Re-imagining hostility as hospitality

Studying immigration through Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court

Abstract

This research examines Mark Twain’s novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1889) in the context of security studies. Hank Morgan, the protagonist, is an immigrant playing games to counter hostility with appropriate stratagems for his security/survival in medieval England. After becoming “The Boss”, his desire to civilize Camelot is less motivated by social welfare and more to dominate for power and comfort as a ruthless colonizer. By dwelling on the contributions of African/Mexican immigrants in America, I compare and contrast what contributions Hank could have made, and what he has done by misusing power in medieval England. To re-imagine the concept of hostility as hospitality to design a better world, this article also ponders upon the question of illegal immigration, e.g. why the presence of illegal immigrants has been frowned upon in society, and the scope of their future assimilation in the present scenario of global terrorism. Through the narrative of the present (Mexicans) and past immigrants (e.g. Africans/Hank), it aims to demonstrate how far we have come and how far we have yet to go to achieve a more hospitable world in this hostile global environment for immigrants in the future.