The Overstory Quizzes

The Overstory Quiz 1

By Kristen Osborne-Bartucca · Last reviewed October 24, 2019

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

Dorothy

Patricia

Olivia

Mimi
2 What tree does Jorgen Hoel plant on his farm?

An aspen

A mulberry

A maple

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

diary entries

drawing

letters

photography
4 Nicholas Hoel is a/an

activist

lawyer

engineer

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

scroll

necklace

photograph

poem
6 Why does Mimi's father commit suicide?

He is distressed over the dying tree

He has lost his job

He cannot invent the device he wants to

His wife has died
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

engineering

botany

economics

psychology
9 What kind of lawyer is Ray Brinkman?

Personal Injury

Corporate

Intellectual Property

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

painting

acting

sports

new jobs
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 wants to stay in Thailand

he flies planes

he is saved by a banyan tree

he relishes killing the Viet Cong
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 used a racial slur

She takes his notebook

She insults him

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

Sing to him

Push him out

Talk to him

Save him
16 Neelay grows famous for designing

games

websites

applications

AIs
17 What literary work is so influential to Patricia?

The Iliad

The Odyssey

The Aneid

The Metamorphoses
18 All of the following are true about Patricia's time in college except

her professors say old growth is bad

she drops out to pursue her own studies

she believes that trees are social creatures

she determines which gases the trees breathe out
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 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 faded into oblivion

It has been validated
22 When Olivia gets high, she

talks to the trees

accidentally dies

connects with humanity

commits suicide
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 she has a purpose

tell her to write about them
24 Why is Dorothy so depressed in her marriage?

She is not a good actress

She cannot have a child

Ray is cheating on her

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

Nick

Douglas

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