In the classic movie Ben-hur, Judah Ben-hur and his childhood friend Messala come to face to face in a battle about good/evil, right/wrong, judiasm/christianity. This essay details these themes.

"Ben-Hur" is the story of Judah Ben-Hur and his boyhood friend Messala, who betrayed Judah's trust and loyalty, and their dramatic battle to see who is the better man. The story begins with Messala and Judah reuniting after a long time. After talking, Messala asked Judah to help him obtain power, but since this involved killing his own people Judah declined the offer. This was the turning point that transformed them from childhood friends into …

…Messala was destroying other's chariots and slowly the competition dwindled to himself and Judah. When Messala tried to do the same to Judah's wheels, Judah was able to avoid the spikes and Messala's chariot was the one to plummet. Messala wanted to win so badly that his own hatred was the fixation that killed him. All he craved was victory, no matter what; in Messala's dying breath he said to Judah "the race goes on."