A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur

’s Court By Mark Twain (1835 – 1910) Essay, Research Paper

Mark Twain was fascinated by Sir Thomas

Malory’s “Morte d’Arthur.” According to his notebook, Twain dreamed one

night of being a knight in Arthur’s court and of the many inconveniences

this presented. This dream inspired him with his story of a clever Yankee

machinist who attempts to modernize and improve Camelot.

A Connecticut Yankee exposes the glorified

knight errantry of legend as childish barbarism; a feudal system that abused

and deprived the common people. Conversely, Twain’s principles of good

government lifted the commoners and the nobility alike into a new life

of dignity and purpose.

From beginning to end, this book is a surprising

and powerful combination of homiletics and humor. For instance, Twain vividly

portrays the brutality of slavery, and immediately follows these scenes

with a comical rescue of the King and Hank Morgan by knights on bicycles.

The novel was originally envisioned as a pleasant burlesque of Camelot;

but social conscience and outrage against man’s inhumanity to man consistently

found their way to the surface, producing a serious social satire layered

with wit and wisdom. This constant shifting between social humor and social

disgust makes this book one of Twain’s most memorable.”