Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court as a Dystopian Work
For years, Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" has been primarily viewed as a work of simple satire. Twain, desiring to poke fun at a group of America's cultural critics, chief among them Matthew Arnold, who claimed that cultural life in the U.S. treaded on shallow soil, takes aim at the venerated institutions of Britain. The author attempts to show that his country's lack of romanticized social structures, meaning an absence of royalty, the Catholic church, and long-dead knights and princesses, was far from a cultural weakness. Twain explodes the myth around idealized chivalric society and proves it to be no match for the Nineteenth
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Here, as in much of Tom Sawyer and most of Huckleberry Finn, he is a great novelist" (DeVoto, 274).
The work devolves from its first chapters, however, and becomes something very different by the end of the novel. A Connecticut Yankee's climactic, blood-letting ending, in particular, stands out as amateurish bungling by the author. Twain, in a burst of what seems, upon initial investigation, a beginning writer's attempt to resolve a novel that has spiraled out of his control, kills off his antagonists and finally his protagonist as well. It seems that Twain throws his hands up in frustration and ends the action in an orgy of electrocutions and Gatling gun fire. ". . . the book is chaos. Twain's mind was not able to stay within[satire's] limits. His imaginative ferment demanded gigantic expression," (DeVoto, 278). An alternate reading of the conclusion, however, allows the reader to take a vastly different critical angle on the book.
When viewed through the lens of anti-utopian or dystopian analogy, "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court's" finale becomes a grave prediction of man's industrialized future. Where Aldous Huxley augured man's enslavement to technology, its intellectual and critical emasculation in Brave New World, Twain's work can be construed to encapsulate the pending destruction of society's innocence and idealism by
In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer appears in St Petersburg and at the Phelps’ farm as Huck Finn’s companion. Though Tom serves as Huck’s partner-in-crime of sorts, the two boys contrast in crucial perceptual and behavioral aspects: where Tom possesses a love for romanticism and a strict policy of adherence to societal conventions and codes, Huck possesses a skeptical sort of personality in which he tends to perceive society’s infatuations as frivolous. Tom’s presence represents an overlying trend in behavior for Mark Twain’s era wherein individuals adhere to an idealistic social code that justifies the subjugation of others for the entertainment of the privileged populus. In this regionalist critical novel, Mark Twain uses Tom Sawyer as a vehicle to reveal the dangers of an idealistic society and how idealism leads to society rationalizing its day-to-day standards; thereby, its idealism serves to hide the questionable moral behaviors prevalent in Twain’s era.
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.
9. What does Huck’s father criticize about the government? What does Twain want the reader to feel about these issues?
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.
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, unlike any other famous novelist/writer, has his very own accomplishments. The two of his greatest accomplishments is what everyone knows him famous for. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as being his greatest and most popular works were also to quickly become his greatest accomplishments. Likewise, both books corresponded with the other about adventures of both low class, Huck Finn, and middle class, Tom Sawyer, had together and of their friendship. Another believed greatest accomplishment was his hidden eulogy that hadn’t
According to Ernest Hemingway, "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn." Along with Hemingway, many others believe that Huckleberry Finn is a great book, but few take the time to notice the abundant satire that Twain has interwoven throughout the novel. The most notable topic of his irony is society. Mark Twain uses humor and effective writing to make The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn a satire of the American upper-middle class society in the mid-nineteenth century.
The novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has stirred up much controversy over such topics as racism, prejudice and gender indifference, but the brunt of the criticism has surrounded itself around the ending, most notably with the re-entry of Tom Sawyer. Some people viewed the ending as a bitter disappointment, as shared by people such as Leo Marx. The ending can also be viewed with success, as argued by such people as Lionel Trilling, T.S. Eliot, V. S. Pritchett and James M. Cox in their essays and reviews. I argue that the ending of the novel proves successful in justifying the innocence of childhood through such themes as satire and frivolous behaviour.
Regarded as one of Mark Twain’s most impressive pieces of comical literature, ‘A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court’, tells the fictional story of Hank Morgan. A Connecticut Yankee sent back in time through a head to crowbar skirmish, to the mythical kingdom of King Arthur. Taking many aspects from Sir Thomas Malory’s, ‘Le Morte D’ Arthur’, the plot revolves around the culture shock and the unknowingly dark path eventually taken by Morgan. Through his sheer intellectual dominance and futuristic understanding, Hank Morgan fools the kingdom a number of times. This results in not only saving himself from being burned alive, but also acclimation to the ‘Boss’, second only to the king.
1. More than 200 Utopian Novels were published between 1888 and 1900; Bellamy’s Looking Backward is a prime example. Is Connecticut Yankee a Utopian Novel in the standard sense? Twain’s audience has been sometimes children, as with Tom Sawyer, and sometimes an elite group, claiming to have a highly intellectual reading, as with some commentators who study Huck Finn. What is the audience for this book? (Did you ever see the Bugs Bunny version? Or, for that matter, the Bing Crosby film?)
“All modern American Literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn. American writing comes from that. There was nothing before. There has been nothing good since.” Famous author, Ernest Hemingway, praised Twain. The book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn tells the story of a runaway boy who encounters an escaped slave. The pair begins an unlikely friendship and even learns life changing lessons while they venture the Mississippi River. Throughout this coming of age novel, Huck must decide on whether to use his better judgement or the morals he was taught growing up. This is a continuation of Tom Sawyer. Tom Sawyer leaves off with the titular character and his best friend Huck Finn, whom finds stolen money totaling in six thousand dollars. The town Judge, Mr. Thatcher keeps the money and evenly distributes it to the boys all year round. Twain’s Huckleberry Finn incorporates each major theme in American literature; the journey from innocence to awareness, the American dream, land of the frontier, the hero and community.
.” (Twain, ix) He openly and firstly acknowledges the irregularities in this story and explains that it is not on a whim that he uses this specific type of language but with the purpose to expose the world to a new and original form of literary design. The main character in this story is Huckleberry Finn, the complete opposite of a traditional European hero; he is not the typical king or nobleman that traditional stories tell of. He is an everyday boy uneducated and seemingly unworthy, Huckleberry Finn is the epitome of a real American every day hero. Mr. Twain writes this book as a way to show that just by simply maturing and growing up so that Huckleberry Finn can make the right decisions in all aspects of his life; it makes him a noble character. “We are asked to trust this not as a sport, but rather as a well-considered and well-honed document. . . We are invited to experience and to appreciate this narrative in terms of its thought, its thoughtfulness, and its craft.” (Fertel, 159 –Free and Easy”)
The following paper will briefly show arguments, and conclusions within the writings of Mark Twain’s story Huckleberry Finn. I will discuss the various themes that Mark Twain is bringing to light within his story. This paper will show how Mark Twain uses those themes within the story, and how they are specifically used. I will also briefly discuss the life of Samuel Clemons, the author known as Mark Twain, and give the reasoning behind choosing the name of Mark Twain when writing his novels. Themes of escapism will be discussed.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (published in 1885), considered a classic of American-literature, and to some the zenith of American realism in literature and the apex of satirical writing in history, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has proven itself as a milestone in the history of literature and a turning point in American literature. The garnering of such acclaim, and accolades were due to The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn possibly being the most poignant and successful critique on society every put into writing. Twain does not waste any time with sophomoric cant in his meditation, but instead critiques the inherent cant present in society and the people entertaining this cant throughout that time; showing