Write a response paper based on an assigned reading and writing prompt. Your response paper must be at least 500 words and in MLA format (see attached link MLA formatting and documentation guidelines: https://daytonastate.edu/cwc/files/Codex-MLA8.pdf). The introduction of your response should contain the name of the work being summarized, the author, and the general situation surrounding the text to help contextualize what will follow. The body of your response should make a claim about an aspect of the text that you find interesting and worthy of discussion. Additionally, the body of your response must include support for your claims in the form quotations. Follow closely the work you are responding to and cite an occasional word, phrase, or passage from the original to give your reader a taste of the original. Your response should begin to draw conclusions, possibly explaining how your understanding of the original is important in a broader context.
In her essay, Sontag claims that photographs are more powerful than words (para. 8). However, Sontag’s own narrative of atrocities follow her first claim but contradicts her second claim. Do you think stories, fictional or nonfictional, can attest just as powerfully to atrocity as photographs can? Why or why not? Provide examples of how photographs and/or words of today’s atrocities have an impact on people’s consciences and behavior. Cite evidence from Sontag to support your claims.
Answer preview
Photographs of today’s atrocities have great impacts on human consciences and behavior. Due to the rise of the internet and portable devices like smartphones, people are now able to access atrocity photographs in the comfort of their homes. These photos are normally shared through social media, where people can comment freely. As a result, some people see it as an opportunity to inflict fear on others by interpreting those photographs in their own ways. A good example of photographs’ influence was in the 9/11 attacks in the USA. The photographs shared on the internet inflicted so much fear on people to a point where they were about to lose hope.
