Connecticut is in the United States, and Hank is, first and foremost, an American. This means a lot of things in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court: he believes in equality, he works hard, he doesn't like Snooty McSnoot-Snoots looking down on anyone, and he loves free enterprise. The other characters look at the world in much different ways… mostly vain, arrogant, greedy and stupid ways. And by the way, what nationality are they? British? All of them? Wow—it's almost as if Twain were bragging about his country while making fun of that other one across the Atlantic…
Questions About Patriotism
- How are Hank's changes to the kingdom a sign of his nationality?
- What was Great Britain like in Twain's time? How does the book comment on that?
- What makes Arthurian literature such a good place to compare American and English society?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Hank succeeds because he's an American.
Hank succeeds because he's smart; if he were from Great Britain, he'd be doing pretty much the same thing.