The Overstory Quizzes

The Overstory Quiz 1

1 Who is the woman sitting at the tree at the beginning of the story?
Olivia

Mimi

Patricia

Dorothy
2 What tree does Jorgen Hoel plant on his farm?
A mulberry

An aspen

A chestnut

A maple
3 The Hoel tree is captured via ___________ for more than a century.
photography

drawing

letters

diary entries
4 Nicholas Hoel is a/an
activist

lawyer

engineer

artist
5 Ma Sih Hsuin brings a precious ________ to America.
photograph

necklace

scroll

poem
6 Why does Mimi's father commit suicide?
His wife has died

He cannot invent the device he wants to

He has lost his job

He is distressed over the dying tree
7 As a child Adam is all of the following except
beloved by his parents and siblings

a little "socially retarded"

fond of his maple tree

interested in trees and insects
8 Adam goes to college to study
engineering

psychology

economics

botany
9 What kind of lawyer is Ray Brinkman?
Intellectual Property

Personal Injury

Corporate

Constitutional
10 Ray and Dorothy's first date leads them into
new jobs

acting

painting

sports
11 In the Stanford Prison Experiment, Douglas
asks to leave

keeps his cool

is a vicious guard

has a breakdown
12 During the Vietnam War, all of the following happen to Douglas except
he flies planes

he relishes killing the Viet Cong

he wants to stay in Thailand

he is saved by a banyan tree
13 After the war, Douglas takes a job
for a logging company

as a scientist

in politics

planting seedlings
14 Why does Neelay get so angry at Ms. Gilpin?
She takes his notebook

She used a racial slur

She gives him a bad grade

She insults him
15 What does the oak tree do to Neelay?
Push him out

Talk to him

Sing to him

Save him
16 Neelay grows famous for designing
websites

AIs

applications

games
17 What literary work is so influential to Patricia?
The Iliad

The Odyssey

The Metamorphoses

The Aneid
18 All of the following are true about Patricia's time in college except
her professors say old growth is bad

she believes that trees are social creatures

she drops out to pursue her own studies

she determines which gases the trees breathe out
19 What happens after Patricia's paper is published?
It is initially lauded

It is criticized by leading dendrologists

She loses her lectureship

All of these
20 How does Patricia deal with her losses?
She gets work with the Bureau of Land Management

She considers suicide

She visits the old growth forests

All of these
21 From two researchers in the forest, what does Patricia learn about her work?
It has been semi-validated

It has been harshly criticized

It has been validated

It has faded into oblivion
22 When Olivia gets high, she
commits suicide

accidentally dies

talks to the trees

connects with humanity
23 The beings of light do all the following to/for Olivia except
tell her she has a purpose

tell her to write about them

guide her to Solace

move her to tears of joy
24 Why is Dorothy so depressed in her marriage?
She is not a good actress

She cannot have a child

They are poor

Ray is cheating on her
25 Who does Olivia meet on her initial westward drive?
Patricia

Mimi

Douglas

Nick

Study Guide for The Overstory

The Overstory study guide contains a biography of Richard Powers, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

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The Overstory

by Richard Powers

The Overstory Quiz 1

The Overstory Questions and Answers

Study Guide for The Overstory

Lesson Plan for The Overstory