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 mulberry

A maple

An aspen
3 The Hoel tree is captured via ___________ for more than a century.
drawing

letters

diary entries

photography
4 Nicholas Hoel is a/an
artist

engineer

activist

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

scroll

necklace

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

He has lost his job

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
a little "socially retarded"

beloved by his parents and siblings

fond of his maple tree

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

economics

psychology

botany
9 What kind of lawyer is Ray Brinkman?
Constitutional

Personal Injury

Intellectual Property

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

painting

acting

sports
11 In the Stanford Prison Experiment, Douglas
keeps his cool

has a breakdown

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
as a scientist

planting seedlings

for a logging company

in politics
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

Sing to him

Save him

Talk to him
16 Neelay grows famous for designing
AIs

applications

games

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

The Metamorphoses

The Aneid

The Iliad
18 All of the following are true about Patricia's time in college except
her professors say old growth is bad

she drops out to pursue her own studies

she determines which gases the trees breathe out

she believes that trees are social creatures
19 What happens after Patricia's paper is published?
She loses her lectureship

It is initially lauded

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 been semi-validated

It has faded into oblivion

It has been validated

It has been harshly criticized
22 When Olivia gets high, she
commits suicide

talks to the trees

accidentally dies

connects with humanity
23 The beings of light do all the following to/for Olivia except
tell her to write about them

move her to tears of joy

tell her she has a purpose

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

Ray is cheating on her

They are poor

She is not a good actress
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