Reminder: Mainly to myself... four students will meet in Aaron's office on 12/22 from 14:00-15:20 to make up Class #14.
Reading:
-Yankee, top of page 94 to middle of page 121
-Yankee, top of 132 to middle of 140
-Yankee, top of 157 to middle of 158
-Yankee, top of 180 to bottom of 183
-Yankee, middle of 196 to bottom of 201
-Yankee, top of 232 to top of 233
-Yankee, 291 to 343
Questions: Viola, Carol, Clara, Crystal, Qian-Yu
Answers:
Lucille (120). Analyze Twain's theory of "training" on page 119 and compare to a previous American author of your choice. Is it similar? Different? How? Please write an answer of double the usual length as this will count for two homework points instead of one.
Alyssa (121). In the previous question I gave an instance of Twain using the Yankee as a "spokesman" for his genuine views. Find an instance of narrative irony and analyze it. In other words, find at least one commentary that the Yankee gives in the novel that you do not think to be the genuine opinion of Twain himself, and analyze what Twain may really think, and why he is using the narrator in this contradictory way. One possibility might be page 183. Please write an answer of double the usual length as this will count for two homework points instead of one.
Tady (122). What causes the catastrophic civil war that begins on page 315? What kind of commentary do you think Twain is making by choosing this as the cause?
Zoe (123). This is probably the most difficult question I have assigned for the entire course. Develop a theory to explain why Twain makes the Yankee call his assistants "as pretty as girls" on page 330.
Letitia & Teresa (124). Many critics have argued that Connecticut Yankee is an allegory to describe the Reconstruction period. Explain why this theory makes pretty good sense. You can answer together by exchanging emails, or just answer separately.
Winnie & Meg (125). Many critics have argued that Connecticut Yankee is an allegory to describe U.S. imperialism in Western North America and Hawaii. Explain why this theory makes pretty good sense. You can answer together by exchanging emails, or just answer separately.
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Q120
ReplyDeleteAccording to the narration of Mark Twain in page.119, training is a way to mature a person and the way of training decided how a man or woman becomes of. That is, everyone is blank at first; we know nothing and are not act in a particular form, but after training, we act and think as how we were trained. The queen was not blamed for that she was brought up (trained) to act like that. And there is no use to blame her for the irrational action because to this training theory, to act like that this not her fault (, though the yankee complain she was trained into ass.) The consciousness of oneself was given by outsiders. One became a noble and act like a noble because other people told him how to act like a “noble,” then his self-consciousness recognized himself as one. Through the training they have the right to do something, which recognized by others, although some of these rights might threat others’ rights.
W.E.B du bois’ double-consciousness is a different idea, Du Bois said blacks have a "Double-Conscious" mind in which they have to know when to act "white" and when to act "black". They have double self-consciousness in mind, and this is resulted from complex issues, such like racism, conflict between the consciousnesses of being an “American” and “African,” something like that. As Du Bois claimed, “The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife — this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self. In this merging he wishes neither of the older selves to be lost. He does not wish to Africanize America, for America has too much to teach the world and Africa. He would not bleach his Negro blood in a flood of white Americanism, for he knows that Negro blood has a message for the world. He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows, without having the doors of opportunity closed roughly in his face.” In other words, they have to strive for a balance between two consciousness and try to make other recognized them. Compare to this, Mark Twain’s idea is much simpler. The people at that age has only one self-consciousness, peasants are peasants, knights are knights, and nobles are nobles, they do things they should do and never have the idea of crossing the lines to another class, or to have two identity at once. Also, they are identified as what they are since they got birth.
This is Carol posting a question:
ReplyDeleteIn my personal opinion, I think it is rather difficult to write something based on a historical scene like what Twain did in his novel “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.” First of all, one has to have a great amount of the background knowledge of the period one is writing; besides, to choose which part of the true history should be preserved in the novel and which part to rewrite is also a challenge. I am curious about how the realistic England of "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" contradict King Arthur's legendary kingdom of Camelot?
What I know so far is that the book has a man of Twain’s era magically transported back to Camelot, the court of King Arthur. What he encounters is not a mystical time of dragons and sorcery, but a time of ignorance and suffering.
Hank is like a radical republican politician after Civil War to me. In his point of view, society in King Arthur’s period is chaotic and uncivilized just like the situation after Civil War. Hank’s personality is very ambiguous. Sometime he seems to be very kind and has passion to improve or reform society. He is a man who is moved by compassion. Other time he is more like an ambitious and clever politician, a man who is driven by the desire for power. It's hard to identify the real intention of Hank’s action. The radical republicans give me the same impression. They strongly oppose slavery and claim black people’s civil rights. However, their intentions are due to the justice or the slavery and black right issues are just the tool to strike the enemy and acquire power? Hank’s conflict with conservative people (such as Merlin) is similar to the fight between two politic groups during the Reconstruction period. The Man Factor Hank funding is derived from the concept of public school which publicans establish during the Reconstruction time.And the failure of hank’s society reform and the war resulted from the reform action in the end of novel symbolize the same end of the Reconstruction.
