Wrapping up thoughts on Marco Polo

 

As last time, most of what will be covered in this post will be what we discussed in class, specifically, on the travels of Polo from China to “Japan” and India, and the influences of Rustecello. There was a clear and definitive shift in the tone of the writing in the last chapter. Marco Polo becomes considerably more deeming of the people he encounters. Some notable facts he points out are the lack of clothes the farther away he gets from the Khan’s domain.  Additionally, he explains how these people are cannibals and eat the dead if they happen upon them. While there is still mention of goods that these people produce, and the general format of “Use paper money, are idolaters,  burn their dead, and are loyal to the Khan” is still somewhat in place,  Polo begins to abandon it in favor of the more mystical/ foreign stories he wants to tell. The reason for this can be explained by one of two options. The first (and more probable) is that Rustecello wanted to add details that would shock readers and further promote the idea that Asia was a mysterious land. This may be since on Polo’s return home, he had less to talk about. This being true, Rustecello might want to add detail to make the ending more engaging and also promote his romance style writing. The other possibility is that Marco Polo wanted to be as relentless as he was in the final chapters, but because of his ties to the Khan and the potential risk to his life by the Khan, if he demonized the Khan’s kingdom was enough to sway him not to discredit him.