War: Beneficial or Not?

 

Before we journey onto the topic of whether war is good for one's character or not, we should learn/define war and character. What is war? War, defined by the dictionary, "is a state of organized violent conflict typified by extreme aggression, societal disruption and adaptation, and high mortality.". Having defined war, we turn to character, What is Character? Character, defined by the dictionary, "is the aggregate of features and traits that form the individual nature of some person or thing.". Now, since war is a dispute between two opposing fronts, and causes countless losses of lives, does it also spoil/ruin one's character?

Hector and Ajax

After reading The Iliad by Homer, I see war as a stepping stone to one's improvement of character. In the story of Iliad, Achaians and Trojans battle for victory. None of them show weakness, or fear, but only determination in winning the dispute. The gods, Apollo and Athena, agree to end the war for the day, a duel between chosen warriors from both nations . Hector approaches the Achaean line and offers himself to anyone who will fight him. Only Menelaus has the courage to step forward, but Agamemnon talks him out of it, knowing full well that Menelaus is no match for Hector. Nestor, too old to fight Hector himself, passionately exhorts his comrades to respond to the challenge. Nine Achaeans finally step forward. A lottery is held, and Great Aias wins. Hector and Aias begin their duel by tossing spears, but neither hit each other. They then used their lances, and Aias draws Hector’s blood. The two are about to clash with swords, when someone calls off the fight on account of nightfall. The two heroes exchange gifts and end their duel with a pact of friendship. 

War does not spoil one's character, but rather the opposite; it reinforces one's character. When Hector and Aias fought each other during the duel, they still respected each other despite being enemies.  Character is very vital to any human individual, because it defines you as a person. People nowadays judge others by their characters, so one's character also sets his/her impression on others. Having said that, I conclude that wars are actually beneficial to one's character.