Mark Twain, Where You be?

I recently read Twain's, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. I had never heard of this book, but it is part of a 100 year old set of Twain novels I acquired a few years ago. I read Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn in public school and some of his short stories like the Leaping Bull Frog of Calaveras County or something like that. I recall another short story about a farmer who was fabulously successful compared to all his neighbors, but it was not the farmer who did it. It was his wife and she was one bad lady and he would sneak off on a vacation every now and then to blow off steam and get away from her. It was a good short story.

I figure I have probably read as much Twain as most people. Huck Finn and Sawyer I suspect are still read by most people before they reach adulthood. I also suspect some of his shorter stories are also read widely in public schools, but I am not sure abotu that. I doubt Connecticut Yankee has much of a following and even fewer read the other books, Life on the Mississippi, Pudd'nhead Wilson, or The Prince and the Pauper that round out the 100 year old prints I have.

I found Connecticut Yankee an excellent story. A regular guy is transported back in time and finds himself in England. He quickly discovers just how backward they are and the degree to which slavery and classes hold people in place and elevate others without merit. Possessing modern (130 years ago) knowledge, the protagonist finds out Merlin is a hack and pretender. He embarresses the Catholic Priests and solves their problems. He "invents" lots of things we take for granted lots earlier and begins training people to be writers, communication specialists, laborers, and factory workers etc.

The protagonist also manages to do away with slavery and the priviliged classes and manages to completely change the English landscape and the lives of all the people living there, while turning royalty into management with titles. All of this is pretty simple, but it does make the reader ponder. "If I was transported to an earlier time, knowing what I know now, would I be able to duplicate my knowledge and use it to make things better then?" This is exactly what Twain's protagonist does.

However, while inventing and creating all of these things that solve problems that did not necessarily exist yet, Twain writes a scathing critique of the business class, wealthy classes, politicians, Catholic Church and its professional laborers. Twain seems to think voting can solve some problems through the selection of worthy people, but the worthy somehow never get on the ballot for those who can vote. Twain does an excellent job critiquing society, but I do not think his solution is feasible. I suspect schools do not make their students read this book because it questions so many of the planks the schools and government use as weapons to control the students as kids and into adulthood.

Do yourself a favor. Encourage your children to read this book. It is clean and it questions the narrative. Kids would be better off reading this book than so many of the ones I read about teachers forcing them to read now a days.