ReplyDeleteThis is Clara asking a question:
ReplyDeleteI have read some reviews on line which classified "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court" as a satire novel. I was wondering whether the object of “satire” is only the contemporary or not. But in this book, did he express his irony on the situation of his time? Or on the situation in 6th century of King Arthur’s time? Or on both of the situation? If he didn’t express his irony on the situation of his time but on the situation in 6th century, could this book be described as “satire novel”?
This is Teresa’s answer to question 124.
ReplyDeleteHank Morgan has many characteristics of the Reconstruction period such as practical, business-minded, hard-working, determined, resourceful and intelligent. According the website “Sparknotes,” it describes this main character that he has a firm idea of right and wrong, and he is a staunch proponent of American democratic and capitalistic ideals. Moreover, it mentions, “he believes in the power of technology and progress…… a devout Protestant who values religious freedom and blames the Established Catholic Church for many of the ills of medieval society.” In the Reconstruction period, economy and social structures were rebuilt. The Connecticut Yankee have represented the qualities that people urgently pursue and provided the model that people want to follow.
This is Winnie answering question 125.
ReplyDeleteI think a very basic and important reason for why the story can be applied to U.S. imperialism in Western North America and Hawaii is that it’s a story about how a new comer (Yankee/U.S.) takes over power in a foreign society (King Arthur’s court/ Western North America and Hawaii). Moreover, many of the Yankee’s views on those people in the ancient kingdom seem to be fitted in the U.S. imperialism case. For example, the Yankee thinks about educating the people, and he says, “It is no use to throw a good thing away merely because the market isn’t ripe yet.” (29) This is just like the “excuse/justification” the imperialists may use for themselves. Because they have something better (in their opinion), it then becomes their duty to “educate” others, even if those others do not ask for it. Also, to set up the idea of “superiority” and “inferiority” is without question a vital step to take in practicing imperialism. And in the story, this can also be seen from what the Yankee says and how he acts. Comparing other people to “Indians” and “animals” as well as listing what they don’t have and what they’re unable to do, the Yankee seems to have been always trying to build up his superiority and make light of all the others.
By the way, not directly related to this question, yet I think the Yankee is somehow like the Europeans who came to America during the 15th and 16th centuries, too. He is a normal man who may not be able to have great achievement in the world he used to belong to, but in the “new” world, all opportunities just lay there waiting for him to explore.
Comparing to 19th cetury America, King Arthur's court is relatively "backward," which seems to be able to relate to the condition of Western America and Hawaii. This "new comer" use his different "newly-learned" skill trying to sell people his idea and gain his own power and profit, which is also similar to what U.S imperialism do to Western America and Hawaii. It is also interesting to think about the conditionof "foreign" because Yankee is the foreigner to King Arthur's court, while Yankee consider the people from King Arthur's court are foreigner, and the U.S imperialism consider Wester America or Hawaii as foreign, while to those place, U.S. imperialism is the one who is foreign. "Foreign" can cause misunderstanding but can also produce exotic attraction just like Pocahontas. The attraction not only sexually but cuturally. However, beyond the attraction there is always the relation between self and others, and people tend to consider "self" is better than "others," but there's one side that develop skills to persuade and then may dominate the other. The power relation can never be equal.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is because the church tries to gain back their original power. It uses the method of “Interdict” to make other people away from Hank and his comrades. And then they ruin almost all of the scientific and democratic establishments that Hank constructed. The church tries to turn the social atmosphere back to the superstitious time period. Besides, because Hank strongly opposes the church system, it is reasonable that the church takes action to defend itself. According to this war, I think Twain tries to criticize the Catholic church’s anti-technology and anti-democratic attitude.
ReplyDeleteI have a question about the interaction between the Yankee and the Catholic Church. From the plot, I can see that they are not friendly to each other. I just wonder that if this part also implies some reality at Twain’s time. For instance, what is the situation of the church, or how is the view of people the church at Twain’s time. Or we can see any Twain’s opinion of Catholic Church from this plot.
ReplyDeleteHello this is Crystal, posting my question:
ReplyDeleteWhile I was reading the novel, the plot reminded me of a course that I took this semester and we just talked about “time travel” in the class last week. I found it interesting that Mark Twain, as a novelist who was good at portraying the scene in the story vividly, also adopted this writing technique. Viewing this, I am wondering that beside the humorous effect in the plot, did the author also reveal his belief or anticipation in the possibility of time travel by means of manipulating this skill in his writing. Or maybe it presented the belief in the mass at that time.