War throughout History

Demolished cities, torn families and decimated countries are a few of the destructive properties of war. Throughout history, the world has been through war after war, never ceasing. Two of the greatest and most destructive wars were World War I and World War II. These wars involved most of the world’s countries and ended with tragic results. The wars also left many soldiers with various mental and physical problems that ruined their social lives. John F. Kennedy once said that “Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind.” For the most part, he is right; if war does not end, it will end humankind. The main problem with this is that most people barely even know how destructive war can be; people believe war is the only way to solve problems with other countries. The problem with that is that war often uncovers or starts new problems that can affect others more than the past problems. Literature has helped people grasp at the understanding of what happens during wars and the problems that it can create. Some go into deep aspects of significant wars while others go into wars that everyone fights within themselves. Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Beowulf and John Milton’s Paradise Lost are a few pieces of the thousands of works of literatures that capture the tragic, destructive power of war, global and small.

Sometimes, some of the most destructive wars are not fought on a global scale, but one that is fought between two people, one that is driven by revenge. Revenge is one of the many sources people find reason to fight one another and most of the time ends in tragedy. With Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, it is no different. In Frankenstein, a man named Victor Frankenstein becomes obsesse...

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...and defeated Grendel by himself, furthering his desire to become a major hero. After the death of Grendel, Beowulf and his crew left but soon returned when notice arrived saying that Grendel’s mother was now attacking. Beowulf returned to Denmark and there, vanquished Grendel’s mother adding more to his accomplishments. Beowulf fought for Denmark because he wanted to further increase his reputation and spread news of how great he was. During the story of Beowulf, we are informed that Beowulf thinks highly of himself, but takes no advantage of the people around him, “Thus Beowulf bore himself with valour; / he was formidable in battle yet behaved with honour / and took no advantage” (2177-2179). He believed if he helped, he would become a legend for Denmark. With this assumption, Beowulf is a good example of a man who fights by putting his own reasons before others.