The Overstory Quizzes

The Overstory Quiz 1

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

Patricia

Dorothy

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

A mulberry

An aspen

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

photography

letters

drawing
4 Nicholas Hoel is a/an
lawyer

activist

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

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
beloved by his parents and siblings

fond of his maple tree

interested in trees and insects

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

botany

economics

engineering
9 What kind of lawyer is Ray Brinkman?
Constitutional

Personal Injury

Intellectual Property

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

painting

sports

new jobs
11 In the Stanford Prison Experiment, Douglas
keeps his cool

is a vicious guard

asks to leave

has a breakdown
12 During the Vietnam War, all of the following happen to Douglas except
he flies planes

he relishes killing the Viet Cong

he wants to stay in Thailand

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

as a scientist

planting seedlings

in politics
14 Why does Neelay get so angry at Ms. Gilpin?
She insults him

She takes his notebook

She used a racial slur

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

Talk to him

Push him out

Sing to him
16 Neelay grows famous for designing
games

AIs

applications

websites
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

her professors say old growth is bad

she drops out to pursue her own studies

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 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 faded into oblivion

It has been semi-validated

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

commits suicide

accidentally dies

talks to the trees
23 The beings of light do all the following to/for Olivia except
tell her to write about them

tell her she has a purpose

move her to tears of joy

guide her to Solace
24 Why is Dorothy so depressed in her marriage?
She cannot have a child

She is not a good actress

Ray is cheating on her

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

Patricia

Douglas

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