The Overstory Quizzes

The Overstory Quiz 1

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

Dorothy

Patricia

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

A maple

An aspen

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

letters

diary entries

drawing
4 Nicholas Hoel is a/an
artist

activist

engineer

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

poem

scroll

necklace
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
beloved by his parents and siblings

interested in trees and insects

fond of his maple tree

a little "socially retarded"
8 Adam goes to college to study
economics

psychology

botany

engineering
9 What kind of lawyer is Ray Brinkman?
Constitutional

Corporate

Personal Injury

Intellectual Property
10 Ray and Dorothy's first date leads them into
acting

sports

new jobs

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

has a breakdown

is a vicious guard

asks to leave
12 During the Vietnam War, all of the following happen to Douglas except
he relishes killing the Viet Cong

he is saved by a banyan tree

he flies planes

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

in politics

for a logging company

planting seedlings
14 Why does Neelay get so angry at Ms. Gilpin?
She insults him

She used a racial slur

She gives him a bad grade

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

Save him

Talk to him

Sing to him
16 Neelay grows famous for designing
applications

games

websites

AIs
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
she determines which gases the trees breathe out

she believes that trees are social creatures

she drops out to pursue her own studies

her professors say old growth is bad
19 What happens after Patricia's paper is published?
She loses her lectureship

It is criticized by leading dendrologists

It is initially lauded

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 validated

It has been harshly criticized

It has faded into oblivion

It has been semi-validated
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
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?
They are poor

She cannot have a child

Ray is cheating on her

She is not a good actress
25 Who does Olivia meet on her initial westward drive?
Mimi

Nick

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