The Overstory Quizzes

The Overstory Quiz 1

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

Mimi

Patricia

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

A mulberry

An aspen

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

diary entries

photography

letters
4 Nicholas Hoel is a/an
artist

engineer

lawyer

activist
5 Ma Sih Hsuin brings a precious ________ to America.
scroll

photograph

necklace

poem
6 Why does Mimi's father commit suicide?
His wife has died

He cannot invent the device he wants to

He has lost his job

He is distressed over the dying tree
7 As a child Adam is all of the following except
beloved by his parents and siblings

a little "socially retarded"

interested in trees and insects

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

engineering

psychology

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

Intellectual Property

Corporate

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

acting

new jobs

painting
11 In the Stanford Prison Experiment, Douglas
is a vicious guard

has a breakdown

asks to leave

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

he flies planes

he wants to stay in Thailand

he relishes killing the Viet Cong
13 After the war, Douglas takes a job
planting seedlings

as a scientist

in politics

for a logging company
14 Why does Neelay get so angry at Ms. Gilpin?
She used a racial slur

She insults him

She takes his notebook

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

Talk to him

Sing to him

Save him
16 Neelay grows famous for designing
games

applications

websites

AIs
17 What literary work is so influential to Patricia?
The Odyssey

The Aneid

The Iliad

The Metamorphoses
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?
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 semi-validated

It has been validated

It has been harshly criticized

It has faded into oblivion
22 When Olivia gets high, she
talks to the trees

accidentally dies

commits suicide

connects with humanity
23 The beings of light do all the following to/for Olivia except
move her to tears of joy

tell her she has a purpose

tell her to write about them

guide her to Solace
24 Why is Dorothy so depressed in her marriage?
Ray is cheating on her

They are poor

She cannot have a child

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

Patricia

Mimi

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