Imagination and Perception

Is Marco Polo making up these stories about the surreal cities he has visited? Is Kublai Khan simply imagining the conversations he has with Polo? These questions become very important when trying to decipher the novel. The theme of imagination runs throughout the novel. Khan is at times unsure if he has spoken to Polo or if he has only imagined speaking to him. When Polo describes a city he is asking Khan to imagine himself sitting in that city on an evening like the one they are currently experiencing.

Imagination ties to perception, when Polo tries to get the emperor to understand why he describes the cities the way he does. He wants the emperor to imagine a circumstance to their current one and filter the cities through his own perceptions. If it is a warm evening with a nice breeze blowing, the emperor should...