View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What theme runs through Chapter 4 with regard to how Polo tells his tales?

2. What is Eutropia composed of?

3. Moving southward for three days from the city of Zaira, what city would one encounter?

4. When Polo goes to Hypatia, what does he learn?

5. Why does Polo initially rely on symbols to represent people and places?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Kublai Khan listen to Marco Polo's fantastic stories about cities he's visited?

2. How does Polo describe the young women of Armilla?

3. What does Polo come to realize about language in Hypatia?

4. Why does Polo say that it is best to visit Diomira on a September evening?

5. When Khan and Polo pause in between their conversations, pondering the meaning of what's been said, what does each imagine or visualize?

6. How does the information provided to Khan by his other messengers differ from what Polo shares?

7. What is it about Anastasia that it would make slaves of men?

8. How is Maurilia connected to its past?

9. Explain why Polo says that one cannot forget the city of Zora.

10. In what way are the people of Chloe connected to each other?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Through some of his city descriptions, Polo demonstrates the folly behind people's behavior, customs, traditions, and/or belief systems. Cite three examples from the book where this is the case. Then, compare and contrast these examples. Finally, explain what message you believe Polo is trying to communicate about human nature by these examples.

Essay Topic 2

In many of Polo's stories, there is a strong relationship between the living and the dead.

Part 1) Give specific examples from the book of cities that exhibit some type of connection between those who are alive and those who have passed on.

Part 2) Why does Polo cover this theme? Why does he return to it again and again? What is he trying to establish, either for himself or for the emperor, regarding the interconnectedness of the living and the dead?

Essay Topic 3

At first, Polo does not speak Khan's language and therefore uses symbols and gestures to communicate his stories. Later, he learns to speak a language Khan speaks and is able to give the emperor precise descriptions.

1) Analyze how Khan interprets Polo's stories when they are told through symbols and gestures. How much does he comprehend? What is left to his imagination? How does he fill in the blanks?

2) How do Khan's interpretations of the stories change once Polo learns to speak his language? Is any information lost, gained, or transformed? Explain.

3) Analyze the differences in Khan's interpretations when the stories are told through symbols and when they are told through clear spoken language. Which interpretation is closest to the truth Polo is trying to convey? Why?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 911 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample