The Overstory Quizzes

The Overstory Quiz 1

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

Mimi

Dorothy

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

A chestnut

An aspen

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

diary entries

letters

drawing
4 Nicholas Hoel is a/an
artist

engineer

lawyer

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

scroll

necklace

poem
6 Why does Mimi's father commit suicide?
He has lost his job

He is distressed over the dying tree

His wife has died

He cannot invent the device he wants to
7 As a child Adam is all of the following except
fond of his maple tree

interested in trees and insects

a little "socially retarded"

beloved by his parents and siblings
8 Adam goes to college to study
psychology

botany

economics

engineering
9 What kind of lawyer is Ray Brinkman?
Intellectual Property

Personal Injury

Corporate

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

new jobs

painting

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

asks to leave

has a breakdown

keeps his cool
12 During the Vietnam War, all of the following happen to Douglas except
he relishes killing the Viet Cong

he wants to stay in Thailand

he flies planes

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

planting seedlings

in politics

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

She used a racial slur

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

Save him

Sing to him
16 Neelay grows famous for designing
games

websites

applications

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

The Odyssey

The Metamorphoses

The Aneid
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 considers suicide

She gets work with the Bureau of Land Management

She visits the old growth forests

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

It has faded into oblivion

It has been harshly criticized

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

connects with humanity

accidentally dies

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

move her to tears of joy

tell her she has a purpose

tell her to write about them
24 Why is Dorothy so depressed in her marriage?
She cannot have a child

They are poor

She is not a good actress

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

Douglas

Patricia

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