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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. What is the name of the watchman at the Mar Thomas Medical Mission Hospital?

2. How long after Elsie disappears does Shamuel find a bar of soap along with Elsie's thorthu, blouse, mundu, and slippers?

3. After a year of studying the body, how many essay questions will Mariamma have in order to pass the class?

4. When Mariamma is assigned to Gosha Hospital, how long does it take her to get her required normal deliveries?

5. Besides Mariamma, how many students compete for the prize exam in 1969?

Short Essay Questions

1. What causes Mariamma to consider becoming a doctor?

2. What does Mariamma believe the Condition does other than produce acoustic neuromas?

3. What addiction does Philipose have after his ankle injuries?

4. How do Ammachi and Baby Mol die?

5. Why did Elsie leave Mariamma?

6. What does Elsie look like when Mariamma first sees her?

7. How is money raised for a hospital in Parambil?

8. What trouble does Elsie have during Mariamma's birth?

9. What is Digby's only regret about managing Gwendolyn Gardens?

10. What does Mariamma think Lenin should have done instead of joini the Naxalites?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Idioms are words that have a figurative, rather than a literal meaning. How does Verghese use idioms in The Covenant of Water? Why are the idioms sometimes difficult to understand? Why do the idioms often require research to understand their meaning? How do idioms help create word pictures and mental images for readers in a concise manner? How do idioms help readers understand characters, emotions, and ideas?

Essay Topic 2

Digby feels great shame after the fire that kills Celeste. Why does Digby feel guilt and shame, and how does he learn to deal with his guilt and shame?

Essay Topic 3

What a reader knows about events and characters is determined by the point of view in a book. What is the point of view of The Covenant of Water? How does the way that the third-person narrator follows different characters influence what readers know about events and characters? How does having the narrator follow different characters help readers connect with and understand characters?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 835 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample