How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Page)
Quote #1
We made a few bushels of first-rate blasting powder, and I superintended my armorers while they constructed a lightning-rod and some wires. (7.5)
Twain develops his hero's technology gradually, starting with simple items like a lightning rod. If he can't be logical and rational about what his hero does, he falls into the same trap as the stories he's ridiculing… and he's just too good of a writer for that.
Quote #2
Unsuspected by this dark land, I had the civilization of the nineteenth century booming under its very nose! (10.3)
Hank needs to move in secret when developing his technology. Is he just motivated by fear of Merlin and the Church? Or is he hoping to control all technology himself? It might be both. Hank's smart enough to know that technology is just a tool, and its usefulness depends on who's using it. By keeping his inventions secret, he's also keeping them out of the wrong hands.
Quote #3
"Put him in the Man-factory." (13.10)
Hank refers to his schools as man-factories, as if they can be built like tools on an assembly line. Twain might be taking a dig at the Industrial Age here: workers are just interchangeable parts, no different than the peasants in Arthur's age. He might also be suggesting that education makes the man.