Hamilton

 Katie Roessel

21st Century Literature and Time

11/16/22


The story of “Hamilton” emphasizes the passage of time, asking the questions “Who lives, who dies, who will tell our story?” and “Have I done enough? Will they tell my story?”. During the historical period in which Hamilton took place, everyone involved in the founding of the nation, including Hamilton himself, were unsure of whether or not what they were doing would be fruitful. The British Empire was strong, and no one had successfully stood up to them before. However, they did everything they could, and they wanted the story of the underdog colonies to be remembered. 

An interesting creative choice of this musical was telling the story of all white individuals and casting these characters with actors of color (except King George). This repeated mantra of “Will they tell our story?” takes on another layer of meaning. Although the story of the white people involved in the founding of America is often told, whether it be in a history class or fictionalized, the stories of the people of color involved in the American Revolution are not told and are not remembered. I find this contrast in this musical to be quite striking considering there are Black historical figures important to the American Revolution, such as Crispus Attucks and Salem Poor.

Today, people of color fight valiantly to have their stories heard and told in the way that people of color during colonial times could not. One such example is the Black Lives Matter movement that was spurred on after the death of George Floyd. Rather than being silenced, their voices have become amplified, and people fought to have his story heard. Although we cannot control who will tell our stories in death, we can work together now to amplify the voices of the disenfranchised and make sure their stories are heard.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hamilton

  Will Pikus             Lin Manuel Miranda’s play “Hamilton” took Broadway by storm when it was released. Personally, I remember my parents looking into getting tickets for the show. We all realized it wasn’t worth it since tickets were over eight-hundred dollars per person. The play itself also struck me as kind of strange. I questioned why everyone was getting so excited over the ethnically swapped show. One character within the show was especially strange. King George is right where he was supposed to be the entire time. The tyrannical King is laughing maniacally after each of his songs about how “You’ll Be Back”. While this is likely an accurate depiction of King George, one big question comes to mind. Why is he still white?             As a student brought up last class, why was Hamilton’s story choses by Miranda? It’s one of the oldest whitest stories in th...
Read more

A Tale for the Time Being – "to live"

In the final third of Ozeki’s A Tale for the Time Being, old Jiko gives Nao and her father a seemingly simple – yet to them, a difficult – task: “to live” (362). While her final request to her descendants affects them deeply because of their suicidal ideations, it is also Jiko’s final comment on Zen Bhuddism. In the practice of Zen, one must be rather than think about being in order to truly be alive, so, Jiko’s request of Nao and Haruki #2 tells them to stop worrying, stop planning, stop thinking – just to live. Neither Nao or Haruki #2 actively lived in the moment before Jiko’s death, instead, they planned for the moment they would cease being. After her death, reporters, priests, and those who admired Jiko assumed that the meaning of her final writing, just the singular character for the phrase “to live,” was complex, deep, and mysterious. However, Nao and Haruki #2 are the only ones who understood the true intention of her final word. She simply tells them to be alive. By doing s...
Read more

Finale of A Tale for the Time Being

  Emma Straus    21 st Century Literature and Time    Final 3 rd of A Tale for the Time Being    September 2022        A Tale for the Time Being brings an ending that is hopeful with a touch of realism in only a way the novel itself could accomplish. It is filled with messages that are universal to the readers, as well as the characters, such as Ruth, in the novel. The ending encapsulates both mysteries and lessons to be learned.    At the end of the diary, Ruth finds herself confused and even a bit sad. The idea of “we’ll make magic together...” comes back, and Ruth is left to many questions. Of course, when the novel began, Nao’s and Ruth’s overlapping narratives were an essential part of the story. Throughout the story, Ozeki plants metaphors and plot points for readers to understand the way in which everything in itself is connected. The ending of the novel comes with the entanglement of the metafictions and met...
Read more