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 the model for public space in modern society is which of the following?

2. Discussing the common person's ability to feel sympathy, Sontag argues which of the following?

3. Which of the following phrases does Sontag use to refer to items which allow us to remember or think on death?

4. Although Sontag is pessimistic about the broad effects of atrocity photographs, she did mention one positive outcome. What was it?

5. The West had a long tradition of viewing war as which of the following?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the scene which Sontag refers to as the first description of bodies in anguish and identify the source of this description.

2. Why did the people of Sarajevo object to having scenes of their war represented alongside scenes of the conflict in Somalia?

3. Why is a museum, in Sontag's opinion, an inappropriate place to display atrocity photographs?

4. Sontag discusses two widespread ideas about the influence of photography. Sontag notes that the second idea might seem to be the converse of the first. What is the second idea? Discuss the second idea using support from the book.

5. Discuss the photograph that Georges Batailles kept on his desk. Why does Sontag discuss this particular photograph?

6. Sontag discusses Sebastiao Salgado's series entitled "Migrations: Humanity in Transition" and points out one very problematic effect of the series. Discuss this effect.

7. Sontag discusses the emergence of apathy and cynicism toward war. According to her discussion, what feeling underlies cynicism about war and atrocity? What is the purpose of this cynicism?

8. Sontag claims that there is a difference between finding beauty in artistic representations of war and finding beauty in photographs of war. What is the difference?

9. In her discussion of the emotional impact of artistic renderings of suffering, Sontag referrs to Kabuki or Bunraku plays. What are these plays? Why does Sontag include this example?

10. How does our contemporary view of suffering differ from earlier, more traditional Western views?

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 asserted that acknowledging the human capacity for unthinkable cruelty is a step toward intellectual and moral maturity. Do you agree? Why or why not? Further, why is intellectual or moral maturity a desirable outcome of war photography? How does this new-found maturity benefit the world? Is this perhaps vital to the production of a functional society? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Media coverage of the Vietnam War produced a mass outcry against war, while the media coverage of 9/11 produced more divergent effects on individuals. What do you think accounts for this difference? Is it perhaps the difference between a far-off conflict and an attack at "home"? Is it perhaps something in the nature of the wars themselves? Is it the difference in media coverage? Or is it something altogether different? Defend your position with evidence and support.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,238 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample