The Overstory Quizzes

The Overstory Quiz 1

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

Patricia

Dorothy

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

An aspen

A chestnut

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

drawing

diary entries

letters
4 Nicholas Hoel is a/an
activist

lawyer

engineer

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

scroll

photograph

necklace
6 Why does Mimi's father commit suicide?
His wife has died

He cannot invent the device he wants to

He has lost his job

He is distressed over the dying tree
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
psychology

engineering

botany

economics
9 What kind of lawyer is Ray Brinkman?
Intellectual Property

Personal Injury

Corporate

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

acting

new jobs

sports
11 In the Stanford Prison Experiment, Douglas
is a vicious guard

keeps his cool

has a breakdown

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

he wants to stay in Thailand

he flies planes

he relishes killing the Viet Cong
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 used a racial slur

She gives him a bad grade

She takes his notebook

She insults him
15 What does the oak tree do to Neelay?
Talk to him

Push him out

Sing to him

Save him
16 Neelay grows famous for designing
games

websites

AIs

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

The Aneid

The Odyssey

The Iliad
18 All of the following are true about Patricia's time in college except
her professors say old growth is bad

she drops out to pursue her own studies

she believes that trees are social creatures

she determines which gases the trees breathe out
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 gets work with the Bureau of Land Management

She considers suicide

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 validated

It has been semi-validated

It has been harshly criticized

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

accidentally dies

connects with humanity

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 she has a purpose

tell her to write about them
24 Why is Dorothy so depressed in her marriage?
She is not a good actress

Ray is cheating on her

They are poor

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

Mimi

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.

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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