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The Enchantress In Say No To This By Alexander Hamilton

1952 Words8 Pages

2.4 The Enchantress
In two poems Alexander wrote during his youth in the Caribbean, Hamilton expresses two very different positions on women and love. One is idealistic, painting women as almost angelic creatures, the other one employs a very different tone, painting women as dangerous sirens. Hamilton’s early visions of love stuck with him throughout his life, as he seemed to be drawn towards two kinds of women, the agreeable and grounded type that perfectly described his wife Eliza, and the more scandalous kind embodied by his mistress, Maria Reynolds.

Even during his marriage Hamilton had often engaged in flirtatious conversations with women. However, there is no evidence of any infidelity until the day Maria Reynolds walked into his office, telling him a tale of an abusive husband who had now abandoned her, leaving her help- and moneyless. Due to the hardships his mother had had to endure after James Hamilton had left her on St. Croix, Alexander was drawn towards women in need, always being eager to help them. As is explained in the song Say No To This, the young woman came to Hamilton, appealing to his “humanity”, as he described it himself. When he went to visit her at her house later that night to give her a bank bill, he realized that “other than …show more content…

The narrative reappears at the end of The Adams Administration, when Burr, Jefferson and Madison decide to use an unspecified piece of information to hurt Hamilton politically (“Let’s let him know what we know”). In the following number, We Know, the Republicans confront Hamilton with alleged evidence of him mistreating government money. In response, Hamilton confesses to having had an affair and having been subjected to blackmail, and he provides proof in form of the letter James Reynolds had send him in Say No To

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It was tougher for Hamilton until he got to go to college after a hurricane hit his hometown. He ¨took a full collection just to send him to the mainland¨(Lin-Manuel Miranda, 2015) Unlike Burr, Hamilton was not right away accepted to Princeton. He needed another plan. ¨Ambitious and and totally focused on following the route to success

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This even took place in the year 1790 which occurred before the duel between Hamilton and Burr, which occurred in 1804. Ellis continues his methodology of investigating unique personalities to discover the historical truth throughout this chapter. His research reveals that three separate meetings had been held between Jefferson, Madison, and Hamilton previously to address the issue, but Ellis believes Jefferson was keeping these meetings a secret in order to emphasize his own role. Ellis later suggests that Jefferson did more than just strive to be viewed as important. He also states that the ideas of Hamilton and Madison, without a mediator, had grown to far apart to reach compromise.

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Hamilton had believed that

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(47) Good character was essential to becoming important in the political world. With a new government just starting out, being involved in the political scene was a high priority for these men. They could not seem to work out their differences so they had a duel. The duel resulted in the death of Alexander Hamilton. Ellis references a viewpoint in favor of Hamilton and one in favor of Burr.

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Chapter 2: The Dinner June of 1790, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton stood waiting outside Washington’s residence discussing Hamilton’s financial plan for the recovery of public credit, admitting that the government had halted it. Jefferson’s long time associate Madison was the one that was arguing that this financial plan would not be adopted, so in way of hoping to persuade Madison to consider it, Jefferson decided to host a dinner and invite them. Eventually, Hamilton convinced Madison not to dissuade his party members from supporting the financial plan.

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I loved him And me? I’m the damn fool that shot him” (12;42). Letting the audience know the role of each person in Hamilton’s life shows how these characters shaped Hamilton, and how the characters appeared to appreciate the man Hamilton came to be. Even Aaron Burr, the man who killed Hamilton, seemed to regret what he had done. This also gives a positive outlook on the man Hamilton was, convincing the audience to want to be like him.

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Hamilton, however, refused, claiming he had no recollection of insulting Burr. In Hamilton’s eyes, these were only Cooper’s words and Cooper’s interpretation of what Hamilton had said. Burr did not accept this as a good answer, and in the several letters that followed, he demanded that Hamilton withdraw and renounce any of Hamilton’s previous opinions or statements that harmed Burr’s honor and reputation over the previous fifteen years. Part three: The Duel and its

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With Jefferson against the plan, Hamilton realized that it would not be easy to “make some of the strong opponents admit the Idea [assumption].” However, Jefferson, in fear of losing all ability to rid the nation of debt and in “fear of disunion,” opted to construct a compromise. In his account of the compromise, he writes “I was persuaded that men of sound heads and honest views needed nothing more than an explanation and mutual understanding to enable them to unite in some measures…” This “mutual understanding” was Hamilton and Jefferson’s joint desire to preserve liberty, though through opposing visions of America. A week after the Congressional deadlocks, Hamilton met Jefferson outside of the President’s house where they drafted a compromise together.

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“Hamilton” is a popular musical created by Lin-Manuel Marinda, based on the political career of Alexander Hamilton, one of the founding fathers of the United States, but is not completely and truly told leaving misconceptions about some things to be left floating around. Regardless of its praise and success, some viewers of the musical could experience misconceptions and confusion about the events that led to the famous duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton. Although the musical accurately presents many historical facts and personal characteristics of the characters, the portrayal of events and characters’ personalities could lead to a misrepresentation of the events that affected the outcome of the duel. The portrayal of Burr could also cause confusion and misconceptions about his true intentions,

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After a series of “paper wars” between the political opponents, Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel, which Hamilton accepted. According to Freeman, Hamilton accepted Burr’s challenge for a number of reasons. “In his mind, the duel; was a praiseworthy attempt to serve the common good... yet it was also an intensely personal attempt to preserve his public career. To prove to the world, and to himself, that he was a man of his word, a man of courage and principle, a leader.”

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This is conveyed by Washington’s correspondence with Hamilton. Hamilton began his decline when Washington died. Freed of the tempered restraining influence of Washington, Hamilton’s judgment faltered. At this point, the book became almost unbearably sad. Hamilton engaged in a number of political feuds with Adams, Jefferson, Madison, and others that clouded his perspective.

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With such beauty and grace the lady confesses her love and desire for him instantly becoming love struck "that burned and set fire to his heart" (line 119). "If it pleased you, if you such joy might be mine that you would love me, there is nothing you might command, within my power, that I would not do, whether foolish or wise. I shall obey your command; for you, I shall abandon everyone. I want never to leave you. That is what I most desire" (lines 121-130).

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While a literary device, tragic heroes also appear in real life. A perfect example of a real life tragic hero is Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury. This modern tragic hero started life as an orphan in poverty, living in the Caribbean, but his elevated character of exceptional literary skills, wit and progressive political ideas eventually landed him a spot as one of the most influential people in the United States. Alexander Hamilton had a positive hamartia, as he refused to remain quiet about the injustices of his country, oblivious to the danger it created for him and his family. The downfall of Hamilton occurred gradually.

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