I still find it quite amazing that more people today—whether it be people who provide social commentary (serious or humorous) in print or on a panel amongst other talking heads, or international intelligentsia looking for a metaphor to describe America’s current economic or foreign policy woes—do not reference Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court when describing America. Maybe it is because Connecticut Yankee will always be overshadowed by Twain’s other work to the point that people have not read it. Whatever the reason the may be there is no denying that Connecticut Yankee may be the greatest satire written about America.
Published in 1889, A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court was not only one of the first novels to use time travel as a plot device but it is one of the first novels to perfectly play upon the notion that American ingenuity is inherently flawed once it is applied outside of America.
The novel begins with Hank Morgan, the main character from Hartford, Connecticut, being knocked unconscious during a fight (someone hit him with a crowbar). From here, he wakes up in sixth century England and is led to Camelot castle for trespassing. He is then sentenced to burn at the stake by King Arthur and Merlin but is reprieved when he remembers that on this particular day in 528 A.D. there was a solar eclipse and, when the eclipse in fact occurs, he convinces everyone to let him go because he is in possession of great powers. Here on out he is known as “The Boss.”
Reading Connecticut Yankee now the story may seem somewhat formulaic because the overall premise—man from present day is transported to past and tries to set everyone straight in accordance to what he knows to be Correct, yet only introduces chaos—has been duplicated in various forms but few writers can match Mark Twain’s ability to write satire.
The 19th century Hank Morgan knows that a stock market, a patent office, and a telephone infrastructure are vital components of a successful economy and country, whereas blind faith in religion and superstition, and a government predicated on a monarchy (and one that employs a wizard to boot!) is wholly worthless and is built upon an implicit controlling nature. The idea that Hank knows what is best for medieval England and will do anything to fix it, however reckless and ill-advised it seems or ultimately turns out, has obvious metaphorical connotations with how America (and England, too) has gone about their foreign and domestic affairs during the last two hundred years or so.
Ultimately, I will side-step reviewing this book in its intended manner—it should really be read without knowing too much about it; its satire and writing style should be consumed first-hand. But in side-stepping the typical critical review format of this book I substitute the emotional and modern day value that this book offers. By pointing out that the American work ethic and homespun ingenuity has its fair share of detrimental flaws both inside and outside of our borders, Twain was on to something well before the stock market crash of ’29, the post-WWII militarization of our country, and our modern foreign policy—namely, that, at the end of the day, we who work blindly towards an unattainable goal (more money, forced peace in foreign countries, etc.) are fundamentally no different than the medieval folks who believed Merlin wielded actual wizarding skills.
Of course, this is just my interpretation of the book. You may find it to be akin to something else entirely or you may see a stronger metaphorical case for other things. (This would be similar to how I found Ninteen Eighty-Four to be overly paranoid and still find that the “Big Brother” society to be much more attainable under a society of ultra-Liberalism, rather than the ultra-Conservative dystopias that people usually use in predicting its current or future incarnation, which runs counter to what many think of when they have read the book or use the “Big Brother” metaphor.) But that’s just me. You may find this book to be too dated or hokey. The message may not be strong. Which is fine too, because there is nothing really more American than arguing about which metaphor is best to use for present day problems and how best to point out our own flaws.