2. Each person in Melania is what?
(a) Expected to understand existence.
(b) Born into a role.
(c) Tested at the age of five.
(d) Regarded as both mother and father to everyone else.

3. The people of Adelma remind Polo of what?
(a) Spoiled children.
(b) Friends and relatives who have died.
(c) Overstuffed toads.
(d) Princes and princesses.

4. What does the hidden side of Moriana look like?
(a) A giant warehouse filled with travelers' broken dreams.
(b) A golden altar to the gods of light and darkness.
(c) A wasteland of jagged rocks and tortured souls.
(d) An expanse of rusting sheet metal and pipes black with soot.

5. As Polo studies the wood of Khan's chessboard, what does he point out?
(a) Its rich red color.
(b) That they've not had dinner yet.
(c) Its natural flaws.
(d) That it's getting late.

Short Answer Questions

1. The more Khan listens to Polo's stories, the less certain he is that he is sitting in the garden or:

2. Why does Khan question Polo's motives for travel?

3. In Chapter 6, Polo claims that he's reached the point where, in the number of people he has known:

4. What is the furthest city to which Polo has ever traveled?

5. As he travels through Adelma, what does Polo wonder?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the significance of the strings in the city of Ersilia.

2. Leonia, the city that reinvents itself daily, is in danger of what?

3. What does Polo say to Khan when the emperor points out that he never speaks of Venice?

4. When Polo speaks of imperfections in the wood of Khan's chessboard, how does the emperor respond?

5. Why is it that someone arriving at Thekla will see very little of the city?

6. 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?

7. In what significant way is Argia different from all other cities Polo describes?

8. What are the theories regarding why the inhabitants of Baucis live up in the clouds and rarely climb down to the ground?

9. What eventually happens to travelers who decide to stay in Phyllis to discover all of its secrets?

10. How do the cities described by Polo in Chapter 8 depict confusion?

(see the answer keys)

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