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?
An aspen

A chestnut

A maple

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

diary entries

photography

drawing
4 Nicholas Hoel is a/an
artist

engineer

lawyer

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

photograph

poem

scroll
6 Why does Mimi's father commit suicide?
He is distressed over the dying tree

He has lost his job

He cannot invent the device he wants to

His wife has died
7 As a child Adam is all of the following except
fond of his maple tree

a little "socially retarded"

interested in trees and insects

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

psychology

engineering

botany
9 What kind of lawyer is Ray Brinkman?
Corporate

Personal Injury

Intellectual Property

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

acting

new jobs

sports
11 In the Stanford Prison Experiment, Douglas
asks to leave

is a vicious guard

has a breakdown

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

he relishes killing the Viet Cong

he wants to stay in Thailand

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

for a logging company

in politics

planting seedlings
14 Why does Neelay get so angry at Ms. Gilpin?
She used a racial slur

She insults him

She gives him a bad grade

She takes his notebook
15 What does the oak tree do to Neelay?
Save him

Talk to him

Sing to him

Push him out
16 Neelay grows famous for designing
AIs

applications

websites

games
17 What literary work is so influential to Patricia?
The Aneid

The Metamorphoses

The Odyssey

The Iliad
18 All of the following are true about Patricia's time in college except
she drops out to pursue her own studies

her professors say old growth is bad

she determines which gases the trees breathe out

she believes that trees are social creatures
19 What happens after Patricia's paper is published?
It is initially lauded

It is criticized by leading dendrologists

She loses her lectureship

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 semi-validated

It has been validated

It has faded into oblivion

It has been harshly criticized
22 When Olivia gets high, she
connects with humanity

talks to the trees

commits suicide

accidentally dies
23 The beings of light do all the following to/for Olivia except
move her to tears of joy

guide her to Solace

tell her to write about them

tell her she has a purpose
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?
Nick

Patricia

Douglas

Mimi

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