Chapters 31 and 32 are interludes which have nothing or very little to do with the plot. That is, the supposed purpose of this section is to expose the king to the customs of his subjects, but these chapters neither move the plot forward, nor do they serve to inform the king about his subjects.
The most amusing thing about the chapters is the manner in which The Boss wants to play the bountiful host and impress these rather lowly people. No matter how much power, he has, The Boss still wants to be theatrical and attract attention to himself. Of course, it is also human nature to want to put a braggart in his place, as The Boss does with Dowley, who brags about having meat twice a month and having all sorts of luxuries just before the Marcos bring out the plentiful bounty that The Boss has provided.
In Chapter 33, which again does not move the plot forward and thus is another digression, we see The Boss attempting to explain the economic theory that wages are important only in so far as what they will buy. He is a complete failure at this, and resenting the fact that the peasants don't see his point, he childishly begins to get revenge on them.
In order to show them how illogical they are, he creates another analogy about the absurdity of the pillory, and at the end of this analogy, he has placed all of the peasants in a position of being placed in the pillory. Rather than making a logical point, The Boss has only turned the peasants against him, and thus, at the first opportunity, they will use their fear to betray him.
In Chapter 34, this opportunity soon presents itself. When King Arthur makes his absurd remarks concerning agriculture, the superstitious men are going to use this opportunity to seize the "mad man" and "the one [who] would betray us." All these events are leading up to the enslavement of The Boss and the king. The comedy of the situation is that The Boss brings a higher price than the king does at the slave market, and both men are annoyed that they are sold for so little, for they both believe that they should have brought a far higher price. Since King Arthur cannot prove himself to be a freeman, and he and The Boss are sold into slavery, they find themselves upon the slave block; thus, Twain hopes that everyone will realize the "hellish" horror of slavery. The kings enslavement will, however, cause him later to abolish the entire concept of slavery.
