Zekiah Jupiter
Mrs. Young
AP Language and Composition
15 October, 2017
Hamilton and The American Dream In the award winning Broadway Musical, Hamilton, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, there are an array of rhetorical strategies used in order to convey Miranda’s personal beliefs of the American Dream. He uses strategies such as repetition, metaphors, similes, and allusion, all of which to exemplify and explain Miranda’s interpretation of the American Dream; everyone should, not only be granted opportunity, but not waste their opportunity in life to make a difference as well. Miranda uses repetition throughout the musical to emphasize key aspects of the American Dream. One example being, in the song “My Shot”, the repetition of the phrase “I …show more content…
The first account is in the song “Alexander Hamilton”, in which the character, James Madison, says “[Alexander Hamilton] saw his future drip, dripping down the drain” (Miranda). Of course his future wasn’t literally dripping down the drain, but the use of this metaphor places more importance on Hamilton’s future. This, in turn, is another aspect of the American Dream, that you shouldn’t waste your opportunity in life, that you have to power to change your future, and no one else does. “I’m a diamond in the rough, a shining piece of coal,” is yet another example of a metaphor used to explain the capabilities of yourself (Miranda, “My Shot”). “...a diamond in the rough…” meaning that Hamilton has the potential to be luxurious like a diamond. “...a shining piece of coal,” meaning that, it doesn’t matter that Hamilton came from a hard past, he still can shine and exceed in life. This is the case for most immigrants coming to America today, they are leaving a bad situation in order to better themselves and exceed in life as …show more content…
To demonstrate, in the song “My Shot”, Hamilton states “...we row like Moses, claiming our promise land” (Miranda). In this quote, Hamilton is speaking about how he is willing to claim America after sailing to it, similarly how Moses sailed across the Red Sea so that he could acquire the Ten Commandments. Although Hamilton does not seem to believe that god is guiding his path, he does believe that America is going to become a free and new country and that he is willing to fight for it to become just so. Correspondingly, the American Dream should, virtually, be promised. Therefore, you should fight against those/things that are impeding your desires. Another simile quote that is repeated throughout the entire play is the phrase, “Hey yo I’m just like my country, I’m young, scrappy and hungry, and I’m not throwing away my shot,” in the song “My Shot” (Miranda). In this familiar phrase, Miranda is describing Hamilton as a person who is longing to make an impact on America. The age of both Hamilton and America further exemplify the connection between the two and how they are alike. Even today, America is still young, its generation even younger. Its youth is going to be it’s future, so we should push the American Dream even more so due the the growing
Mrs. Young
AP Language and Composition
15 October, 2017
Hamilton and The American Dream In the award winning Broadway Musical, Hamilton, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, there are an array of rhetorical strategies used in order to convey Miranda’s personal beliefs of the American Dream. He uses strategies such as repetition, metaphors, similes, and allusion, all of which to exemplify and explain Miranda’s interpretation of the American Dream; everyone should, not only be granted opportunity, but not waste their opportunity in life to make a difference as well. Miranda uses repetition throughout the musical to emphasize key aspects of the American Dream. One example being, in the song “My Shot”, the repetition of the phrase “I …show more content…
The first account is in the song “Alexander Hamilton”, in which the character, James Madison, says “[Alexander Hamilton] saw his future drip, dripping down the drain” (Miranda). Of course his future wasn’t literally dripping down the drain, but the use of this metaphor places more importance on Hamilton’s future. This, in turn, is another aspect of the American Dream, that you shouldn’t waste your opportunity in life, that you have to power to change your future, and no one else does. “I’m a diamond in the rough, a shining piece of coal,” is yet another example of a metaphor used to explain the capabilities of yourself (Miranda, “My Shot”). “...a diamond in the rough…” meaning that Hamilton has the potential to be luxurious like a diamond. “...a shining piece of coal,” meaning that, it doesn’t matter that Hamilton came from a hard past, he still can shine and exceed in life. This is the case for most immigrants coming to America today, they are leaving a bad situation in order to better themselves and exceed in life as …show more content…
To demonstrate, in the song “My Shot”, Hamilton states “...we row like Moses, claiming our promise land” (Miranda). In this quote, Hamilton is speaking about how he is willing to claim America after sailing to it, similarly how Moses sailed across the Red Sea so that he could acquire the Ten Commandments. Although Hamilton does not seem to believe that god is guiding his path, he does believe that America is going to become a free and new country and that he is willing to fight for it to become just so. Correspondingly, the American Dream should, virtually, be promised. Therefore, you should fight against those/things that are impeding your desires. Another simile quote that is repeated throughout the entire play is the phrase, “Hey yo I’m just like my country, I’m young, scrappy and hungry, and I’m not throwing away my shot,” in the song “My Shot” (Miranda). In this familiar phrase, Miranda is describing Hamilton as a person who is longing to make an impact on America. The age of both Hamilton and America further exemplify the connection between the two and how they are alike. Even today, America is still young, its generation even younger. Its youth is going to be it’s future, so we should push the American Dream even more so due the the growing