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?
An aspen

A maple

A mulberry

A chestnut
3 The Hoel tree is captured via ___________ for more than a century.
letters

diary entries

drawing

photography
4 Nicholas Hoel is a/an
artist

activist

engineer

lawyer
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 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
a little "socially retarded"

interested in trees and insects

fond of his maple tree

beloved by his parents and siblings
8 Adam goes to college to study
engineering

psychology

botany

economics
9 What kind of lawyer is Ray Brinkman?
Personal Injury

Intellectual Property

Constitutional

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

sports

new jobs

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

has a breakdown

keeps his cool

is a vicious guard
12 During the Vietnam War, all of the following happen to Douglas except
he flies planes

he wants to stay in Thailand

he is saved by a banyan tree

he relishes killing the Viet Cong
13 After the war, Douglas takes a job
in politics

for a logging company

planting seedlings

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

She used a racial slur

She insults him

She takes his notebook
15 What does the oak tree do to Neelay?
Sing to him

Talk to him

Save him

Push him out
16 Neelay grows famous for designing
websites

applications

games

AIs
17 What literary work is so influential to Patricia?
The Metamorphoses

The Aneid

The Iliad

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

she drops out to pursue her own studies

her professors say old growth is bad

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 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 validated

It has been semi-validated

It has faded into oblivion

It has been harshly criticized
22 When Olivia gets high, she
connects with humanity

talks to the trees

accidentally dies

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

tell her to write about them

tell her she has a purpose

move her to tears of joy
24 Why is Dorothy so depressed in her marriage?
Ray is cheating on her

She is not a good actress

She cannot have a child

They are poor
25 Who does Olivia meet on her initial westward drive?
Douglas

Nick

Patricia

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