Thoughts on Alexander Hamilton: The Graphic History of an American Founding Father
(Spoiler-free review, because it's impossible to "spoil" historical events.) Since Lin-Manuel Miranda shaped him into a pop culture icon last year, many have come to sympathize with Hamilton, but reading the graphic history of his life has made me realize that I identify with the man, and, considering how his story ends - and his reputation as an arrogant, authoritarian asshole (ah, the alliteration) - I'm not sure whether to view that fact as a positive or a negative. In case you're curious, or would like to weigh in on the validity of my self-comparison with Hamilton, here are the similarities I noticed: 1. Let's get the most superficial comparison out of the way first: we're both bastards. In the literal sense. (I dare you to judge me, either for airing my family business on the internet or for being born out of wedlock.)
2. We're both poor, despite having New York City jobs. 3. According to Jonathan Hennessey, the author of this graphic history, Hamilton was not the most talented of his peers, but he did have "an exceptional talent to make an impression on superiors." Judging from the praise I've received throughout my academic and actual careers, I have that same talent. Although I won't deny that I'm intelligent and hard-working, I don't believe that I possess these qualities in greater abundance than others who have inhabited the roles that I have, yet I nearly always earn the distinction from my superiors of being "one of the best." 4. On a related note, aside from making a strong impression on our superiors, my and Hamilton's most prominent talents appear to be writing and ambition. I bet that if Hamilton were to take the Pottermore Sorting Hat quiz, he'd be assigned to Slytherin, too. Surprised as I was by the result initially, I've since warmed to it. 5. I, like Hamilton, believe that most people are terrible - i.e. "[will] always act in their own interests. Seflishly" - and are therefore incapable of governing themselves. Sorry, guys. Putting my possibly disconcerting spiritual kinship with Hamilton aside for the moment, I really enjoyed Hennessey's account of his life. Contrary to what I expected, the comic book is more history than narrative history, more academic than literary. If you're looking for a dramatization of Hamilton's life à la the musical, look elsewhere. However, I love history, even more as I get older, so not only did the academic tone not bother me, but it also represented a welcome change from the fiction that I usually read. I learned so much that I didn't know about the Revolutionary War, particularly concerning the Caribbean islands' and foreign countries' involvement in it. (Why doesn't that appear on the curriculum, by the way, at least one of the half-dozen times that Americans are taught about the Revolutionary War in school?) Would I read Ron Chernow's famous biography of Hamilton, or another non-fiction book about him? Perhaps not, but I'm glad I read Hennessey's graphic history. Although I confess that I paid little attention to Justin Greenwood's illustrations, I remember them as detailed and striking, with just enough color to pop. The art made the history easier to envision, and what readers can envision, they can comprehend. My only complaint would be the weird, unexplained blue man who kept intruding in the history. I'm all for subtlety, but I need to know what the hell that thing was supposed to be. I know he was a symbol - for humankind, I'm guessing, although I could also argue for interpreting him as a dead Hamilton or the spirit of the United States - but it's unclear for what, and regardless, the use of symbolism just doesn't match the realistic style of the rest of the comic. I don't have much else in the way of a review, but here are some random thoughts I had while reading that I hope you'll find humorous: *Seriously? You can get a personal letter recounting the events following a hurricane published in a local paper? And not only that, but a letter that, I'm sorry, wasn't even that impressively written. I want to live in this time period. And not be a woman. Or die of malaria or yellow fever. Actually, never mind. *I know I'm not the first to pose this question, but why, of all of the founding fathers, did Lin-Manuel Miranda choose Hamilton as the subject of his musical, and why has the public response to the musical so incontrovertibly justified his decision? Is it because Hamilton started as a poor orphan and Americans, in particular, have a fondness for underdog stories? *In the interest of privacy, I won't specify the city, but Hamilton lived and studied in my hometown! More importantly, I never knew that and was never taught that in public school either. (On a related note, when Aaron Burr mentioned that he was an alumnus of "the College of New Jersey," I got excited, until I recalled that Princeton once used that moniker.) *Hennessey writes that Boston Harbor "stank for days" after the Boston Tea Party. Not so notable nowadays, when all harbors stink always. *I love General Charles Lee's gentlemanly insult toward Washington prior to dueling with Colonel John Laurens: "It is true I have shared with my friends and acquaintances my opinion of General Washington's inferior military character. And I attest that I shall perhaps do so again." Um, oh no he didn't? *I'm sad, though not surprised, that Hamilton's and Laurens's belief that "negroes' natural faculties are probably as good as [white people's]" was progressive compared to their peers'. “PROBABLY”??? *Is it bad that, in addition to identifying with Hamilton's pessimistic view of humanity, I relate to the sentiment in Hamilton's letter to Laurens? "I hate the army. I hate the world. I hate myself. The whole is a mass of fools and knaves." Man, do I know that feel. I googled the quote and it concludes with, "I could almost except you and Meade," which is even more appropriate, because we all have that one friend whom we assure that we don't hate when we're venting to them about how much we hate everyone and everything. *Hennessey notes that, in un-seating Hamilton's father-in-law in the New York Senate, Aaron Burr "earned a permanent spot on Hamilton's to-do list." Perhaps I'm immature, but my immediate thought was, “OH, BABY!” and even though, weeks after finishing this comic, I can finally read that line without tittering, I still think it's unnecessarily homoerotic. (But if anyone can recommend any good HamiltonxBurr stories - pre-duel, of course, and I wouldn’t consider them fanfics, as they focus on real people - you'll have a permanent spot on my to-do list. I'll stop.) *Learning more about the Revolutionary War has only further validated my belief that, patriotism be damned, the war amounted to a lot of drama over inconsequential grievances. Representation or not, the taxes weren't that high or that unreasonable - in fact, taxes rose post-war, under the US national government, because the US accrued so much debt during the war - but because some colonists resented being told what to do, they had to declare independence. Really, had the Founding Fathers not been a bunch of stubborn, entitled babies, we might still be under the rule of Parliament and the Queen. An understandably scary thought for most Americans, considering that we’ve been indoctrinated since birth to value independence above all else, but keep in mind that we wouldn’t have Trump as president if we were still under British rule. ...On that depressing note, if you're looking for a thought-provoking read midway between history and fiction that both educates and entertains, I'd highly recommend Hennessey's and Greenwood's Alexander Hamilton: The Graphic History of an American Founding Father. It may not be a substitute for the musical, but books are more affordable than Broadway tickets.
