The Overstory Quizzes

The Overstory Quiz 1

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

Mimi

Olivia

Dorothy

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

A chestnut

An aspen

A maple

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

drawing

letters

diary entries

photography
4 Nicholas Hoel is a/an

engineer

lawyer

artist

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

poem

scroll

necklace

photograph
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?

Personal Injury

Intellectual Property

Constitutional

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

painting

new jobs

sports

acting
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 is saved by a banyan tree

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

in politics

for a logging company

planting seedlings

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

She used a racial slur

She gives him a bad grade

She takes his notebook

She insults him
15 What does the oak tree do to Neelay?

Sing to him

Save him

Talk to him

Push him out
16 Neelay grows famous for designing

AIs

applications

games

websites
17 What literary work is so influential to Patricia?

The Odyssey

The Iliad

The Aneid

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

her professors say old growth is bad

she believes that trees are social creatures

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

She loses her lectureship

It is criticized by leading dendrologists

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

She visits the old growth forests

She gets work with the Bureau of Land Management

She considers suicide

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

It has faded into oblivion

It has been semi-validated

It has been harshly criticized

It has been validated
22 When Olivia gets high, she

talks to the trees

commits suicide

connects with humanity

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

tell her she has a purpose

move her to tears of joy
24 Why is Dorothy so depressed in her marriage?

She is not a good actress

They are poor

She cannot have a child

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

Nick

Mimi

Patricia

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