______

Mrs. Amano

English 91B

___ April 2012

Ella Minnow Pea Terms and Characters to Know

Comic relief—a humorous scene inserted in an otherwise serious work; serves to relax the tension and can deepen the empathy on the part of the spectator/reader. What scenes serve as comic relief in this book?

Epistolary (defined in the book)

Fable—short work of prose or poetry that offers a moral lesson; often involves animals. The most famous fables were Aesop’s. How is this book a fable?

Farce—a type of comedy that inspires hilarity with panic and cruelty in the audience through an increasing rapid and improbable series of ludicrous or ridiculous events. In what way is this book a farce?

Lipogram (defined in the book)

Pangram (defined in the book)

Parable—a simple story illustrating a moral or religious lesson; the lesson is both simple and enigmatic at the same time. How is this book a parable?

Satire—a literary work that seeks to criticize and correct human beings and their institutions by means of humor, wit, or sarcasm. What is being satirized in this book?

Nevin Nollop / Amos / Mittie Purcy
Gwenette / Ella / Nate Warren
Tassie / Mannheim / Olive
Tom / Gordon Wellingham / Lyttle
Nevin Nollop / Mark Dunn / Georgeanna Towgate
Gwenette / Paula / Charles Ray McHenry
Tassie / Tanya / Rory Cummels
Tom / HamiltonFerguson / Eugenia
Alice

Ella Minnow Pea Study Questions

Chapter 1-ABCDEFGHTJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

  1. WhoisNevinNollop?
  2. Wheredoes Ella work?
  3. Paraphrasethissentence: “Henceforth, useof the arguably superfluoustwenty-sixth letterwill beoutlawedfromall islandspeechandgraphy."
  4. Why hasthecouncil reached thisverdict?
  5. What are the penalties (1st, 2nd, 3rdoffenses)for disobeying?
  6. Whatare the threewordscontainingthe letter “z” thatare used mostoften?What are substitutionsfor thesewords?
  7. What, accordingto Tassie,arethe “consequences” of losing “z”?
  8. What analogydoes Tassie useto describethe island people?
  9. Whydoesshechange her mindaboutthe analogy?
  10. Whatdoes Tassie thinkthe'theft" symbolizes?
  11. Why aretheislandpeoplenot “vocabu-lazy"?
  12. WhathasAmosdecided?
  13. What have the three carpenterschangedtheir names to?
  14. Whatotherwordswill Ella miss?

Chapter 2-ABCDEFGHIJKLMN OPQRSTUVWXY*

  1. How does Tassie's momtakethe"coward'swayout”?
  2. WhatmetaphordoesTassie'smomuseonpage 18?
  3. What twopeoplehavereachedtheirsecond offenses?Why?
  4. Whyarenoasterisksused?
  5. How longhastherulebeenenforcedby Aug. 11l?
  6. How manyoffenseshavetherebeen?
  7. WhatspecialdayisAugust 15?
  8. Whattwo important eventshaveoccurredbyAugust 18?
  9. What is Tassieafraidthecouncilwill do?Whatdoes the councildecide?
  10. Whyisthisdecisionluckyfor the island people?
  11. Wholeavestheisland?Why?
  12. WhatdoesTassie"aworldof good'?
  13. What shockingeventhasoccurred by August 22?
  14. Whatwordhas Tassie's momused?
  15. WhodoesEllatell?
  16. Why is Ellaworkingharder?

Chapter 3-ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP*RSTUVWXY *

  1. Why do the Towgatessaytheytoldon Tassie's mom?
  2. WheredoesMrs.TowgateinviteTassieandhermom?
  3. Who is NateWarren?Whatdoeshewantto do?
  4. WhatoffensedidtheRasmussenfamilycommit?
  5. How dothetownspeoplereact?
  6. WhatdoesElla's father plan?
  7. What "assistance" does Nate ask for onpage5l?
  8. Who does Tassiethink would bemostopento reading Nate's report? Why?
  9. Summarize the council's "explication" on page55.

Chapter 4-ABCDEFGHI* KLMN OP*RSTUVWXY*

  1. Whois CharlesRay McHenry?
  2. Whois Rory Cummels?Why is heexplaininghis “odd behavior”?
  3. How manyd's doesGeorgeanna TowgateuseinherSeptember15 letter? Whyisthisironic?
  4. Whatis a septuagenarian?
  5. Explainthe metaphor in this statement:"Thetidewhich washes the shoresof this beleagueredislandcan be depended uponto follow the moon's directives from now until thedeath ofthe planet,but lovelystorm tides—beautifulhurricane-force,beach-battering,dune grass-deracinating galesdo strike our beaches now and then andleavechange in their wake" (68-69)
  6. What is theworstconsequenceof losing “d,” according to Ella?

