camera always "kept company with _________".

3. Sontag argues that a photograph by which of these photographers triggered mass outcry against the Vietnam War?

4. Restrictions on media coverage of the British campaign in the Falklands was notable for which of the following reasons?

5. Fenton received directions from the War Office to do which of the following?

Short Essay Questions

1. Sontag compared the photograph to a maxim or a proverb. Explain this comparison. What does it tell us about the nature or impact of photographs?

2. According to Sontag, how are standards for journalism determined in an era of tele-controlled warfare?

3. Discuss the controversy surrounding the kidnapping of Daniel Pearl in Karachi in 2002. What was the main conflict?

4. 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?

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

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

7. Discuss the significance of the Magnum Photo Agency, founded in Paris in 1947. What was the group initially founded to do? How did they influence the development of photojournalism?

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

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

10. How do captions sway interpretations of images? Discuss one of the examples Sontag provides in Chapter 1.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Sontag began her discussion with an analysis of Virginia Woolf's book, "Three Guineas." Woolf's analysis of war and gender was a significant source throughout Sontag's argument. Read Woolf's "Three Guineas" and discuss your reaction to Woolf's argument. Did you agree with Woolf or Sontag? Or, perhaps, both, in some way? How did your assessment of Woolf's argument differ from Sontag's? Did you agree with Sontag's assertion that Woolf's text is somewhat dated in its discussion of war photography?

Essay Topic 2

Sontag suggested that galleries as venues for war photography and images of atrocity may not produce the proper reverence for the subjects and their suffering. Her main contention was with the environment which cultivates casual interest. Do you agree? Does displaying images of atrocities in public places diminish their effect? Are we, as Sontag suggests, less likely to linger and contemplate? Support your discussion with evidence and relevant analysis.

Essay Topic 3

Sontag discussed image-glut and image-flow extensively in this essay. Do you agree with her assertions that the modern world contains a plethora of disturbing or horrific images? Evaluate her argument regarding the effects of image-glut and propose your own. How does the influx of war photographs affect the viewer? Are viewers more prone to apathy because of the quantity of images? Why or why not?

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