The Overstory Quizzes

The Overstory Quiz 1

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

Dorothy

Olivia

Mimi

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

An aspen

A chestnut

A mulberry

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

drawing

diary entries

letters

photography
4 Nicholas Hoel is a/an

artist

lawyer

engineer

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

necklace

poem

photograph

scroll
6 Why does Mimi's father commit suicide?

He is distressed over the dying tree

He has lost his job

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

beloved by his parents and siblings

interested in trees and insects

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

economics

engineering

psychology

botany
9 What kind of lawyer is Ray Brinkman?

Personal Injury

Constitutional

Intellectual Property

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

new jobs

acting

painting

sports
11 In the Stanford Prison Experiment, Douglas

is a vicious guard

has a breakdown

asks to leave

keeps his cool
12 During the Vietnam War, all of the following happen to Douglas except

he flies planes

he is saved by a banyan tree

he relishes killing the Viet Cong

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

planting seedlings

for a logging company

in politics

as a scientist
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?

Push him out

Talk to him

Save him

Sing to him
16 Neelay grows famous for designing

applications

AIs

games

websites
17 What literary work is so influential to Patricia?

The Metamorphoses

The Odyssey

The Aneid

The Iliad
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

her professors say old growth is bad

she drops out to pursue her own studies
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 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 harshly criticized

It has been semi-validated

It has been validated

It has faded into oblivion
22 When Olivia gets high, she

connects with humanity

commits suicide

talks to the trees

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

She is not a good actress

They are poor

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

Mimi

Patricia

Nick

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.

Read the Study Guide for The Overstory…

The Overstory

by Richard Powers

The Overstory Quiz 1

The Overstory Questions and Answers

Study Guide for The Overstory

Lesson Plan for The Overstory