The Overstory Quizzes

The Overstory Quiz 1

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

Dorothy

Patricia

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

A mulberry

A maple

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

letters

photography

drawing
4 Nicholas Hoel is a/an
artist

lawyer

activist

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

necklace

scroll

poem
6 Why does Mimi's father commit suicide?
He is distressed over the dying tree

His wife has died

He has lost his job

He cannot invent the device he wants to
7 As a child Adam is all of the following except
interested in trees and insects

beloved by his parents and siblings

fond of his maple tree

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

economics

engineering

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

Constitutional

Corporate

Intellectual Property
10 Ray and Dorothy's first date leads them into
new jobs

sports

acting

painting
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 relishes killing the Viet Cong

he wants to stay in Thailand

he flies planes

he is saved by a banyan tree
13 After the war, Douglas takes a job
for a logging company

in politics

planting seedlings

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

She gives him a bad grade

She used a racial slur

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

Save him

Push him out

Talk to him
16 Neelay grows famous for designing
applications

AIs

games

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
her professors say old growth is bad

she determines which gases the trees breathe out

she drops out to pursue her own studies

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 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 harshly criticized

It has been semi-validated

It has faded into oblivion

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

connects with humanity

accidentally dies

talks to the trees
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?
She cannot have a child

Ray is cheating on her

They are poor

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

Mimi

Patricia

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