Section+1+(Chapters+I-XII)




 * Synopsis **

A man from 19th century Connecticut finds himself in King Arthur's Camelot during the 7th century. He is initially captured by knights of Arthur's court and is astounded by the ignorance and superstition that completely controls their lives. Taking advantage of the opportunity and making the best out of his grim situation, he rises to a position of great power and influence. He does so by using his advanced knowledge of the workings of the human mind (advanced by comparison to the people of Camelot) and his expertise in futuristic 19th century technology. He becomes renowned throughout the realm and uses his new king-like influence to begin revolutionizing and renovating the primitive society around him. He begins inventing 19th century technology and even has a "man factory" where he trains good people to love freedom and break the hold of ignorance. After several years he is unwillingly sent off on a quest to rescue some fictitious "damsels" from some even more fictitious "ogres". He sets off on this seemingly pointless quest with an annoying, overbearing girl who talks way too much. During the first part of the quest, he contemplates the aggravating uselessness of armor, the ignorant stupidity of the people of the realm, and the grating annoyance of his female companion. He becomes more determined than ever to banish the primitive superstition and sad naivety of this age he finds himself in.


 * Archetypes **

//Situational // Hank's technical intelligence is sharply contrasted with the ignorance naivety of the people of Camelot, especially Arthur and Merlin.
 * Innate Wisdom vs. Educated Stupidity **

//Character //  Sandy is the portrayal of the classic damsel in distress, as she arrives in King Arthur's court in need of desperate help to save the fair "damsels" from the "ogres". She definitely exhibits feminine traits, a "weak" character that needs to be aided by the hero (Hank Morgan).
 * Sandy - Damsel in Distress **



Clarence quickly becomes Hank's loyal sidekick and one of his few friends in 6th century Camelot. He takes up Hank's ideals and dreams for progress and does everything in his power to assist the Boss and develop his goals of a modernized Camelot.
 * Clarence - Loyal Retainer **

//Symbolic //  The forest that Hank and Sandy have to travel through on their way to save the damsels represents a journey into the unknown. For several years, Hank has stayed in Camelot, a safe haven and a place he has become familiar with. The quest that Hank undergoes is a step outside his comfort zone and into the "real world".
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Forest - Fear **

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">The first night Hank spends outside Camelot, he is forced to spend the night under a rock in his armor. His suffering is prolonged by the rain pouring outside and the insects crawling inside his armor. Afterwards, he decides that he will never (voluntarily) wear a suit of armor again, representing both a "new birth" and "renewal" of the fashion of society, and society as a whole.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Rain - Renewal **

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Hank is forced to wear a suit of armor as he travels on a quest with Sandy. The armor acts like a mask, concealing both the person inside and, looking from a "big picture" perspective, the concealment of society's faults that contradict Hank's first impression of a paradise.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Armor (Masks) - Concealment **

//<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Social Inequality // <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">The theme begins to develop at the very beginning of the section when Hank starts to observe his surroundings. The peasants live in the worse conditions and some children walk around completely naked. The peasants get little food and when they try giving salutations to the nobles they are ignored. Also, a large portion of the population wears iron collars which imply slavery in the kingdom. The peasants’ lives completely contrast the nobles in many ways. The nobles live in huge castles and wear luxurious colors. The nobles are able to host huge banquets while the peasants try to survive on scraps. Later in the section when Hank takes his new position, we see that he is displeased with the way the peasants are treated and the widespread slavery in the kingdom. We also see that a lot of the peasants are illiterate which further creates social inequality.
 * <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Themes **

//<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Progress // <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">The theme starts to develop in the last few chapters of the section. Hank uses the four years that Sir Sagramor is out questing to continue his industrialization of the kingdom. He starts a school system to improve the literacy rate and has many of the citizens trained in modern fields. Clarence develops excellent writing skills which he will put to use in the kingdom’s newspaper. Hank also envisions freedom of religion in his new civilization which he sees as an important aspect of a modernized kingdom. But the church’s power is too great at the moment for Hank to take on so he takes precautious. Hank also establishes factories to produce goods like matches and soap which further show that Hank is bring change and progress to the kingdom one step at a time. Hank’s knight armor is symbolic to the theme because the armor is annoying, inconvenient and just not well suited for the journey. The armor’s issues can be related to the kingdom’s issues which Hank hopes to fix in time. Hank sees the kingdom as inconvenient because it lacks matches and soap. The naïve nobles quickly believe Sandy’s tale which annoys Hank just like the armor annoyed him. Later in the journey, Hank determines he will never wear armor and as his industrialization takes place no one else ever will either showing that he is bringing change to the kingdom’s problems.


 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Real World **

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Back in the 6th century, the time the book takes place in, Europe was split into two “Empires”. The west side was called Western Europe, but most of us know it as the Dark Age with the knights, kings, and damsels in distress. The other half was called the Byzantine Empire. Both of these two places came from the Roman Empire when it was defeated by Germanic tribes that were being chased by the Mongols. There were many differences between the two and one of the biggest being that the people in western side, besides the priest, didn’t know how to read or write. This led that side to be somewhat dumb up until the Renaissance. The Renaissance was a time where the science and the arts flourished and people got smarter. There were inventions and new thoughts and ideas. Now this all ties into the first section of the book because that is exactly what “The Boss” did. He came to that time period and with his knowledge he led to new inventions and ideas in King Arthur’s kingdom. Thanks to his business-mind, hard work, and intelligence he helped them progress, just like the Renaissance did in history. For example in chapter 10 he list things he did. He opened schools, churches, factories, and shops. He had smart people trained and was helping them grow and progress. Just like the Renaissance, Hank Morgan helped out the civilization he was now in.


 * <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Group Discussion **

<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">We have decided the main theme of part 1 is progress. A minor theme that is suggested beneath this is that progress leads to social upheaval and possibly revolution. Additional themes shown in this part include freedom of the people, social inequality, and the necessity of operating within a society's norms in order to eliminate those norms. Several archetypes are present as well. Sandy is a Damsel in Distress, Clarence is a Loyal Retainer, and Merlin is an Outcast. We debated the idea that Merlin is evil, but decided that he is just a disgruntled old man who has lost his former power and influence. In fact, the destruction of his tower represents how Hank (the Connecticut man) has begun to change history and disrupt the established order. We also decided that we should research 19th century technology.


 * <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Questions for Discussion **

//<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Level 1 // <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">1. What event initially allows Hank to deceive the people into thinking he is in a powerful position? <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">2. How does Hank solidify his standing among the people? <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">3. Who does Hank exposed as a "weaker magician"?

//<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Level 2 // <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">1. What about King Arthur's court is most shocking to Hank? <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">2. Who ends up having more power: the King or the Boss? <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">3. Why is Hank able to gain power so quickly?

//<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Level 3 // <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">1. Why would people in the 7th century have been so superstitious? <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">2. Were fanciful stories of "ogres" and "monsters" really believed? <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">3. If you were flung back in time to King Arthur's court, would you be able to quickly gain power and influence?