The Overstory Quizzes

The Overstory Quiz 1

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

Dorothy

Mimi

Patricia
2 What tree does Jorgen Hoel plant on his farm?
A chestnut

A maple

An aspen

A mulberry
3 The Hoel tree is captured via ___________ for more than a century.
drawing

diary entries

photography

letters
4 Nicholas Hoel is a/an
lawyer

engineer

activist

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

photograph

poem

scroll
6 Why does Mimi's father commit suicide?
He cannot invent the device he wants to

He is distressed over the dying tree

He has lost his job

His wife has died
7 As a child Adam is all of the following except
fond of his maple tree

interested in trees and insects

beloved by his parents and siblings

a little "socially retarded"
8 Adam goes to college to study
botany

psychology

engineering

economics
9 What kind of lawyer is Ray Brinkman?
Corporate

Intellectual Property

Personal Injury

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

sports

painting

new jobs
11 In the Stanford Prison Experiment, Douglas
keeps his cool

is a vicious guard

has a breakdown

asks to leave
12 During the Vietnam War, all of the following happen to Douglas except
he is saved by a banyan tree

he relishes killing the Viet Cong

he flies planes

he wants to stay in Thailand
13 After the war, Douglas takes a job
as a scientist

in politics

planting seedlings

for a logging company
14 Why does Neelay get so angry at Ms. Gilpin?
She insults him

She used a racial slur

She takes his notebook

She gives him a bad grade
15 What does the oak tree do to Neelay?
Talk to him

Save him

Push him out

Sing to him
16 Neelay grows famous for designing
games

AIs

applications

websites
17 What literary work is so influential to Patricia?
The Odyssey

The Aneid

The Metamorphoses

The Iliad
18 All of the following are true about Patricia's time in college except
she believes that trees are social creatures

her professors say old growth is bad

she determines which gases the trees breathe out

she drops out to pursue her own studies
19 What happens after Patricia's paper is published?
It is criticized by leading dendrologists

She loses her lectureship

It is initially lauded

All of these
20 How does Patricia deal with her losses?
She considers suicide

She gets work with the Bureau of Land Management

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 faded into oblivion

It has been semi-validated

It has been harshly criticized

It has been validated
22 When Olivia gets high, she
commits suicide

connects with humanity

talks to the trees

accidentally dies
23 The beings of light do all the following to/for Olivia except
guide her to Solace

move her to tears of joy

tell her to write about them

tell her she has a purpose
24 Why is Dorothy so depressed in her marriage?
They are poor

She is not a good actress

Ray is cheating on her

She cannot have a child
25 Who does Olivia meet on her initial westward drive?
Nick

Patricia

Mimi

Douglas

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