I Am Not Throwing Away My Shot Analysis

The musical Hamilton, by Lin-Manuel Miranda tells of Alexander Hamilton’s impressive journey from an all but irrelevant street child, to one of the most important men in American politics. It is based off of a true story of growth, heroism, and determination. In writing this musical, Miranda takes a dry, historic story, and turns it into a captivating performance. His project to take the story of Alexander Hamilton and make it relatable to the average American is extraordinarily successful, mostly because the methods by which he does this are unprecedented. His unique methods and practices have resulted in Hamilton being so popular that it was awarded a record breaking sixteen Tony nominations (Paulson). The musical tells how Hamilton doesn’t

give up, he works hard, and in the end he is incredibly successful. So much so that over 200 years later his name is still known by almost every American. As it is told by Miranda’s musical, the story of Alexander Hamilton is extraordinarily similar to that of countless other immigrants who moved to America with hopes of starting a new future. In fact, when researching my own genealogy I was able to draw numerous parallels between my own ancestors and Alexander Hamilton as he is described by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
When he first comes to America, Alexander Hamilton has nothing. In the play’s opening song, Hamilton is described as “a bastard, orphan, son of a whore” who manages to “grow up to be a hero and a scholar” (Miranda). Just like Hamilton, none of my ancestors came to America rich, yet they all came with a strong work ethic. Both sides of my family started successful businesses, and both sides made a name for themselves. My mother’s grandfather started as the child of Irish immigrants, with almost nothing to his name. However just like Hamilton, through hard work and determination he was able to change that. He went from a blue collar worker, to a smalltime gasoline salesman, to one of the most influential businessmen in Rhode Island. He passed down the business to his son, and today the Newport Harbor Corporation remains a hugely successful enterprise (Onofrio). Making something from nothing was, and remains, an aspiration for millions of immigrants. Hamilton did it, my family did it, and countless others will continue to do it. According to the 1910 census, at the time my great grandfather Frank Onofrio worked as a New Haven City street cleaner, shortly after his family emigrated there from Italy. Ten years later in the 1920 census, he owned his own trucking business and employed several of his sons as drivers (Ancestry.com). The Onofrio family started with nothing, working the lowest of jobs. However Frank Onofrio changed that. He was determined to take advantage of his opportunities, and rise above the thousands of other immigrants who surrounded him.
The concept of building your own future and going from nothing to something is a major aspect which many people found appealing about America, especially the early immigrants. When Miranda tells the story of our nation’s Founders, he is sharing many experiences which my own ancestors would have lived through firsthand. Working hard, out-preforming the competition, and surviving were all central components to daily life. Hamilton did it, my family did it, the young United States of America did it, and countless others who immigrate here will continue to do it.
The song “My Shot”, in Hamilton, tells of Alexander Hamilton’s unique determination and drive to succeed.

This attitude was shared by numerous early immigrants, especially my great-grandparents. The chorus of the song repeats the lines “I am not throwing away my shot! I am not throwing away my shot! Hey Yo, I’m just like my country I’m young, scrappy and hungry. And I’m not throwing away my shot” (Miranda). These lines are repeated several times throughout the play, and represent one of the main methods used by Miranda to depict Hamilton’s actions and attitude. The song shows how determined Hamilton is to take advantage of every opportunity and not “throw away (his) shot”. It also draws a comparison to the early United States when he raps “I’m just like me country I’m young, scrappy and hungry”. At this point in our nations ‘ancestry’, it absolutely fit this description. The United States was a young nation, the first of its kind. As a whole, our nation had a drive to become successful, to set precedent, and quite literally change the world. This drive and spirit was embodied by generation after generation, and is what drove America to become the superpower that it is today. I know that my ancestors were motivated to succeed, and because of that I am here over a century later. The fact that my ancestors worked hard and passed down these traits to their children puts me in a uniquely advantageous position

today.
Hamilton presents the concept of a man with no significant background or experience managing to work his way up to the highest offices in the country. Especially considering the time period, this is a feat that is uniquely American. Through hard work, integrity, and determination, Alexander Hamilton went from an immigrant with nothing to the Secretary of the Treasury. The song Non Stop serves as an example of Hamilton’s impeccable work ethic, in this song Hamilton’s peers ask “How do you write like tomorrow won’t arrive? How do you write like you need it to survive? How do you write ev’ry second you’re alive?” (Miranda). Miranda conveys Hamilton’s intense passion and skill for writing, something which was a key component of his success. This passion can be seen in historical records, such as how he authored 52 out of the 85 Federalist Papers (Constitution Facts). Miranda takes historical facts such as these and conveys them to theatergoers using unique and catchy songs such as Non Stop. This is just one of the many methods used by Miranda to successfully tell Hamilton’s story. The impressive display of skill and motivation by Hamilton is reflective of the spirit that drives millions of people around the world to succeed, including myself.
In many ways Hamilton, as he is depicted my Miranda, relates to my personal aspirations. I hope to use my education from Quinnipiac to seek a position in government. I hope that I can work hard enough and impress my superiors enough to move to a higher position. Just like Hamilton is depicted as doing in the song Non Stop. So far in this first chapter in my life I have not done anything that is nearly comparable to Alexander Hamilton. However I can admire his drive to preform, and aspire to achieve success in the same way that he did. In the song My Shot Hamilton raps, “I’m a diamond in the rough, a shiny piece of coal tryin’ to reach my goal. My power of speech: unimpeachable” (Miranda). Hamilton makes it clear that he succeeds because he sticks out above the competition. This is an aspiration that all those wishing to succeed should share with Hamilton. My ancestors were able to take over much of the Rhode Island restaurant business because they made moves that nobody else was making. Nobody becomes great by being average and sticking in with the crowd. As the legendary musician Frank Zappa said “without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible” (Zappa). To be great, one needs to be like Hamilton and stick out, like a diamond in the rough.
The wide spread popularity of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton is absolutely due to Miranda’s ability to take an old and vastly un-relatable story, and turn it into a work which appeals to both younger and older generations. The use of contemporary pop and hip-hop engages an audience that would otherwise never really pay attention to the story of America’s long-dead founding father. Hip-hop and rap are exceptionally uncommon genres to be seen in theater, and using them makes the play appealing to a much larger audience, including people who may otherwise not attend a musical. The cast is also made up almost entirely of Latinos and African American’s, something that is extremely uncommon in theater. The play has the potential to appeal to almost anybody, it is an opera, it is a rap, it is a ballet, it is a story; but most importantly it managed to communicate the values and mindset upon which the United States was built. The play takes the well-known story of the American Revolution and retells it through the perspective of one of the lesser-known founding fathers. While the real Alexander Hamilton probably would have been incredibly confused by the play, the unique style manages to make the story engaging for people who may have no interest in history or politics. In brings out a sense of patriotism, and even has the potential to makes Everybody hears about the founding fathers, but this play actually makes them sound relatable to modern Americans. Going forward with exploring my own ancestral history and heritage, I believe that it will be important to remember relatability. Simply looking at my ancestors as names on a page is not the same as thinking about them as real people, and trying to think of how they would have acted, the things they did and the experiences which they had. The context and style which with a story is told has a massive effect on how the story is interpreted and enjoyed by its audience. Miranda knew this when he made Hamilton, and his technique can be applied to numerous different stories in order to make them more appealing to their respective audiences.
Alexander Hamilton was not successful because he was lucky, he was successful because of his skill and mindset, something which Lin-Manuel Miranda makes clear in his musical.

Miranda’s unorthodox style and skilled composition are able to successfully explore and describe the life story of Hamilton to a lay audience. In the same way that Hamilton struggled to make a name for himself, the Onofrio and O’Reilly families worked long and hard to become successful. It is one of the greatest aspects of American society that somebody can decide their own future. And rightfully so it is one of the aspects that Miranda focuses on the most. The musical Hamilton does not just tell the story of Alexander Hamilton, it tells the story of the United States as a whole, and of millions of its

citizens.