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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Sontag lists three impulses which may be satisfied by viewing images of atrocities. Which of the following is NOT one of them?
(a) "To steel oneself against weakness".
(b) "To acknowledge the existence of the incorrigible".
(c) "To force oneself to face taboo".
(d) "To make onself more numb".

2. Sontag claims that compassion requires which of the following in order to remain?
(a) Reason.
(b) Evidence.
(c) Action.
(d) Belief.

3. In transforming an event or person into something that can be owned, photographs:
(a) Commoditize.
(b) Objectify.
(c) Elevate.
(d) Degrade.

4. It was generally thought that public awareness was largely guided by which of the following?
(a) Educational programming.
(b) Government propaganda.
(c) Book industry.
(d) Media coverage.

5. Sontag cites one of her earlier books published in 1977. Which of the following is it?
(a) "On Photography."
(b) "Reborn."
(c) "Against Interpretation."
(d) "Illness as Metaphor and AIDS and Its Metaphors."

6. Although Sontag is pessimistic about the broad effects of atrocity photographs, she did mention one positive outcome. What was it?
(a) Some people may still be persuaded by images of suffering.
(b) The victims of atrocities may soemtimes feel that their suffering is not in vain.
(c) The individual may come to a deeper understanding of the evil people may inflict.
(d) Images continually educate people in how to behave humanely.

7. In order to take pleasure in suffering, Sontag argues that one must necessarily have which of the following?
(a) Distance from the source of suffering.
(b) Deep seated feelings of misanthropy.
(c) A sense of moral or intellectual superiority.
(d) A sadistic streak characteristic of serial killers.

8. Sontag claims that sentimentality is often accompanied by which of the following?
(a) A fervid religious commitment.
(b) A proclivity for brutality.
(c) A maudlin reaction to stories of war.
(d) A tendency toward hypocrisy.

9. Sontag claims in Chapter 6 that, despite historical evidence to the contrary, we have come to see which of the following as the natural state of being?
(a) Peace.
(b) Uncertainty.
(c) War.
(d) Fear.

10. Sontag claims that there is no way to guarantee which of the following?
(a) A nation's reaction to the image.
(b) An audience's conscientious reaction.
(c) Visibility of war photographs in this media-saturated environment.
(d) A deferential environment for war photographs.

11. Events enter the collective memory, not by a natural process of remembering but by:
(a) Repeated exposure.
(b) Subconscious selection.
(c) Active designation of significance.
(d) Government propaganda.

12. When Baudelaire expressed his concerns about the effects of the newspaper in 1860, which of the following was true?
(a) Newspapers did NOT yet print images.
(b) Newspapers had begun printing images alongside the stories.
(c) Newspapers had begun to sensationalize headlines.
(d) Newspapers had recently become more widely available to the public.

13. Sarajevans were angered by a photography exhibit which featured photographs of their suffering alongside images of which other country's people?
(a) Bulgaria.
(b) Bosnia.
(c) Somalia.
(d) Rhodesia.

14. Although images were more prevalent, which of the following was NOT also true?
(a) Humanity became oversensitive to images of suffering.
(b) People's understanding of atrocity increased.
(c) The human capacity to absorb the images of suffering increased.
(d) People's reactions to the images were greater.

15. Sontag suggests that photographs do NOT ask which of the following tasks of the viewers?
(a) To put an end to human cruelty.
(b) To evaluate the morality of the situation depicted in the image.
(c) To work toward peace.
(d) To retain specific knowledge about each human atrocity.

Short Answer Questions

1. Sontag suggests that, for the most part, photographs received more serious attention when placed in which of the following scenarios?

2. Which nation's army was represented in Wall's photograph?

3. At the time Sontag wrote the book, many felt what which of the following made atrocity photographs immoral?

4. According to Sontag, if one feels sympathy for the victims of suffering, it helps ensure that one cannot be ___________.

5. According to Sontag, people are less responsive to images of violence in which of the following contexts?

(see the answer keys)

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