The Overstory Quizzes

The Overstory Quiz 1

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

Olivia

Dorothy

Mimi
2 What tree does Jorgen Hoel plant on his farm?
An aspen

A maple

A mulberry

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

letters

drawing

diary entries
4 Nicholas Hoel is a/an
activist

engineer

lawyer

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

photograph

necklace

scroll
6 Why does Mimi's father commit suicide?
He cannot invent the device he wants to

He has lost his job

He is distressed over the dying tree

His wife has died
7 As a child Adam is all of the following except
interested in trees and insects

beloved by his parents and siblings

fond of his maple tree

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

botany

economics

engineering
9 What kind of lawyer is Ray Brinkman?
Constitutional

Intellectual Property

Personal Injury

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

sports

painting

new jobs
11 In the Stanford Prison Experiment, Douglas
keeps his cool

asks to leave

is a vicious guard

has a breakdown
12 During the Vietnam War, all of the following happen to Douglas except
he wants to stay in Thailand

he is saved by a banyan tree

he flies planes

he relishes killing the Viet Cong
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 gives him a bad grade

She takes his notebook

She used a racial slur
15 What does the oak tree do to Neelay?
Save him

Push him out

Sing to him

Talk to him
16 Neelay grows famous for designing
websites

AIs

games

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

The Metamorphoses

The Aneid

The Odyssey
18 All of the following are true about Patricia's time in college except
she determines which gases the trees breathe out

she drops out to pursue her own studies

she believes that trees are social creatures

her professors say old growth is bad
19 What happens after Patricia's paper is published?
It is criticized by leading dendrologists

It is initially lauded

She loses her lectureship

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 been harshly criticized

It has been semi-validated

It has been validated

It has faded into oblivion
22 When Olivia gets high, she
talks to the trees

connects with humanity

accidentally dies

commits suicide
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

move her to tears of joy

guide her to Solace
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

Nick

Douglas

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