Images around us differ in what they may mean from one person to another. John Berger explores this concept in depth in the book Ways of Seeing. He clearly emphasizes the different aspects of art throughout history and its impact on human life as we know it. The book's general approach, organization, argument structure, images, the book's value, and personal opinions of it are all important aspects that must be analyzed.
The author's general approach is quite straight forward. He takes the basis of the reader's understanding as minimal, and explains his theories from scratch as if the reader has never experienced art in his or her life. He then broadens the vocabulary of his piece gradually as the chapters' progress. There is a clear emphasis on the many ways of seeing that different people have throughout his writing and how it pertains to the specific topic in discussion. The book's organization has been developed by five different writers. There are seven numbered essays that either contain pictures or pictures and writing. These pictures serve their purpose very well in context to alluring the reader into intrigue, and visualizing various topics. The reader finds himself looking at a particular picture once before reading the text, then reading about the picture's structure and context; after which, a completely different meaning is sometimes derived from the work of art. Some chapters are arranged as strictly pictures. These pictures speak almost as much as words in viewing them. For instance, in chapter two, there are images predominantly of women, which give this chapter a very sexual connotation. In the third chapter, the author goes on to explain that women are primarily seen in are as a sexual entity, while men are said to be overpowering and ruling. Although this piece is said to be straight forward, it is also notable that it has taken an informal approach. The writing is quite to the point and its organization deals with one topic at a time.
