The Celebrants Quiz: 20 Questions on Plot, Characters, and Themes

This quiz covers the full arc of Steven Rowley's The Celebrants, from the opening epigraph to the final chapters of Jordan's illness and the pact that binds five college friends. Questions are grouped into four sections: plot and sequence, character motivation, theme and symbol, and synthesis. Use the book overview for context, and check your answers against the key at the bottom. For deeper discussion, see the questions and answers and the ending explained pages.

Plot and Sequence (Questions 1–8)

At the start of the novel, what news do Jordan and Jordy receive at Memorial Sloan Kettering?
- A. Jordan's cancer has gone into remission
- B. Jordan's cancer has returned
- C. Jordy's cancer has returned
- D. Jordan has been declared cancer-free
What gift does Jordan give Jordy in the chapter set by the fire?
- A. A plane ticket to Bogotá
- B. A bottle of Haut-Brion wine
- C. A Ouija board
- D. A new swimsuit
On their anniversary, what does Jordan confess to Jordy about the night Jordy first arrived in New York?
- A. He had just started seeing someone else
- B. He had forgotten Jordy was coming
- C. He had planned to break up with him
- D. He had already booked a trip to Italy
At Joe Allen's, what does Jordan announce to Jordy?
- A. He wants to move to Bogotá
- B. He wants to stop his cancer treatment
- C. He wants to trigger the pact immediately
- D. He wants to see a different play
What does Jordan do at the very end of the Joe Allen's scene?
- A. He orders another martini
- B. He texts Naomi, Craig, Marielle, and Jordy
- C. He calls his parents
- D. He leaves the bar alone
What is the name of the group text chain that Jordan shows Jordy in the waiting room?
- A. THE PACT
- B. NANA'S HUNGRY LITTLE PIE EATERS
- C. THE JORDANS
- D. NINE LIVES
Where does Jordan say he wants to travel instead of going to Big Sur?
- A. Positano, Italy
- B. Florence, Italy
- C. Bogotá, Colombia
- D. Mexico
In the rainy afternoon scene, what is Jordan doing with his belongings?
- A. Packing for a trip
- B. Sorting through them to decide what to keep
- C. Giving them away to friends
- D. Burning them in the fireplace

Character Motivation (Questions 9–13)

Why does Jordy suggest dinner at the Carlyle after the hospital appointment?
- A. To celebrate Jordan's remission
- B. To distract them from the bad news
- C. To meet friends there
- D. To avoid going home to an empty apartment
Why does Jordan give Jordy the Ouija board?
- A. To play a game together
- B. To continue conversations after Jordan dies
- C. To mock Jordy's belief in the supernatural
- D. To remind Jordy of their honeymoon
Why does Jordan keep resisting the Big Sur trip with friends?
- A. He is afraid of flying
- B. He doesn't want to be seen in his current state or sit through a fake funeral
- C. He prefers to travel alone
- D. He has already been to Big Sur
Why does Jordy refuse to go for a swim when Jordan suggests it?
- A. He is afraid of the rain
- B. He doesn't want to leave Jordan alone
- C. He has a shoulder injury
- D. He wants to finish sorting the closet
What reason does Jordan give for wanting to discontinue his treatment?
- A. The side effects are unbearable
- B. He is tired of being managed and treated like a child
- C. He believes the treatment is ineffective
- D. He wants to save money for the trip

Theme and Symbol (Questions 14–17)

The epigraph from Joanne Harris's Chocolat says, "Life is what you celebrate. All of it. Even its end." What does this suggest about the novel's central theme?
- A. Only happy moments deserve celebration
- B. Death should be feared and avoided
- C. The entire span of life, including death, is worthy of celebration
- D. Celebration is a private act
In the waiting room, a bell rings. What does the bell signify?
- A. The start of a new treatment cycle
- B. Another patient has completed treatment
- C. A nurse is needed
- D. Visiting hours are over
What does the Ouija board symbolize in the context of Jordan's illness?
- A. A desire to communicate with the dead
- B. A rejection of technology
- C. A game to pass the time
- D. A reminder of childhood
Jordy tells Jordan he was "meant to have nine lives." What does this metaphor represent?
- A. Jordan's love of cats
- B. Jordan's resilience and ability to survive
- C. The number of friends in the pact
- D. The years of their marriage

Synthesis (Questions 18–20)

How does the pact—the agreement to throw living funerals for one another—function as a theme in the novel? (Short answer)
Compare Jordan's attitude toward death with Jordy's attitude as shown in the waiting room and the Joe Allen's scene. (Short answer)
What does the novel suggest about the role of friendship and legacy in the face of mortality? (Short answer)

Answer Key

1. B. Jordan's cancer has returned after four years, ten months, and three days of remission. The doctors had said five years without recurrence would mean he was cancer-free.

2. C. Jordan gives Jordy a Ouija board, saying it will let them "continue the conversation" after he is gone. Jordy is not amused and slams the bedroom door.

3. A. Jordan confesses that when Jordy arrived at his doorstep decades earlier, Jordan had just started seeing someone else and briefly wasn't sure he was happy to see Jordy. He reassures Jordy that by the next morning everything felt right.

4. B. At Joe Allen's, Jordan announces he is going to discontinue his cancer treatment. Jordy challenges him to trigger the pact instead.

5. B. Jordan opens his Messenger app and adds Naomi, Craig, Marielle, and Jordy to a text—apparently activating the pact.

6. B. The group text chain is named NANA'S HUNGRY LITTLE PIE EATERS, a reference to a pie Craig brought to Marielle's.

7. C. Jordan wants to return to Bogotá, Colombia, where his parents originated, rather than go to Big Sur. Jordy is disappointed but later buys tickets to Bogotá.

8. B. Jordan is sorting through his belongings, starting with belts, to have some say in what happens to his things before his family takes everything.

9. B. Jordy suggests dinner at the Carlyle to distract them from the grim news. He even starts discussing what to order as if the real decision were the menu.

10. B. Jordan gives Jordy the Ouija board so they can "continue the conversation" after Jordan dies. It is a darkly humorous attempt to address his mortality.

11. B. Jordan doesn't want to be seen in his current state, doesn't want pity, and doesn't want to sit through a fake funeral when a real one looms. He keeps swatting away the Big Sur idea.

12. B. Jordy refuses to leave Jordan alone, noting Jordan's limited self-care ability (he rates himself a 3 on the ECOG scale). He asks, "Why would I leave you to go for a swim?"

13. B. Jordan says he is "tired of being managed by people, treated like a child." He gestures at the martini and everything else as evidence of his frustration.

14. C. The epigraph sets the novel's theme: life in its entirety, including its end, is to be celebrated. This idea underpins the pact's living funerals.

15. B. The bell marks another patient's completed treatment. Jordan notes it, and the sound contrasts with his own situation.

16. A. The Ouija board symbolizes Jordan's desire to maintain connection beyond death—a way to keep talking after he is gone, even though he doesn't believe in an afterlife.

17. B. The "nine lives" metaphor refers to Jordan's resilience, his ability to survive multiple crises. Jordy says Jordan was meant to have nine lives, but Jordan jokes he has eight after Naomi's funeral trip.

18. The pact functions as a way to confront mortality head-on by celebrating a person's life while they are still alive. It forces friends to say what they need to say, leaving nothing unsaid, and it becomes a source of both comfort and tension as Jordan faces his own death. The novel suggests that such rituals can help the living process grief and honor friendship.

19. Jordan is more accepting of death—he doesn't believe in an afterlife, yet he pictures himself with Alec in heaven, and he wants to control his legacy and say goodbye. Jordy resists, insisting Jordan will survive and refusing to accept the end. At Joe Allen's, Jordy challenges Jordan to fight and to trigger the pact rather than give up, showing his denial and his fear of losing his husband.

20. The novel suggests that friendship provides a lasting legacy that outlives individual lives. The pact ensures that friends speak honestly and celebrate one another, and Jordan's final request—that people tell a loved one the positive impact they have had—reinforces the idea that legacy is measured by the connections we make and the words we leave behind.