The Overstory Quizzes

The Overstory Quiz 1

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

Mimi

Patricia

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

An aspen

A mulberry

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

diary entries

letters

photography
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?
He is distressed over the dying tree

He has lost his job

His wife has died

He cannot invent the device he wants to
7 As a child Adam is all of the following except
beloved by his parents and siblings

interested in trees and insects

a little "socially retarded"

fond of his maple tree
8 Adam goes to college to study
engineering

economics

botany

psychology
9 What kind of lawyer is Ray Brinkman?
Corporate

Personal Injury

Constitutional

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

painting

new jobs

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

has a breakdown

asks to leave

is a vicious guard
12 During the Vietnam War, all of the following happen to Douglas except
he is saved by a banyan tree

he relishes killing the Viet Cong

he flies planes

he wants to stay in Thailand
13 After the war, Douglas takes a job
planting seedlings

for a logging company

in politics

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

She gives him a bad grade

She takes his notebook

She used a racial slur
15 What does the oak tree do to Neelay?
Sing to him

Push him out

Save him

Talk to him
16 Neelay grows famous for designing
AIs

games

websites

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

The Odyssey

The Iliad

The Aneid
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?
It is criticized by leading dendrologists

It is initially lauded

She loses her lectureship

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

She gets work with the Bureau of Land Management

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 been validated

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
tell her to write about them

guide her to Solace

move her to tears of joy

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

She cannot have a child

They are poor

Ray is cheating on her
25 Who does Olivia meet on her initial westward drive?
Mimi

Douglas

Patricia

Nick

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