I need help with A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court?

Question

I read the book but I need help with this essay question " Discuss Hank Morgans total failure to modernize Camelot in terms of his inventions, his attention to human needs, and his own prejudices" Please help=]

Answer 1

To start answering this one, you need to think about why Mark Twain made Hank a "yankee", a no-nonsense, purely practical, progressive-thinking Modern Man of his time, a manufacturer, a boss. Hank believes, like many industrialists of his day, that if only modern technology were applied to a problem, it will be solved.

When Hank finds himself in Camelot's Britain, a land where faith, superstition and tradition are the facts of daily life, he automatically assumes that "modern methods" will make a world of difference. He fails to take into account the "human factor"---that society needs more to believe in than progress and technology. By trying to drag Britain of the Dark Ages into a modern future without any kind of mental, philosophical or spiritual progress, Hank's efforts are doomed to failure.

Answer 2

The people of King Arthur's time saw his inventions as magic, they didn't understand the technology so of course the inventions wouldn't be long lasting.

This show his attention to human needs.

" Despite being a high officer in court, Hank is willing to go among the people in order to promote new economic policies based on capitalism as well as democratic and modern principles. King Arthur chooses to join him on one of these excursions, during which he chooses to expose himself to smallpox in order to help a peasant boy. Despite this kingly act, he is unwilling to move away from his medieval way of thinking. He eventually causes the arrest of the incognito Hank and himself because he is unable to stop acting like a nobleman. Hank's plotting is able to free them when a group of bicycle-riding knights comes to their rescue."