Gender Roles In George Eacker's Play Hamilton

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ALEXANDER HAMILTON FEMININE? MASCULINE? OR BOTH? In the play Hamilton by Lin Manuel Miranda gender roles are not completely seperate. Hamiltons characteristic show that he acts both feminine and masculine. His feminine side is shown by him marrying his wife because she is wealthy. His masculine side is shown by him being desperate for a war to prove that he is manly. Hamiltons masculinity has him very fond of his legacy it eventually leads to the death of him and his son Philip. Even though he is a man Hamilton …show more content…

A legacy is something handed down by predcessor. In this case the Hamilton last name is the legacy. In Act 2 scene 16 Philip is looking for George Eacker to confront him about the things he said about his father. Philip sings “Ladies Im looking for a Mr.George Eacker/ He made a speech last week, our fourth of July speaker./ He disparaged my fathers legacy in front of a crowd./ I cant have that, Im making my father proud.”(Miranda 54) Philip wants to confront Eacker about the way he belittled his father on fourth of July. Eacker belittling Hamilton has a huge impact on the Hamiltons last name which is why Philip thinks his father would be proud of him because he is being a ‘man’ and defending his father. When Philip finds Eacker they aggree to duel. They duel in Jersey where Philip is shot and taken to a hospital and eventaully dies. To me the cause of Philips death was too much pride. He couldnt ignore the negative things George Eacker had to say about his father. He tries to fill his fathers shoes and handle the situation the way he thought his father would have which led him to die at the age of nineteen. This play also has irony. Not only does Hamilton die at the same place his son was shot, he also dies due to a duel. The person who kills Hamilton is Aaron Burr. What caused the duel between them is Hamiltons endorsement of Thomas Jefferson. Before the duel Burr and Hamilton write a series of letters to one another. Burr writes to Hamilton “Now you call me ‘amoral’/ a ‘dangerous disgrace’,if youve got something to say,/ name a time and a place,/ face to face”(Miranda 71) Hamilton replies to Burr writting “I don’t wanna fight/ but I wont apologize for doing whats right,”(Miranda 72)Burrs finale response to Hamilton is “Weehawkn.Dawn.Guns.Drawn” (Miranda 72) Burr was angry and hurt by

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