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

A maple

A mulberry

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

letters

photography

drawing

diary entries
4 Nicholas Hoel is a/an

lawyer

engineer

artist

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

necklace

poem

scroll

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

fond of his maple tree

beloved by his parents and siblings

a little "socially retarded"

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

botany

economics

engineering

psychology
9 What kind of lawyer is Ray Brinkman?

Intellectual Property

Personal Injury

Constitutional

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

sports

new jobs

acting

painting
11 In the Stanford Prison Experiment, Douglas

asks to leave

keeps his cool

has a breakdown

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

he wants to stay in Thailand

he relishes killing the Viet Cong

he is saved by a banyan tree

he flies planes
13 After the war, Douglas takes a job

for a logging company

in politics

planting seedlings

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

She gives him a bad grade

She used a racial slur

She takes his notebook

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

Save him

Sing to him

Talk to him

Push him out
16 Neelay grows famous for designing

games

AIs

applications

websites
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 determines which gases the trees breathe out

her professors say old growth is bad

she believes that trees are social creatures

she drops out to pursue her own studies
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 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 been semi-validated

It has been validated

It has faded into oblivion
22 When Olivia gets high, she

connects with humanity

accidentally dies

commits suicide

talks to the trees
23 The beings of light do all the following to/for Olivia except

tell her she has a purpose

tell her to write about them

guide her to Solace

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

Ray is cheating on her

They are poor

She is not a good actress

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

Mimi

Douglas

Nick

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