Betrayal vs. Solidarity Theme Analysis

On the island of Nollop, the High Island Council bans the use of any letters inscribed on the tiles that fall from the commemorative statue of Nevin Nollop (the island’s namesake). The Council forbids citizens to speak or write words containing these letters, using statutes that are enforced by the L.E.B.—but also by the citizens themselves. As a result, the Nollopians are constantly on alert, afraid of each other and of being reported, showing how the regime infiltrates people’s relationships with one another. In a totalitarian state, in which citizens are expected to hold each other accountable for unjust laws, these regimes empower people to betray one another, in the hopes that they can outlast their neighbors and avoid being caught. However, as the story wears on, living under the island’s regime becomes harder and fewer people remain in Nollop. Dunn thus illustrates how solidarity actually becomes more important than this eat-or-be-eaten mentality when living in an oppressive state, as citizens ultimately need each other to survive.

When the Council’s statutes are first passed, citizens describe how fear and betrayal become ingrained in Nollop’s social fabric because the Council empowers people to hold each other accountable for mistakes. Only three days after the letter “Z” is banned, Ella describes how 58 people were charged with a first offence. She writes to her cousin Tassie, “All were speakers of banned words—words overheard upon the lanes, in schoolyards and church pews, and on the common greens. Neighbor turning in neighbor, perpetuating old grudges and grievances with this new weapon unleashed upon us by the High Island Council.” Her description implies how fear and oppression can bring out the worst in people and lead them to betray one another. Tassie confirms the vigilant surveillance and constant fear of being turned in among the people of Nollop. She admits that she’s occasionally slipped in using banned letters but that she is “lucky in that when such a misspeak took place, there were no ears pressing themselves against the portals or fenesters to overhear.” Nollopians actively look to report one another, perhaps in the hope of not being reported themselves—betrayal becomes a measure of security for them. Amos, Ella’s father, falls victim to these types of betrayals. He uses an illicit letter during a poker game, and a friend named Morton with whom he’s playing (who owes Amos a significant amount money) says he won’t report it if Amos clears the financial obligation. Amos refuses to go along with this, so Morton turns him in for a second offense. Amos recognizes the toxic distortion of what it means to be a neighbor and how the desperation that comes with living under an oppressive regime can potentially destroy old relationships.

Yet as the story goes on, characters gradually recognize the importance of love, neighborly bonds, and solidarity amid this fear and mistrust. Georgeanne Towgate is a woman who lives in Nollopville, where Tassie and her mother Mittie live. Georgeanne reports Mittie twice for violations—once because she uses the word “dozen” while teaching math to Georgeanne’s son Timmy. But by the time eight letters have been outlawed, and Timmy himself is taken away upon his third violation, Georgeanne apologizes to Mittie. She writes, “I’m so sorry that I was to learn what is truly important in our lives too, too late,” and she offers to go with Mittie to Nollopton if she is thinking of moving. There are more people in the city, and making connections with others becomes increasingly important as fewer and fewer people are left on the island. Like Georgeanne, Ella is left quite alone in the village after many of her family members are forced to flee Nollop for the United States. When Ella sees a woman she does not know on the street, she writes a note and leaves it on her door: “We who are still here will help one another. I want to meet you. See me tonight? I use to possess relations—my mother, my papa, my Aunt Mittie, her she-heir Tassie. Gone now. All those near to me, gone.” The woman, Tanya, is eager to receive Ella’s letter and responds immediately. She, too, emphasizes the need for kindness and human connection. She says that Wally (the owner of the store where Ella saw Tanya) is a humane man. She says, “He is helping us in this trying time. We must all help one another.” Despite the trying times and betrayal they’ve both witnessed, Ella and the Tanya understand the importance of forming bonds and helping one another through difficult times in order to survive. By the end of the story, there are so few people left in Nollop that Ella becomes a foster mother to a young girl named Paula because, as she explains, “Apparently, there are no other relatiphs 4 her to go to. It is a strange worlt we resite in, is it not? I am mate a phoster mother at eighteen! I will try to giph her a goot home. Poor little raggamophin!” Ella understands the importance of being kind and providing support to a girl who has nowhere else to go. Although fear is still prevalent among the remaining citizens, they recognize that they must fight against the betrayals that they and others have perpetrated, and instead honor their intrinsic human need to connect with and support one another.