Quiz The Covenant of Water (Oprah's Book Club) Abraham Verghese

The Covenant of Water Quiz: 20 Questions to Test Your Knowledge

Read the full book summary on the main page or revisit key moments with our questions and answers and ending explained.

Quiz Questions

Plot and Sequence (8 questions)

  1. What event precipitates the young bride's marriage in 1900?
    a. Her father dies and her uncle arranges the marriage.
    b. She runs away from home.
    c. Her mother sells her to pay debts.
    d. The groom's family demands she marry immediately.

  2. What is the name of the family genealogy that documents drownings? (Short answer)

  3. What happens to JoJo, the young bride's stepson?
    a. He drowns in an irrigation ditch.
    b. He dies in a train accident.
    c. He leaves home to become a priest.
    d. He drowns in the river.

  4. What medical condition does Big Ammachi's daughter Baby Mol have?
    a. Congenital hypothyroidism.
    b. Down syndrome.
    c. Hydrocephalus.
    d. Deafness.

  5. What does Philipose buy with his refunded tuition after leaving college due to deafness? (Short answer)

  6. What causes Philipose's death?
    a. He drowns in a train wreck.
    b. He dies of a heart attack.
    c. He is killed in a Naxalite attack.
    d. He dies of leprosy.

  7. What is the name of the leprosarium that Digby works at? (Short answer)

  8. Who is Mariamma's biological father?
    a. Philipose.
    b. Digby Kilgour.
    c. Lenin.
    d. Uplift Master.

Character Motivation (5 questions)

  1. Why does Big Ammachi pray after JoJo's death, "Lord, if You won't or can't, send us someone who can"?
    a. She wants a doctor to cure the family's Condition.
    b. She wants a new child.
    c. She wants her husband to speak to her.
    d. She wants to leave Parambil.

  2. Why does Big Ammachi's husband refuse to travel by water? (Short answer)

  3. Why does Elsie stage her own drowning and leave Parambil?
    a. She wants to pursue her art career.
    b. She has leprosy and wants to protect her daughter.
    c. She falls in love with Digby.
    d. She is angry at Philipose.

  4. Why does Philipose refuse to accompany Elsie to Madras after she wins the gold medal? (Short answer)

  5. Why does Lenin become a Naxalite?
    a. He wants to overthrow the government.
    b. He is inspired by communist ideals after witnessing caste oppression.
    c. He is forced by his parents.
    d. He wants to impress Mariamma.

Theme and Symbol (4 questions)

  1. What does water primarily symbolize in the novel?
    a. Life and cleansing, but also death and drowning.
    b. Only destruction.
    c. Only purity.
    d. The British Empire.

  2. What does the plavu tree (jackfruit tree) symbolize for Philipose? (Short answer)

  3. What does Big Ammachi's lighting of the great brass lamp after Mariamma's birth symbolize?
    a. Celebration of a firstborn son.
    b. Defiance of tradition and honoring a girl child.
    c. Religious devotion.
    d. Welcoming the neighbors.

  4. What is the "Condition" in the novel? (Short answer)

Synthesis (3 questions)

  1. How does the novel connect the themes of water and covenant? (Short answer)

  2. How do Digby and Philipose both demonstrate sacrifice for love?
    a. Digby sacrifices his career for Celeste; Philipose sacrifices his land for Elsie.
    b. Digby gives up his life as a planter to care for Elsie at the leprosarium; Philipose dies trying to save a child.
    c. Both become doctors.
    d. Both leave their families.

  3. How does Mariamma's discovery of her true parentage affect her understanding of the family's Condition? (Short answer)

Answer Key

No. Answer Explanation
1 a The bride’s father died, and her uncle arranged the marriage.
2 The Water Tree Big Ammachi names the genealogy “the Water Tree” after taking ownership of it.
3 a JoJo drowns in an irrigation ditch after a vine swing breaks.
4 a Dr. Rune Orqvist diagnoses Baby Mol with congenital hypothyroidism.
5 A radio and a collection of classic novels Philipose uses the refund to buy a radio and novels after leaving college.
6 a Philipose’s train plunges off a trestle bridge into a river; he cannot swim.
7 Saint Bridget’s Saint Bridget’s is the leprosarium that Rune Orqvist restored and where Digby later works.
8 b Mariamma discovers that Digby is her biological father after reading his journals.
9 a Big Ammachi prays for a helper to cure the Condition if God will not.
10 He has a hereditary Condition that makes him vulnerable to drowning The Condition causes a fear of water; her husband avoids water to prevent drowning.
11 b Elsie developed leprosy after pregnancy and stages her drowning to protect Mariamma from infection.
12 Due to his trauma and agoraphobia Philipose’s trauma from his father’s death and the Condition make him fearful of leaving home.
13 b Lenin turns to communism after seeing the violent eviction of a tribal farmer and ongoing caste oppression.
14 a The epigraphs and the story show water as both life‑giving (Eden, Tagore’s dance) and deadly (the drowning curse).
15 His childhood, attachment to the past, and the burden of family legacy Philipose hesitates to cut the tree because it represents his history and memories.
16 b Big Ammachi lights the lamp usually reserved for a firstborn son to celebrate the girl child, defying tradition.
17 A hereditary disorder (neurofibromatosis type 2) causing acoustic neuromas that affect balance and lead to drowning The Condition is revealed as a variant of von Recklinghausen’s disease.
18 Water is both the source of life (Genesis river, monsoon rains) and the instrument of death (the drowning curse). The covenant represents God’s promise (Noah) and the family’s pledge to protect each other despite the Condition. Big Ammachi’s final reflection on water as God’s covenant underscores this dual nature. The novel weaves water as a sacred promise and a fatal threat.
19 b Digby abandons his planter life to care for Elsie at the leprosarium; Philipose dies while trying to rescue a child from the train wreck.
20 She learns that the Condition is genetic and that her biological father Digby also likely carries it. This makes her mission to cure the Condition more personal. She also reconciles the secrecy around her mother’s leprosy and Elsie’s sacrifice. Mariamma’s identity shift deepens her commitment to neurosurgery and understanding the family legacy.