The Overstory Quizzes

The Overstory Quiz 1

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

Mimi

Dorothy

Patricia
2 What tree does Jorgen Hoel plant on his farm?
A chestnut

A maple

An aspen

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

drawing

photography

letters
4 Nicholas Hoel is a/an
lawyer

activist

artist

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

necklace

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
a little "socially retarded"

interested in trees and insects

fond of his maple tree

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?
Corporate

Constitutional

Intellectual Property

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

painting

acting

sports
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 flies planes

he relishes killing the Viet Cong

he is saved by a banyan tree

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

as a scientist

for a logging company

planting seedlings
14 Why does Neelay get so angry at Ms. Gilpin?
She gives him a bad grade

She used a racial slur

She insults him

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

Sing to him

Push him out

Talk to him
16 Neelay grows famous for designing
games

AIs

applications

websites
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 believes that trees are social creatures

her professors say old growth is bad

she determines which gases the trees breathe out

she drops out to pursue her own studies
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 considers suicide

She visits the old growth forests

She gets work with the Bureau of Land Management

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

It has been validated

It has been semi-validated

It has been harshly criticized
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
tell her to write about them

tell her she has a purpose

guide her to Solace

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

She is not a good actress

They are poor

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

Nick

Mimi

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