A Connecticut Yankee Character Analysis

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by the pseudonym Mark Twain, has been central to American literature for over a century. His seemingly effortless diction accurately exemplified America’s southern culture. From his early experiences in journalism to his most famous fictional works, Twain has remained relevant to American writing as well as pop culture. His iconic works are timeless and have given inspiration the youth of America for decades. He distanced himself from formal writing and became one of the most celebrated humorists. Mark Twain’s use of the common vernacular set him apart from authors of his era giving his readers a sense of familiarity and emotional connection to his characters and himself.

Even though the book shows immaturity I think the audience it's intended for is old enough to not be influenced by bad behavior in a book. This leads me into my next point The strength of writing of Mark Twain. Mark Twain’s writing is very unique because of the way he studies the background of the people the books are about. One of the best features of the book is the way Mark Twain uses dialect. "No! W'y, what has you lived on? But you got a gun. Oh, yes, you got a gun. Dat's good. Now you kill sumfn en I'll make up de fire." (Twain). As you can see in the quotes Mark Twain has a magical way of writing and giving an accurate picture of how it was in the mid 1800s.

In a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s court, Mark Twain sets the plot of the story in the 19th century in Connecticut. After Hank Morgan is struck by a crowbar, he wakes up 13 centuries that are in the past. In the event, a night from the court of King Arthur takes him prisoner as King Arthur orders his execution. Hank becomes the prime minister to the king by escaping execution through predicting that an eclipse will block the sun if he is executed (Lupack 162). Throughout this story, the theme of inequality is evident especially since social inequality and injustice is highlighted throughout the narrative. In one instance, Hank visits a village which is full of peasants who are dressed wretchedly. There is a clear disparity between the life in the royal court and that which is lived by peasants in the field.

The novel begins with Hank Morgan transporting to sixteenth century, Camelot, a medieval, monarchy, knighthood ship, sorcery society, from Hartford, CT in the nineteenth century with the mentality of the American way is the only way. The Yankee starts to strip Camelot of their sense of government and way of life. He does this by trying to end forms of cruelty that is not seen as acceptable in America during that time period such as slavery, monarchy, knighthood, unfair trials, and excessive punishments.

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court is a complicated novel that fundamentally deals with the concept of the human experience. Hank Morgan is a nineteenth century mechanic who is transported back thirteen centuries to medieval Britain, during the time of King Arthur. After his initial shock, he becomes determined to “civilize” Camelot by introducing modern industrial technology. At an initial look Twain seems to be favoring the industrialized capitalist society that he lives in over the feudal society of medieval Britain. But in a closer examination of the work it becomes clear that this observation is much too simple, as the industrial world that Hank Morgan

Mark Twain was a world renowned novelist and a beloved American Writer. He wrote things about what was happening in the world around him and is also a huge part of American Literature. Although Mark Twain is a famous novelist his home life, background/achievements, and greatest accomplishments are what made him who he is today.

A major theme of the novel is the hypocrisy and double standards that are evident in the society surrounding Huck. This trait is found especially within Christian and religious types in the novel. Twain shows almost every good Christian in the novel as having a generous and kind side, which completely contradicts much of their actions. Twain believes that this hypocrisy is the underlining element that makes religion skeptical. As it is seen in the book, almost every good Christian contradicts himself or herself in some way. Perhaps Huck's first example of this was when the Widow Douglas did not allow him to smoke, as it was a mean practice. However, “she took snuff too; of course that was all right, because she done it herself” (Twain 2). Another example was the Grangerfords. Huck described this family as very nice and kind and even considered Buck a good friend. But once again, the hypocrisy of religious types was bound to come into play. These same people are slave owners and have a feud with a similar family, the Shepherdsons for reasons they don't remember. Perhaps the biggest example of this hypocrisy was when Huck went to church with the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons. As Huck explains, “the men took their guns along, so did Buck, and kept them between their knees.... it was pretty ornery preaching all about brotherly love” (Twain 83). It is obvious that the two families had their guns in their laps while the preacher talked about

The highly lauded novel by Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, entertains the reader with one adventure after another by a young boy (and his runaway slave friend Jim) in the mid-1800s who is on strange but interesting path to adolescence and finally adulthood. What changes did he go through on the way to the end of the novel? And what was his worldview at the end of the novel? These two questions are approached and answered in this paper.

