Critique of Hank's True Character - A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court

The main character in Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, Hank, is a pragmatic and opportunistic Northerner who has a relevantly strong sense of right and wrong. As the most intelligent and responsible person in the time period in which he unexplainably falls into, he takes it upon himself to alter a medieval society into a sort of “people’s community”.

While Hank seems to have good intentions, there seems to be some sort of discreet flaw in the manner in which he implements his revolutionary ideals.  One of his first discrepancies is his critical perspective of the Church and their methods of control over the people. He criticizes the fact that many people in power have not earned their roles in power but essentially neither has he. He luckily fell into a world where he happened to be the most intelligent person.

As an opportunist he had to invent reasons as to why he should have power. He justified his authority through his belief that he had a better understanding of the medieval people than they did themselves. While his assumption may not be wrong, he essentially gains power in the same way that the Church does. Like the Church, he states that his influence is what will benefit the society the most. The issue is not whether or not he is wrong in his belief, but it is that he criticizes a modus operandi that he utilizes himself.

One of the more disturbing parts in the novel is when Hank essentially enslaved a hermit to do five years of work. His reasoning being that working is what the hermit did his entire life and that Hank was putting his work to better use. He took advantage of the fact that the hermit knew no better than to just work without pay, and Hank said that he would never force him to work. While that may be the case, essentially the hermit knew no better and was crudely manipulated by Hank. This event along with Hank’s unwillingness to put a stop to slavery when he saw Pilgrims mercilessly beating their slaves leads me to believe in whether or not he is true in his democratic or humane ideals. I feel that if he implemented his ultimate goal of a capitalist society, wage slavery would most definitely be a problem if it promotes technological advancement.