A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (Bantam Classic) [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

I know this book was boring and humorless to a lot of students and I can understand why. Things like the telegraph mean nothing to us now, but in Mark Twain's time it was hot technology like a rocket or the Internet are to us today.

Mark Twain was saying, what if we took our modern technology back to a time when people believed in magic and faught with swords and armor. Whoever did this could probably convince these people that the technology was a superior magic and could use this knowledge to dominate them.

This is what happens in the story, but only for awhile. Eventually, even the people in King Arthur's court adjust to having the new technology and no longer see it as magic. For example, the people running the telephone exchange don't care about the Connecticut Yankee's "magic" they just want to keep the lines of communication open with Camelot.

This kind of story is called "satire". It is basically a story that teaches us something by making fun of something else. In this story, Mark Twain makes fun of the kind of people who think they can accomplish anything with technology. The Yankee thinks that he can use technology to trick the nights of King Arthur's court and to manipulate them. At first he succeeds, but gradually they become so immersed in the technology that they don't care about magic and legends any more. Once their mental landscape changes, the Yankee has lost the context he needed to control them. The main argument here is that technology does not solve everything, it just produces new problems. And the kind of people who worship technology are bound to fail in one way or another.

Hope this helps.

Imagine yourself thrown back fourteen hundred years to the kingdom of the legendary Arthur. Add some technical know-how, a touch of arrogance, and a taste for adventure, and you would be Hank Morgan. The successful head superintendent of an arms factory, Morgan is sent back in time by a nasty knock on the head, and finds himself a prisoner at the court of the once and future king. Through an incredible knowledge of astronomy, and mechanics, and his natural intelligence, he finds his way to the top of the Arthurian power structure, and becomes The Boss. Posing as a powerful magician, he impresses the people and the court with magnificent firework displays, stellar predictions, and other "tricks" that today are taken for granted. As he learns more about the social inequalities in the culture that he has no choice but to live in, he comes to the conclusion that he must free the masses from the oppression of the nobility. Morgan attempts to impose the ideals, governing system, and ways of thinking of the industrialized 19th century onto the primitive 6th century. Secretly, he develops a civilization of his own time inside Arthur's Kingdom, his eventual goal being to destroy every remnant of the old ways, and replace them with the new. Traveling the kingdom, Morgan spreads his influence and his beliefs. He encounters on his adventures both heartbreaking situations of cruelty, and heartwarming scenes of humanity. Throughout the whole kingdom, however, he always sees the need to destroy the feudal system. Twain teaches us something through Morgan's determination, and something else by the calamitous ending of the book. The good: A Yankee at the Court of King Arthur is probably the most accurate of all the king Arthur Legends, as far as describing the daily life, customs, and superstitions of the people of the period. It does not lionize the Knights of the Round Table, but at the same time it does not speak of them as savages, as some accounts do. Similarly, it makes the people out to be decent, simple, and yes, sheep, but not total fools. A Yankee at the Court of King Arthur describes the time impartially, meticulously, and colorfully. There is not the element of glamorization just as there is not the element of degradation. Twain's use of the first-person narration makes the story more realistic; the people who are dying of small pox are horrifyingly well described, and the grandeur with the banners and shining armor at a joust is equally enticing. Most importantly, this book flows well: each event leads to the next, and it all fits together nicely. The twist that Twain puts on the end superbly concludes the story, and it makes you really think. The not-so-good: A Yankee at the Court of King Arthur does move slowly at times. Also, the main character, Hank Morgan, is excessively American. Twain really overuses the baseball metaphors, and Morgan's contempt for all forms of mysticism and non-scientific explanations of things damages the atmosphere of the book. His impatience with the people who do not understand his speech and ideas, and his general attitude of superiority make him slightly less likeable, and more difficult to pay attention to. It is sometimes hard to bear Hank Morgan's thoughtless destruction of 6th century culture, and his obsession with the wonder of technology. The sometimes absurdly long descriptions, vivid pictures of violence, and overall length of this book would make it difficult for people under about twelve or thirteen to enjoy. Mark Twain is sending several messages in writing this book. The first and perhaps most important is that attention should be paid to the way in which a culture develops. Hank ultimately destroys Arthurian England as it was know, because he advances only the parts of the culture that he personally believes to be important. Twain is saying that if we are not involved in our world, everything is out of our control, and we can only hope that the reins fall into the right hands. Morgan's downfall can be attributed to this and to the fact that he disbelieves all other powers besides science, and even more than disbelieves dismisses them. Another main point that this book incorporates is that no one power should be allowed to become too strong. Twain reinforces this point with the examples of the Church and of Hank Morgan. A Yankee at the Court of King Arthur addresses issues that face Mark Twain's time and issues that face ours. It brings many ideas, messages, and themes together into a cohesive body. With Camelot as the backdrop, Morgan's story as the message and Twains engaging style as the messenger, this book is delightful.

In "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court", Hank Morgan is transported to the legendary times of King Arthur and Camelot. I thought that this novel was wonderfully put together. The way Hank instituted 19th century ideals into the 6th century was a perfect way to add pizazz to the novel. Although there were some parts in the novel that were slow and undeveloped, the best parts and the main parts over-shadow those. This novel is one you MUST-READ!