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Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Ella Minnow Pea, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Totalitarianism, Complacency, and Resistance
Freedom of Speech
Betrayal vs. Solidarity
Blind Faith, Reason, and Logic
Summary
Analysis
The letter “U” has been banned. Ella writes to yet another stranger, saying that she is trying to write to anyone who is still around. She notes, “It is important that we say something to one another—any little thing. We are not low-tier animals.” She gets an anonymous response saying, “Go away. Let we alone.”
Ella continues to try to create solidarity and extend basic common decency among those that are still in Nollop—but the stranger’s response illustrates the kind of fear and mistrust that has been sown into the fabric of society as a result of these statutes.
Themes
Georgeanne Towgate leaves a letter on Ella’s door, hoping that Mittie now lives with Gwenette. Georgeanne explains that she has moved to Nollopton and she apologizes again for what she did to Mittie, saying “I am so sorry as I mention earlier, the things that I perpetrate to harm Mittie.” She begs Mittie to respond, emphasizing how lonely she is.
As Georgeanne continues to search for Mittie in order to apologize, this action represents a clear shift away from the initial betrayal that citizens showed each other and toward a need for solidarity and camaraderie.
Themes
Ella responds to Georgeanne, saying that Mittie is now in the United States with “her she-heir Tassie.” She asks Georgeanne to eat with her that evening. Ella also sends word to Tom, explaining that she is helping Georgeanne, whom she notes is very lonely. She also thanks Tom for sharing dinner the other night. “I am happy I met thee,” she writes. Tom responds, explaining excitedly that they have made progress: a 37-letter pangram. It reads, “Zelda quickly wove eight nubby flax jumpers.”
Ella recognizes the value of finding support both in Georgeanne and in Tom, as she continues to try to connect with strangers and look for support. It is these kinds of connections that spur Enterprise Thirty-Two to continue, displaying the necessity of love in feeding their hopes and their attempts to return the island to its former state.
Themes
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A “Nollop High Holy Orter” comes through, saying that Nollopians are allowed to use similar-sounding combinations of letters to substitute others (as opposed to coming up with entirely new words)—but only in writing. They say that they are not sure that this is what Nollop would want but they are allowing it until they rule otherwise.
This statute serves as another turning point on Nollop: language has become so difficult that even the Council understands the need to use letters as substitutes for others. It is here that the degradation of language becomes extremely noticeable, imitating the degradation of society.
Themes
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Tanya writes to Ella saying that a man named Mr. M., who was just fired by the Council, told her about how they were drunk with power. Mr. M. believes that two of the five Council members don’t even care about Nollop’s will—they are simply content to exert the undue power they’ve been afforded. Tanya says that it seems Lyttle is the only one who is still sane.
Here Dunn reveals the other danger of blind faith: not only is it difficult to refute, but because of that difficulty, it is often used as a means of ensuring and maintaining power. Because they believe they can never be disproven, the Council acts as though they, too, have become deified by proxy.
Themes
Tanya also describes how her brother-in-law was standing below the statue when the letter “X” fell on him. The “priests” rushed up to get the tile but they left her brother-in-law lying there on the ground unconscious. Tanya tells Ella that a “T,” “R,” and “H” also fell, but that they each have one more tile that remains on the statue.
Here, Dunn highlights how, for the Council, all basic human decency has been completely eradicated. They display no care for the citizens whom they claim to rule—instead, they’re more interested in policing people’s actions than ensuring their survival.
Themes
