Essay | Burr: a Complex Character

Remembered by most people as a traitorous villain, Aaron Burr is looked down upon by many. At the surface, he may seem to be this traitorous villain, but if one looks beyond the common conception of Burr, at the big picture of his life, he or she will see the real character of Aaron Burr. This is the character portrayed in the novel Burr, by Gore Vidal.

To begin, one must recognize that Burr was a complex, three-dimensional character unlike most frequent depictions of him. Rather than follow suit with these preconceived notions of him, Vidal puts him in the light of a protagonist. Burr seems to have separate personas for different people. On one hand, Burr acts somewhat insincere and unprincipled with his enemies. Burr clearly acted this way towards people such as General Washington and Hamilton which led to some of...
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