The Overstory Quizzes

The Overstory Quiz 1

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

Olivia

Patricia

Dorothy
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.
letters

drawing

diary entries

photography
4 Nicholas Hoel is a/an
engineer

lawyer

activist

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

scroll

poem

photograph
6 Why does Mimi's father commit suicide?
He has lost his job

His wife has died

He is distressed over the dying tree

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

a little "socially retarded"

fond of his maple tree

beloved by his parents and siblings
8 Adam goes to college to study
botany

engineering

psychology

economics
9 What kind of lawyer is Ray Brinkman?
Constitutional

Corporate

Personal Injury

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

painting

sports

new jobs
11 In the Stanford Prison Experiment, Douglas
has a breakdown

asks to leave

is a vicious guard

keeps his cool
12 During the Vietnam War, all of the following happen to Douglas except
he flies planes

he relishes killing the Viet Cong

he is saved by a banyan tree

he wants to stay in Thailand
13 After the war, Douglas takes a job
as a scientist

for a logging company

planting seedlings

in politics
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?
Push him out

Sing to him

Talk to him

Save him
16 Neelay grows famous for designing
websites

applications

AIs

games
17 What literary work is so influential to Patricia?
The Iliad

The Aneid

The Odyssey

The Metamorphoses
18 All of the following are true about Patricia's time in college except
she drops out to pursue her own studies

she determines which gases the trees breathe out

she believes that trees are social creatures

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 visits the old growth forests

She considers suicide

She gets work with the Bureau of Land Management

All of these
21 From two researchers in the forest, what does Patricia learn about her work?
It has been validated

It has been harshly criticized

It has faded into oblivion

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

talks to the trees

connects with humanity

accidentally dies
23 The beings of light do all the following to/for Olivia except
move her to tears of joy

guide her to Solace

tell her she has a purpose

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

Ray is cheating on her

She is not a good actress

She cannot have a child
25 Who does Olivia meet on her initial westward drive?
Douglas

Nick

Mimi

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.

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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