Reflection on human suffering and in relation to Night

instructions and required books are attached below. Pleas keep at a medium english level Thanks

Religious Studies Reflection Paper

Choose one of the following and write a 3-4 page response.  Include at least three quotes from eitherThe Heart of Understanding, Bhagavad-Gita or Night. You do not need to include a biography or do further research (although you may if you wish to), rather, the focus is on careful study, analysis, and elaboration of ideas presented within the texts with some support from assigned secondary readings. It is often helpful to focus on one or two ideas, passages, or paragraphs and consider the ramifications thereof. 

1. Eliezer expresses sympathy for Job, the biblical figure who experienced horrendous loss and illness as Satan and God engaged in a debate over Job’s faithfulness. After watching the lynching and slow death of a young boy, Eliezer tells himself that God is hanging from the gallows as well. In his Nobel lecture, Wiesel describes the Holocaust as “a universe where God, betrayed by His creatures, covered His face in order not to see.” How does Wiesel’s understanding of God change throughout the book? How did the prisoners in Night, including rabbis, reconcile their agony with their faith?  What might Thich Nhat Hanh say to the young Eliezer as he faced the horrors of the Holocaust?

1. What do you think about Krishna's argument that the immortality of souls makes killing less problematic? Is it possible to read this text, as Gandhi did, as an argument against violence and if so how? What would Thich Nhat Hanh say about this argument?

1. We identify our actions (good ones and bad ones alike) with ourselves, and insist that we and others "take responsibility" for what we do. Deeds, we say, entail consequences and reveal character. What does the Bhagavad-Gita say about such a viewpoint? How does this compare with the views in Heart of Understanding?
   
   
2. What does the Bhagavad-Gita have to say to Eliezer in Night?  How do both texts look upon suffering and the connection to the divine?  Gandhi read the Bhagavad-Gita over and over again as he struggled for India’s independence, what solace if any would the Bhagavad-Gita offer to Eliezer?  Why?

Paper and Assignment Formatting

(Personal Bugaboos)

1. WORD PROCESSED. All assignments must be word processed.
2. TITLE. Every paper must have one, but a separate page is not necessary for short assignments. Include your name, course # and student #.
3. PAGE NUMBERS. Every paper longer than one page should have page numbers.
4. FONTS & MARGINS. Please use font 12 or something of similar size (my eyes are not what they used to be) and double space.
5. STAPLE. Don't hand in loose sheets of paper.
6. CITATIONS can be either as footnotes/endnotes or in parentheses in text. If you use parentheses, you must include page numbers.
7. FOREIGN WORDS, except for proper names, should be in italics the first time used. By convention and use some “foreign” words are no longer foreign.  Use the textbooks as a guide.(for example, Buddha, Dharma, Sangha)
8. QUOTATIONS longer than about three lines should be indented from both sides and single-spaced, with no quotation marks.
9. GRAMMAR AND PUNCTUATION. Here are some common errors:

a)     Colon (:) use it to introduce a list, a summation, or an idea that somehow completes the introductory idea.

b)     Semicolon (;) is used as a separator between two independent clauses that could stand as sentences but are closely related.

c)      Punctuation goes inside quotation marks; footnotes go outside.

d)     "They," "their" and "them" are plural; you cannot use them to refer to a subject that is singular so either use the plural consistently (e.g. "people" as the subject instead of "a person"), or use "one”

e)     The simple past tense "to lead" is "led" (not "lead," which is an element).

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY. Any paper using sources outside of assigned class readings must include a proper bibliography.
2. BOOK TITLES are always in italics; article or chapter titles are always in "quotes."
3. USING WEBSITES:  Do not use Wikipedia. Although much of the information on Wikipedia is correct, it is not a reliable academic source. Websites must be critically evaluated.
4. STYLE GUIDE: see English Department Essay Style Guide for more details at http://www(dot)lib(dot)sfu(dot)ca/help/writing/mla