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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. Octavia is full of:
2. Who are the Penates and the Lares?
3. Esmeralda is known as the city of what?
4. When Khan travels to visit Kin-sai, what does Polo do?
5. What do the residents of Ersilia do?
Short Essay Questions
1. Describe the two species that protect Leandra.
2. It's not always clear in the story if Khan is speaking to Polo or merely imagining a conversation, such as when he supposedly confronts Polo regarding Venice. Whether the conversation happened or was imagined, what does Khan accuse Polo of regarding Venice?
3. What eventually happens to travelers who decide to stay in Phyllis to discover all of its secrets?
4. Describe Esmeralda, the city of water.
5. When Polo sees familiar faces in the city of Adelma, what does he start to wonder?
6. In what significant way is Argia different from all other cities Polo describes?
7. Leonia, the city that reinvents itself daily, is in danger of what?
8. When Polo speaks of imperfections in the wood of Khan's chessboard, how does the emperor respond?
9. Who lives in the underground city of Eusapia, and who has access to it?
10. What are the theories regarding why the inhabitants of Baucis live up in the clouds and rarely climb down to the ground?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Khan alternates between being pessimistic and being optimistic about his empire.
1) What concerns and hopes does Khan have about his empire? Cite specific examples.
2) How do Polo's stories fuel or soothe the emperor's worries and ambitions?
3) Seeing Khan at odds with himself, how does Polo use this opportunity to expand the emperor's understanding of the cities within his empire?
Essay Topic 2
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?
Essay Topic 3
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?
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This section contains 999 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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