Category: Uncategorized

This weeks class and what has been going on in our society has really made me think about leadership and power. Hank Morgan in the novel somehow was able to gain power over the people of the 6^th century in which he changed everything they once knew. Hank was able to use technology and his knowledge to gain control over a large group and get them to do what he asked of them. This idea is something I may look to explore in my paper, in which I want to analyze how a person or group gains power and controls others. While our bodies are motors, there is always something that controls the motor. We like to think that we ourselves control our own bodies and minds, but when it comes down to it, who is determining what fuel we put into our motors? How often are we “allowed” to refuel our motors and why do we allow a person or group to change the way our motors run.

Another discussion we had during that class that sparked my thoughts was the discussion on the different “technologies” introduced to the 6^th century people and how it affected them. What if Hank introduced technologies that are taken advantage of in todays society, but introduced them in a more effective, nature friendly, and non-violent way. For example, when he created the school and education system, it should have been open to everyone and anyone to actually learn and should not have been kept hidden. If everyone had the opportunity to learn and if Hank taught positive topics, maybe the education inequality we see today would not have been born. Another example was the creation of the factory. The 6^th century people already had the community aspect in that they all only had their community to help each other survive. If that mental aspect was what drove factories, worker estrangement may not have been born. If the people working in the factories were able to make things that are useful and meaningful to them, and were something they needed then the factory work would be seen as less painful. Factories allow for people to specialize in the making of a certain aspect of a good in order to create a whole good. Reinforcing the ideas of community to help the greater good could have made the outcome of the story a more positive one. What prevented a good outcome was the way Hank used his power over the people and how he ran their motors. Instead of running the peoples motors to benefit the entire community, Hank used his power to manipulate the people. He let the power he had get to him and ended up killing many people. Today, we see similarities to Hanks power when we look at big corporations and factories who are abusing the human motor and running workers into the ground.

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.

A common theme I want to address with The Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court and the rise of Trump is that history repeats itself. You can see this theme expressed in The Connecticut Yankee when Hank wants to create a peaceful revolution. He is aware that the social order is convoluted and something like the French Revolution is bound to happen if nothing is done. So, throughout his time in the 6th century, he tries to create change without violence. He soon finds out that this is not possible. So, history repeats itself in a bloody battle between the nobles and the lower class.

Although it is a scary thing to realize, Trump has shown certain characteristics that are similar to Adolf Hitler during his reign of power. Laurence W. Britt advocating and warned people of the early signs of fascism. These included “powerful and consuming nationalism, disdain for human rights, identification of enemies/scapegoats, supremacy of the military, obsession with national security” and many other corrupt ideologies. Trump has proven that these are on his top list of priorities in his new job as president. One in particular is his ban on refugees for fear that they will bring terrorism with them and endanger the safety of U.S. citizens. It is quite the opposite actually.

We were lucky enough to be able to attend the walkout that was held in the quad, where people gathered to discuss and provide support for those affected by Trump’s recent ban on refugees. This movement is un-American and unpatriotic. This country was built on immigrants and refugees. It is ironic considering that those that first came to our country (the pilgrims) were searching for a safe place to practice their own religion. It is not right that we are shutting the doors on those who are in danger. People from Somalia, Syria, Iraq and Iran are trying to flee their country because of the horrific violence that is occurring. America, in their mind, is an opportunity to rebuild their lives.

Alicia Keys produced a great short film that put Americans in the shoes of the thousands of refugees who are not safe in their homeland. For a lot of us, we may feel for those who are affected by this ban but we are fortunate to not have to worry about something happening to us. The point of the video is to bring the struggles of the refugees into a relatable context. I think it is important to blur the line between “us” and “them”, because in the end we are all human.

Thursday we talked about energy transformation and how it relates to our current readings. Two days before, I participated in the campus walk-out.

In The Human Motor, we learn about idleness and how the definition changed over time. In A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, we see Hank Morgan, who comes from an era where idleness is not praised, live in an era where the King and knights live and wander aimlessly. They have no future goal to work towards and seem to live their life day-by-day, playing games and telling outlandish stories. In the 19^th century, technological innovation was thriving and progressing quickly. Even now, productivity and hard work are rewarded and idleness is looked down upon. One example of energy transformation in Twain’s novel is when Hank puts advertising sandwich boards on the knights. Hank saw the knights as lazy and jobless, and used them to promote soap. His soap advertising was a modern concept that he viewed as a step towards civilization. Hank used the energy the knights had, to educate the public; in this case, about soap and its importance.

I see energy conversion in the present time period also; from the Women’s March last month, to the walk-out we had on campus three days ago. The objectives of these protests are to convert the energy of the activists and momentum of these acts into social and political change. We disrupt daily routine to send the message of solidarity and the necessity for change. The Bucknell community came together to show that we would not be idle and passive; we would not continue on in life and pretend nothing happened. The similarity between the knights and the walk-out activists, is that we both used the energy of society to promote change. The difference is that the knights did it because someone of a higher rank, Hank, told them to, and we did it because we don’t agree with the current state of our country and our country leaders. I am proud to be part of a community that does not accept fate blindly, that does not settle for anything less than the acceptance of everyone, and that comes together in solidarity.

Despite the fact that our class only met once this week, I found it one of the most educational experiences. While participating in the walkout, it touched me how many people of the Bucknell community chose to come together and support those who have been and will be effected by the executive order. In the spirit of our discussion on Thursday, and as a continuation of the past discussions we have had, I have found myself further analysing the situations in which I find myself as well as the state of the world today in an attempt to put it all into perspective of this class, and I find the walkout to perfectly encapsulate all of these things. As was the case with Hank Morgan in Twain’s novel, I have noticed a particular transformation of energy amongst the greater Bucknell community. While many people may have tried to make a difference alone, or have felt pain brought about by the executive order, or have been at a loss for what to do, there was always a bit of an aimlessness to the energy spent, not unlike the bowing of the man or the aimless wandering of the knights, whose energy Morgan was able to harness and transform into something useful for him, whether that be a sewing machine or free advertisement. And like Morgan, this walkout was able to harness the energy of many within the community, to educate, to show support, to share pain, and to make a difference. And since the walkouts have begun at this school, I really have noticed a shift in the energy and the atmosphere at Bucknell, shifting away from the individual in favour of a supportive community. Similarly to what was raised in the human motor regarding the increased productivity of workers once the product they were producing was made available to them, it seems as though by making the issues addressed during the walkout more accessible to those not directly impacted by them, there will be in increase in activism and a sense of community and caring around campus, and hopefully around the country.

While the walkout has been able to do so much for those willing to stand in the cold and sacrifice an hour and a half of their lives to attend, it was not just the people who were able to incite change, but the technology they were able to have access to. It was through technology that I was first able to hear about the walkout, and it is through technology that I and countless others am able to stay abreast with today’s news. And yet, as wonderful as this technology is, it is not blameless in the great divide of our country. It was discussed in my walkout that it is due in part to technology that the American news rarely shares impartial stories, and thus few people are exposed to an unbiased truth about the world today. Most people only listen to, watch, or read the news provided by supporters of their party, and thus are only exposed to a biased truth, and sometimes not even a truth at that. As is the case with reading articles or anything else, people ought to question what it is they are being told, and further investigate themselves; however, so few people have the patients to question what they are being told, and instead accept everything and pass it on to the next person. Thus in many cases, people who fight about different sides of something do so because they do not know what it is that the other person holds to be true, and neither do they attempt to know. As wonderful as technology can be, it is at the same time something to be wary of, since it may just be one of the things driving us all apart.