Mark Twain wrote this novel at the end of what is known as the Industrial Revolution, not only in the United States, but in some European countries. It is important to locate the years when it was written as to what is that Twain was most probable directing his underlying critique. It was published in 1889, at the verge of 20th Century. New ideas were introduced to the United States in terms of social and political issues, like communism, for example, threatening all those business interests growing fast. If you have read Mark Twain’s writings you understand that he has a vivid imagination. On this novel, he ventured into an imaginary trip back in time to the King Arthur’s 6th Century Court. Although the novel begins with a first-person

Samuel L. Clemens, more commonly known as Mark Twain, has numerous facets in his legacy seared into American Literature: humor, blunt hypocrisy, satire, suspense, and tragedy comprised with a rare darkness. His writing in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and targeted authority, civilized stipulations, politics, social flaws and Christianity. Twain was even referred to as a traitor because of the harsh, yet necessary criticism in his works. Because of his defiance, many scholars refer to him as the “Lincoln of Literature.”

In the era of Reconstruction following the Civil War, many authors began to look back at the period leading up to the war with a critical view. This retrospective criticism allowed authors to contrast their current situation with that before the war. Through this analysis many authors began to highlight the social practices before the war and view them with through a new lens. Rather than attempting to find fault in the society they lived in, authors like Mark Twain sought out the moral failings of previous eras. This social criticism is prevalent in his novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in the drastic differences between areas influenced by society and those free from its

It is in his novel Puddn'head Wilson that Mark Twain is considered by critics, such as Arlin Turner, where he expresses the deepest criticism of the South. Arlin Turner argues that the writing of the novel “caused him to look more closely than ever at...Southern heritage: aristocracy, with its accompanying code of honour and dueling; the effects of slavery...”1 By using irony and satire, Twain comments on the legacy of slavery and aristocracy by highlighting the contractions found in these legacies. He challenges the imperialistic mindset of the “Us/Them” found in Dawson's Landing which keeps enforcing these legacies and uses his characters to show the contradiction that society believes in. However, at the same time he does not create a complete negative view on the South's

Since Twain had written the book in first person we see the world as Morgan would have seen the world and we also hear his views of things. Even from the first day he was in Camelot he was under the impression that he was in an insane asylum just because the people dressed and talked different than him. Later when Morgan threatened an eclipse and the eclipse came, we see Morgan’s interpretation of the King’s groveling as a sign of low intelligence and weakness. Morgan felt that the King should be more intelligent than to believe in magic and that; he must be as stupid as the rest of the people of Camelot. Morgan even feels the same way about Sandy, his soon to be wife. Like when Morgan discovers that the princesses are only pigs he feels so sorry for Sandy that he buys her the pigs anyway out of sympathy instead of talking to her about her mistake. These situations show the reader that Morgan honestly thinks he’s better than everyone else and just does good deeds like building schools, post offices, etc. out of sheer pity for the

Critics generally agree Mark Twain takes on a goal to hold a mirror to society in order to reflect the problems it contains regarding the hierarchy and power of social groups. As critic Heather Shrum points out, “the flawless family will never be found,” but Twain attempts to promote improvement so that each individual works together as a unit to create a solid unit (2). The role and value of women stand as a key issue for him, thus he displays their typical lifestyles that involve their entrapment in positions of inferiority. The efforts made by Twain go towards a demonstration of how basic principles of these families should be shared by means of all the members. Such becomes a necessity in order for a family to truly

To fully understand the themes within Mark Twain’s novels we all must first understand his upbringing, where he was born, where he was raised, and what was going on within the era of his life. Samuel