Final answer:
Comparing the American middle west to Camelot implies idealization and nostalgia, suggesting a bygone era of heroism and noble qualities, and elevates the region to a mythical status reminiscent of the Arthurian legends.
Step-by-step explanation:
The effect of comparing the American middle west to Camelot in literature can be quite profound. The legend of Camelot is closely associated with themes of romance and great heroism, qualities that embody the epitome of an idealized realm with noble knights and majestic courts.
When an author draws an allusion to Camelot, they are often invoking these connotations to highlight a sense of unreality or to imbue the subject with a sense of nobility, grandeur, and an idealized past. In the context of the American middle west, such a comparison may be used to describe the mythology of the American frontier or to romanticize the region's past, suggesting a bygone era of grand endeavor and moral clarity reminiscent of Arthurian legends.
Impact of the Allusion
By comparing the American middle west to Camelot, the passage imparts a sense of nostalgia and idealization. It paints the modern landscape with a mythical quality, perhaps suggesting that the values and the heroism of the past can be mirrored in the contemporary world, or that there is a loss of such qualities in the present. This allusion serves to elevate the region in the minds of readers, attributing to it an otherworldly quality like that of the fabled Arthurian realm.