Stay Alive

   From this song I pulled that the Americans were the underdogs, and were at a disadvantage and had the possibility of losing. I wonder why Washington chose Hamilton as his right hand man if he didn't want him to call any shots? I don't think that Washington realized that they had different approaches until after they got into the thick of it and didn't trust that Hamilton could help them win, so he promoted others instead of Hamilton. I think that Washington liked the drive he saw in Hamilton to succeed, but didn't trust him to put the nations fate in his hands. I wonder if Hamilton's upbringing had anything to do with how he saw it fit to fight?

   I think that Hamilton wanted to prove he was the right choice when Washington picked him, and wanted to prove that he was more than just an illegitimate orphan. I also wonder if Washington influenced Hamilton or if Hamilton influenced Washington? Washington says, "Alex, listen. There's only one way for us to win this Provoke outrage, outright," but before that Hamilton had been saying that Washington was despondent, and he was writing all of his correspondents. I think that the thought of failure on both of their parts influenced them both to step up and take charge. Washington started dishing out orders once he found out that the calvary wasn't coming, and Hamilton backed him up the whole way, until he promoted someone else over him.

   Hamilton follows Washington's orders and does exactly as he says, and expects to be promoted, but instead Charles Lee is promoted. Which turns out to be the wrong decision, because Lee is a big scaredy cat and won't step up and take charge and go for it. When Lee fails, he begins to trash talk Washington, and Hamilton isn't very happy about that but Washington says, "Don't do a thing. History will prove him wrong. We have a war to fight, let's move along." I think that Washington knew that Hamilton only wanted the best for him, but knew that if he went after Lee, that he would blow his shot so he dismissed the bad talk and moved himself, Hamilton and the war right along in order to accomplish the ultimate goal and win.

work cited:

https://youtu.be/YX6-9OnHRCc?list=PLUSRfoOcUe4avCXPg6tPgdZzu--hBXUYx 

Satisfied

    In this song, Hamilton and Eliza get married, and Angelica gives a speech. Though she gives a speech and wishes them happiness and success, she later says, "I remember that night, I might just regret that night for the rest of my days." So why did Angelica continue to sit on the side lines and wish them well if she wasn't happy herself? Throughout the musical, you can tell that Angelica loves her sister Eliza, and only wants the best for her. She even puts her sisters wants and needs above her own happiness, which makes her seem like the ideal person, but in some ways she isn't.

   Throughout the musical, we see Angelica wishing Hamilton and Eliza well, but behind her sisters back we see her flirting with Hamilton, but during the affair she's definitely on her sister’s side, so it's hard to get a real read on Angelica. Is she really happy for her sister, or does she want to wiggle her way into her life so she can be around Hamilton? During this song there is back and forth between Hamilton and Angelica, where they both talk about how neither are ever satisfied, and later we find out that the only reason she didn't take Hamilton for herself, was because she wanted to make her dad proud and marry rich.

    As the song continues though, we learn more about Angelica's thoughts on Hamilton. She knew he was a social climber, but she was still attracted to him. Why didn't she take Hamilton, and leave her sisters to make her father proud, and finally become satisfied? Angelica is the oldest so she sees it as her duty to make her father proud, and lets her sisters be happy. She'll never be satisfied, because she doesn't have the man that she truly wants, but she knows that her sister is happy and that makes her happy. So she will settle in the end and wish them well and watch from the side lines as their life together progresses. 

work cited

https://youtu.be/f0EqxnWxlvY?list=PLUSRfoOcUe4avCXPg6tPgdZzu--hBXUYx

Helpless

   This song is about the love triangle between Hamilton, Eliza and Angelica. Eliza and Angelica are two of the Schuyler sisters and are both at a ball and see Hamilton for the first time. Eliza calls dibs and Angelica goes to Hamilton and introduces him to her sister. I wonder how hard it was for Angelica to let Eliza and Hamilton date? I understand that it's her sister and she loves her, but I think I would have a hard time letting my sibling date and eventually marry the man that I liked too. I personally don't think Angelica fought very hard. I think that if she wanted Hamilton she could've easily taken him, which shows how mature and in control she really is. I think this shows through the rest of the musical as other events progress.
   As the years go on though, Hamilton eventually messes up and has an affair, and Eliza eventually takes him back, and through it all Angelica has stuck by Eliza's side backing her the whole way. The real question here, is how did Eliza not notice all of the sexual tension that was between her sister and her husband? I'm not sure if she's just blindly in love with Hamilton and doesn't see anything beyond perfection when it comes to him, or if she knew it was there but knew her sister wouldn't act up on it. Throughout the musical you see Angelica support her sister and you also see her supporting Hamilton, and even though Angelica has always liked him, she has always been able to put her sister first and push her own happiness to the side so that her sister would be happy.

Right Hand Man

     In this song, Hamilton talks about wanting to be a right hand man. I wonder if wanting to make a name for himself made him seem stuck up? He didn't want to work under anyone, he wanted to be someone’s equal or better than them. He didn't settle for a job, so when George Washington asked him to be his right hand man, Hamilton was more than happy to step up and call some shots. I also think that the feud between Burr and Hamilton was fueled by this in some aspects. Burr wanted to be Washington's right hand man, but Hamilton was selected over him, and made great strides and progress. I think that this was just one of the many things that Lin Manuel Miranda made prominent on the list of things that Burr had when he reached his tipping point and killed Hamilton. 

    I wonder if Hamilton realized that he was getting on people’s bad sides and making the wrong kind of mark on the world? He wouldn't take a job that was offered to him unless it met his standards. I think that by Hamilton wanting to make his mark on the world, he may have come across as ungrateful, but I also think that he redeemed himself by helping win the revolutionary war at Washington's side. I believe that Washington was part of the reason for Hamilton's great success after the revolutionary war. He gave him the encouragement he needed to continue to make strides after the war was won. 

The Story of Tonight

   In the song The Story of Tonight, the male characters are talking about changing the world through the Revolutionary war and making history. The men are talking about fighting for their freedom. When listening to this song I wondered if one of Hamilton's main reasons for wanting to fight for freedom, was because he didn't have any growing up as an orphan? I think that growing up as an orphan, Hamilton didn't get to experience all that he wanted like other kids his age did. He went to college on someone else dime, and was expected to become a very intelligent person, and with those high expectations I feel he didn't get to live the life he wanted to.
   I also wonder if by him saying he wants to make history, if it means making his mark on the world? I feel like since he was born out of wedlock and then orphaned that he wants his name to be remembered for doing something amazing, but the some of the marks he left, weren't the kind he thought he would leave behind. He did help in winning the war and helped with the US Constitution, but he was also known as an adulterer and as a pest to many. All in all, I feel like he accomplished what he intended. Hamilton did help with freedom for the citizens of the United States, and he also made history and left his mark on the world. We all know his name and know more about his accomplishments than his misfortunes.