Time Beings

Kanye West has released many religious and Gospel inspired songs in recent years, however, “Wash Us in the Blood” provides a direct connection between racial justice and Christianity. The invocation of religious symbols and ideas is intentionally provocative in Kanye’s music, especially in this piece where he makes a hard statement about the nature of being Black in America. Kanye is not the only one to purposefully be provocative. Sonia Sanchez and Danez Smith also provoke their audiences. I argue that the authors of these works do this in order to generate strong emotions and outrage in discussions around racial justice.    “Wash Us in the Blood” is truly provocative when it comes to the religious community. One of the most provoking lines, in my opinion, is this:   “Let it off, set it off Execution, thirty states (that’s why) Thirty states still execute (ah) Thou shall not kill”   Here, West, invokes one of the ten commandments in conjunction with the reality that...

Something that I found interesting about the play Hamilton was how much of the issues that were discussed back then in the time of the founding fathers are still discussed today. History repeats itself. One example of this is on page 193, during the second Cabinet Battle, where Washington, Hamilton, and Jefferson are discussing whether to help the French in their revolutionary war. Hamilton says, “If we try to fight in every revolution in the world, we never stop. Where do we draw the line?” As an imperialist country, this quote still stands true today. The United States is known for unnecessarily getting involved in other countries. I like Miranda’s little side note at the end of this sentence because he says that there’s usually a “wild-card reaction,” to these lines; either people are silent, there’s applause, or there’s a dawning realization that the country is still like this. Almost 250 years later, this idea is still prominent in the United States. Another example of this is on...

In Hamilton , there are many important phrases that change meaning as the play progresses. The first one that I noticed was "Helpless". "Helpless" was a word Eliza used to describe how she felt when she was falling in love with Hamilton. It implied that there was nothing she could do about her feelings besides surrender to them. However, on page 143, she describes herself as "helpless" in another context. Hamilton somewhat spirals after the war is won, desperate to continue to make progress and establish an effective government in America. Many people beg him to slow down and appreciate the fact that they won, but he does not listen. Because Eliza also is ignored when she tries to calm her husband, she describes herself as "helpless". A word that once described their love story is now being used to show how Hamilton is acting somewhat out of control and Eliza is unable to tame him. Another phrase that I noticed changed as the play went on was tha...

Lin-Manual Miranda’s masterful hip-hop musical, Hamilton , eloquently ties together time theories that show the impact time’s understanding has on the development of a character and the motivation behind their actions.  Miranda’s work could not avoid discussion of the implications of understanding time, as he draws on history with his own lens, exposing his personal beliefs in time.  Miranda draws on national time in consideration of the creation of the United States, developing an understanding of the U.S.’s construction with a more modern and diverse perspective. The understanding of national time within this musical is seen through the creation of the nation, and Miranda’s understanding of ‘double time’ that was not considered in America’s history.  The U.S. Constitution was not written with consideration for those who were not experiencing life the same way as those writing it.  It did not consider the humanity of slaves, Native Americans, or women, who all exper...

As the play progresses, it becomes clear to the audience that Hamilton's view of marriage and love, in general, is very different from that of his wife, Eliza. With this being said, Eliza appeared to immediately take on the roles in the domestic sphere while Hamilton concerned himself with worldly issues and pursuits - thus, ultimately further perpetuating the longstanding trope of our patriarchal society. In saying this, Hamilton's mind appeared to rarely be focused on Eliza, while Eliza's mind seemed to solely focus on her husband and her pursuits in convincing him to stay home with her.  Hamilton's trope of infidelity was further exemplified in Act II when he meets Maria Reynolds. Reynolds originally approaches Hamilton asking for money and a companion to walk her home. With this being, while this encounter appeared rather innocent at first, the relationship between the two quickly escalated once they arrived at Reynold's residence. For example, in explaining the...

Alison views herself through a lense of "otherness." She seems to repeatedly find molds in her life that she refuses to fit in to, or perhaps cannot fit into. Her youth is defined by this sense of otherness and not fitting it. The notion of the other focuses around noticeable or senseable differences. Instead of her differences being on display and an overt cause of her diversion, she creates her differences out of expression, revolt, and necessity. There is an ever present difference between Alison and her family, her hometown, her surroundings, etc. The conformity sponsored by her mother and father provides the normalcy that Alison must differ from. She cuts her hair, she wears boys' clothing, and she will consequently go to publicly and proudly "break" from the traditional family life style her father so craved.  The discovery of otherness came slow to Alison as she crafted her identity throughout the novel. The most major and most formative, in my opinion, s...

     The novel Fun Home , like many of the other texts that we have read this semester, utilizes the past to help the narrator, Alison, understand the circumstances that she finds herself in.  Throughout the novel, she relies on moments and exchanges between herself and her father that allow readers to understand her upbringing, and the specific moments that led her to become the narrator who's words we are reading.  The ways in which Alison comes to understand her self and gain self-awareness are rooted in the identity that her father possesses and the way that he expresses himself throughout his life.  Their identities and histories intersect in powerful ways as Alison comes to know and accept herself.     One pivotal moment that shows the ways in which Alison and her father's histories and stories overlap is through the photographs that she has.  The novel emphasizes a relationship between the father and daughter that is ver...