Hamilton: Why Alexander Learns Nothing From Phillip's Death
As shown in Hamilton, Alexander's son Philip is killed in a duel, but what's surprising is that Hamilton never learns from the experience. In the Hamilton scene, viewers see the aftermath of a duel in which Philip, who is played by the same actor who plays John Laurens, is fatally wounded. It's an event that clearly haunts Alexander and his wife Eliza for the rest of the musical, but it's also made some fans wonder why Alexander never used what happened to inform his own life.
Philip ends up dying in a duel with George Eacker, whom he challenged after hearing that Eacker made some disparaging remarks about his father, Alexander. In Hamilton, Philip tells Alexander about the duel, and explains that he is worried that it won't end well for him. Alexander tells his son to point his pistol at the sky to make it clear to Eacker that he has no intention of firing. Philip does this at the duel, but Eacker proceeds to fire on him early. Philip's wound turns out to be fatal, and Eliza and Alexander are both with him as he dies. Philip's death is one of Hamilton's central tragedies, but it also foreshadows Alexander's own death at the hands of Aaron Burr. But the thing is, Alexander should have learned some lessons from his son's death.
Given what happened to Philip, Alexander should have considered the possibility that agreeing to duel with Burr could end in his death. Ultimately, though, he makes the same mistake, aiming his pistol at the sky and allowing Burr to gun him down. The reason is two-fold, but both have to do with honor. His hubris in wanting to protect his honor forced him into a duel with Burr (declining would've been a dishonor), but then choosing not to fire on Burr during the duel itself was a way for him to protect his political future. Doing both, however, resulted in his death. Instead of deloping in the traditional way - by shooting into the ground - Alexander Hamilton is said to have shot above Burr's head, thus allowing Burr to retaliate and shoot Hamilton. Of course, that's but one version of the events.
Overall, Alexander's failure to recognize how his own story resembles his son's is one of the many ways that Hamilton chooses to turn its main character into a flawed human being. He doesn't heed the warnings of his personal history, and is ultimately stubborn about the possibility of facing Burr. It isn't until the moments before his death that Alexander seriously considers what it will mean if his life ends the way his son's already had.
In those moments of silence at the climax of Hamilton, Alexander recognizes that the legacy he has built will ultimately be augmented and transformed by the people who come after him. He sees Philip and the rest of those he's lost waiting for him on the other side, and that's when he decides to follow the advice he gave his son and aim his pistol at the sky. He forfeits his own life, throwing away his shot like his son did before him. As a result, Hamilton died at a young. He could have lived a much longer life had he been less stubborn, but he did come to recognize the value of dying with dignity, much like his son had.