The Downfall by Zola belongs to the most outstanding masterpieces of the world's literature. Zola tells about a terrific land-slide that overwhelmed the French Second Empire in this work. The story's main character is Jean Macquart a French soldier who loses a lot during a war and comes through the perils of the bloodiest battles just to get into another war. It is a critical political work describing the nonsense and cruelty of armed conflicts.