View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Sontag claims that Jacques Callot's 1633 painting, "The Miseries and Misfortunes of War" was unprecedented for which of the following reasons?

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

3. Sontag argues that witnessing war atrocities from afar is a unique experience characteristic of:

4. How many images did the "Here Is New York" exhibit originally receive?

5. 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?

Short Essay Questions

1. Sontag distinguished between "image makers" and "image takers". What is the difference between these two groups of artists? How are they perceived differently?

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

3. 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?

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

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

6. Explain the purpose of photography collections such as Ernst Friedrich's "Krieg dem Kriege!" (War Against War!), and discuss how these works attempt to achieve this end.

7. According to Sontag, how are photographs of victims a form of rhetoric? What is their purpose or message? How do they function to convey this message?

8. Sontag agrees with Woolf's assertion that the educated class has failed to understand war. How is this a failure of empathy or imagination?

9. Sontag stated that the photographer's intentions do not determine the message of the photograph. Discuss the contributing factors which influence the reception of photographs in the media.

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Are images sufficient to provoke anti-war sentiment? Sontag ultimately concluded that photographs alone could not achieve this end. Do you agree or disagree? Are some images striking, shocking, horrifying, or compelling enough to effect change? Do some of Sontag's examples, such as the coverage of the Vietnam War, work for or against her assertion?

Essay Topic 2

In her analysis of Woolf's views of war and the business of making war, Sontag elaborated on her contemporary views on gender and its significance to an individual's understanding of war. Do you agree with her gendered assumptions or arguments? Are you more inclined to support Woolf's statement? Why or why not? Be sure to support your argument with contemporary examples and evidence from the text.

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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,207 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample