The Overstory Quizzes

The Overstory Quiz 1

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

Olivia

Dorothy

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

An aspen

A chestnut

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

drawing

diary entries

letters
4 Nicholas Hoel is a/an
activist

artist

engineer

lawyer
5 Ma Sih Hsuin brings a precious ________ to America.
poem

photograph

necklace

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

He has lost his job

He cannot invent the device he wants to

He is distressed over the dying tree
7 As a child Adam is all of the following except
fond of his maple tree

beloved by his parents and siblings

a little "socially retarded"

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

psychology

engineering

botany
9 What kind of lawyer is Ray Brinkman?
Corporate

Personal Injury

Intellectual Property

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

painting

new jobs

sports
11 In the Stanford Prison Experiment, Douglas
keeps his cool

asks to leave

is a vicious guard

has a breakdown
12 During the Vietnam War, all of the following happen to Douglas except
he wants to stay in Thailand

he is saved by a banyan tree

he relishes killing the Viet Cong

he flies planes
13 After the war, Douglas takes a job
in politics

as a scientist

for a logging company

planting seedlings
14 Why does Neelay get so angry at Ms. Gilpin?
She gives him a bad grade

She used a racial slur

She takes his notebook

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

Save him

Sing to him

Push him out
16 Neelay grows famous for designing
games

AIs

applications

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

The Metamorphoses

The Odyssey

The Aneid
18 All of the following are true about Patricia's time in college except
she drops out to pursue her own studies

she determines which gases the trees breathe out

her professors say old growth is bad

she believes that trees are social creatures
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 visits the old growth forests

She gets work with the Bureau of Land Management

She considers suicide

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 validated

It has been harshly criticized

It has faded into oblivion
22 When Olivia gets high, she
talks to the trees

connects with humanity

accidentally dies

commits suicide
23 The beings of light do all the following to/for Olivia except
move her to tears of joy

tell her to write about them

guide her to Solace

tell her she has a purpose
24 Why is Dorothy so depressed in her marriage?
She is not a good actress

They are poor

Ray is cheating on her

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

Nick

Douglas

Mimi

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