“I would not give one hour of life as a soul for a thousand years of life as a man.” Gives more than a clue on the purpose this great novel called ‘Ben Hur’ is written. It will not be easy for one who see the movie ‘Ben Hur’ to forget the rowing of the ship or the chariot race. The book Ben Hur retained those scenes with all its richness and affects together with many other scenes which hook the readers to the print.
It is a story of a journey taken by the young Judea prince Ben Hur who sailed high ups and downs in the life’s sea. The story of Ben Hur runs parallel to that of Christ where the protagonist becomes a follower of Christ in later part. The novel is more about the sufferings the jews had to live in those days and the hope Christ brought to the world. It is a story of faith and it shows how a patience and faith can win the kingdom of soul.
The novel lives the character Ben Hur. His sufferings, vengeance, fate and faith Lew Wallace draws the picture of a one man army who can defend the cause to any extend. His love, pride and determination are portrayed beautifully. Together with the character creation, Lew Wallace don’t forget to create never forgetting situations. Let it be the accident which turns the life upturn, the sufferings, the revenge, the lepers, the mother and sister meeting Ben Hur when they are lepers…Ben Hur is a great novel for the situations it created.
A pulsing nature is another specialty of Ben Hur. In many occasions we gets the feeling that the author succeeds in implanting life to material things. ‘Every soul abroad, even the ship awake.’ When the soldiers take their breath, the author assumes the ship too hold her breath. So is the case with the Chariot race. An extended soul….Raising of spirit. The transition is narrated beautifully. Also the author tries to differentiate between the material kingdom and spiritual kingdom and succeeds to an extent.
If one takes the writing style, the novel has its own drawbacks but the power of characters, situations & above all the messages over power the importance of writing style for miles. The author quicken the pace of events often and when he slow the pace it is assured that he is preparing ground for a big bang.
Overall, Lew Wallace’s Ben Hur is a heart touching novel which will not let down its readers. Take few gems from the novel as a token for instance.
‘A man’s task is always light if his heart is light’
‘The happiness of love is in action; its test is what one is willing to do for others.’
‘Understand your antagonist before you answer him’
‘In learning to trade, they forgot to fight’
‘We journey through it (Soul) from birth to death without seeing it; nor shall any man see it until he hath first known his own soul.’
‘He is never alone who is where God is – and God is everywhere’
‘The being a Soul implies conditions of divine superiority. In such a being there is no dust, nor any gross thing; it must be finer than air, more impalpable than light, purer than essence – it is life in absolute purity.’
‘A man drowning may be saved; not so a man in love’