The Overstory Quizzes

The Overstory Quiz 1

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

Mimi

Patricia

Dorothy

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

A mulberry

A chestnut

A maple

An aspen
3 The Hoel tree is captured via ___________ for more than a century.

letters

photography

diary entries

drawing
4 Nicholas Hoel is a/an

activist

artist

lawyer

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

photograph

poem

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

a little "socially retarded"

beloved by his parents and siblings

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

psychology

engineering

botany

economics
9 What kind of lawyer is Ray Brinkman?

Constitutional

Corporate

Intellectual Property

Personal Injury
10 Ray and Dorothy's first date leads them into

painting

acting

new jobs

sports
11 In the Stanford Prison Experiment, Douglas

is a vicious guard

keeps his cool

has a breakdown

asks to leave
12 During the Vietnam War, all of the following happen to Douglas except

he wants to stay in Thailand

he relishes killing the Viet Cong

he flies planes

he is saved by a banyan tree
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 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?

Save him

Talk to him

Sing to him

Push him out
16 Neelay grows famous for designing

websites

AIs

applications

games
17 What literary work is so influential to Patricia?

The Metamorphoses

The Odyssey

The Aneid

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

she determines which gases the trees breathe out

she believes that trees are social creatures

she drops out to pursue her own studies

her professors say old growth is bad
19 What happens after Patricia's paper is published?

She loses her lectureship

It is initially lauded

It is criticized by leading dendrologists

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

She gets work with the Bureau of Land Management

She visits the old growth forests

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 faded into oblivion

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

connects with humanity

accidentally dies

talks to the trees

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

tell her she has a purpose

move her to tears of joy

guide her to Solace

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

Ray is cheating on her

They are poor

She cannot have a child

She is not a good actress
25 Who does Olivia meet on her initial westward drive?

Mimi

Douglas

Nick

Patricia

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.

Read the Study Guide for The Overstory…

The Overstory

by Richard Powers

The Overstory Quiz 1

The Overstory Questions and Answers

Study Guide for The Overstory

Lesson Plan for The Overstory