The Overstory Quizzes

The Overstory Quiz 1

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

Dorothy

Mimi

Olivia

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

A chestnut

A maple

An aspen

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

letters

drawing

photography

diary entries
4 Nicholas Hoel is a/an

activist

artist

engineer

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

photograph

scroll

necklace

poem
6 Why does Mimi's father commit suicide?

He cannot invent the device he wants to

He is distressed over the dying tree

His wife has died

He has lost his job
7 As a child Adam is all of the following except

beloved by his parents and siblings

fond of his maple tree

a little "socially retarded"

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

psychology

engineering

economics

botany
9 What kind of lawyer is Ray Brinkman?

Constitutional

Personal Injury

Corporate

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

acting

new jobs

painting

sports
11 In the Stanford Prison Experiment, Douglas

has a breakdown

keeps his cool

asks to leave

is a vicious guard
12 During the Vietnam War, all of the following happen to Douglas except

he relishes killing the Viet Cong

he flies planes

he wants to stay in Thailand

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

in politics

as a scientist

for a logging company

planting seedlings
14 Why does Neelay get so angry at Ms. Gilpin?

She takes his notebook

She used a racial slur

She insults him

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

Push him out

Save him

Talk to him

Sing to him
16 Neelay grows famous for designing

AIs

games

applications

websites
17 What literary work is so influential to Patricia?

The Iliad

The Metamorphoses

The Odyssey

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

she believes that trees are social creatures

she determines which gases the trees breathe out

her professors say old growth is bad

she drops out to pursue her own studies
19 What happens after Patricia's paper is published?

She loses her lectureship

It is criticized by leading dendrologists

It is initially lauded

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 harshly criticized

It has faded into oblivion

It has been validated

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

connects with humanity

talks to the trees

commits suicide

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

guide her to Solace

tell her to write about them

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

They are poor

Ray is cheating on her

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

Mimi

Patricia

Nick

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