Connecicut Yankee

Sandy and Hank set off on the road again, and Sandy continues with her never-ending tale of the identity of the six knights Hank has vanquished. This time, however, she finally finishes, revealing that the knights are a duke and his sons. "A duke!" Hank exclaims, and begins rattling off about the illogic of knight errantry as a trade, worse than investing in pork.

Twain's style of humorous writing is often marked by unlikely and incongruous ways of treating a general topic, and this chapter is a prime example of his brand of wit. When Hank finds out that the six knights he has vanquished are a duke and his sons, he is quite pleased with his haul and begins to consider knight errantry in terms of its profitability, comparing one's odds in "pork bellies" to one's odds in conquering men at arms. This commodification of chivalry is a humorous idea in itself, marrying the dry and practical mind of Hank to an institution of senses, glamour and myth.