I assume Twain had Plato’s allegory of the cave on his mind when writing A Connecticut Yankee. In the book, Hank Morgan represents enlightenment and the people of the 6th century represent the unenlightened masses.
When Plato wrote the allegory of the cave in the republic he was trying to say that the masses were too ignorant to govern themselves and should be ruled by someone enlightened, a belief which i’m sure he shares with Hank Morgan. Not only did Morgan and Plato have similar views, but their views were opposed by the same organization, the church. Not only does A Connecticut Yankee play on enlightened peoples quest for power but it also shows how the church tries to suppress enlightenment to keep control.
In a way this also relates to what is going on in our country right now. The “Muslim Ban” the Trump administration as just put forward is essentially us as a country being scared of other views and not wanting to face them. In general people don’t like opposing views but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have to face them or that they are crazy. In this country we need diversity to enlighten us.