Chapter 5-ABC*EFGIHI*KLMNOP*RSTUVWXY*

  1. Whattwo things doesTassieconfessin her September19 letter?
  2. Whatisthe"grammaticalunifier" mentioned on page76?
  3. Whatisthe"primaryresponsibility"of the island's new assistant chief postal inspector?
  4. How is thecouncil'sstatementthat “ours continues to be a free,open society" hypocritical?
  5. How, specifically, does the council preserve the citizens’ "constitutionalright to privacy''?
  6. WhatdoesElla meanbe"cephalo-stock"in her September23letter?
  7. Explain the allusion to Baalin Tassie's September25letter?
  8. What crime, specifically, is Agnes charged with? (Go backto theletterto find out what word she used.)
  9. Explain what Gwenette means when shewrites, “Thank Serenity the suitin his possessionwas hearts or hemightbe on aboat Satto-gatto morning"(90).
  10. With what doesLyttle challengeNate? Why?

Chapter 6-ABC*EFGHI**LMNOP*RSTUVWXY*

  1. Whathas happened betweenNateandTassie?
  2. Whathas Rory achieved?
  3. Why has Rory employedEugenia?
  4. Why dothe council members "taunt-children(107)?
  5. How are the council members' “preparing for the momentin which language... cease to exist" (l07)?
  6. Why does Nate insistthat Tassie remainon the island?
  7. WhatdoesTassie mean whenshe writes, “1 haven't the strength to curse thosebeasts with thatepithetyou taught me never to say” (Useaeuphemismin your notes, please.)

Chapter 7-ABC*E*GHI* *LMNOP*RSTUVWXY*

  1. Why did Tassie's mom receive a second violation? Who reported it?
  2. What is an "ignoble poltroon"?
  3. Why are Nollopians having problems on the mainland?
  4. Why is Rory gone?
  5. What is the flaw in the logic of the paragraph on page 121 beginning with “on the contrary''?
  6. What three letters have been lost as of October 17?

Chapter 8-A *C*EFGHI* *LMNOP*RSTUVWXY*

  1. What have the council members received?
  2. What is "crepuscular-to-auroric house arrest"?
  3. Explain the allusion on page 128?
  4. What shocking thing does Tassie admit to Nate in her October 19 letter?
  5. What does the P.S. mean?
  6. Why is Georgeanna Towgates's letter ironic?
  7. What has happened to Tassie?
  8. What has happened to Amos? What is his request?
  9. How many Cs does Hamilton use in his October 22 letter?

Chapter 9-A****EFGHI* *LMNOP*RSTUVWXY *

  1. Why does Georgeanna stay? What does she ask of Mittie?
  2. Who else has been banished? Why?
  3. What "things" does Tassie refer to in her October 29 letter?

Chapter 10-A****EFGHI* *LMNOP*RSTU*WXY *

  1. Who is Sentry William P.? Why does he write to Ella?
  2. Why does Ella write to “woman in pretty orange hat”?
  3. How does the woman respond?
  4. Explain the statement, “Exalting Nollop is to erase all that is non-Nollopian upon this isle. To utterly erase an upright, meritorious people. Genoerasure."
  5. Who wrote the sentence on page 152? Why is it important?
  6. What is significant about the next letter to fall?
  7. Who is Tom?

Chapter 11-A****EFGHI* *LMNOP*RST**WXY *

  1. To whom does Ella write on November 6? What is the response?
  2. What trip has Georgeanna made? Why?
  3. What is the tone of her November 6 letter?
  4. What does Ella offer her?
  5. What milestone has been reached as of November 7?
  6. What is the message Hamilton Phergewson is attempting to convey to Nollopians in his November 7 letter?
  7. What shocking event does Tanya relate about the councilmen?

Chapter 12-A****E*GHI* *LMNOP*RST**W*Y *

  1. What happened to Mannheim and Tom?
  2. Summarize (in regular English) Ella'sNovember8 letter to Mr. Lyttle.
  3. Who is coming to live with Ella? Why?
  4. What is a "phirtiph midnight phoray"? Who has made one?
  5. How is Georgeanna behaving strangely? (Read the November 10 letter.)
  6. What happens to Georgeanna at the end of this section?

Chapter 13-A****E*GHI* *LMNOP*RST**W** *

  1. What three pieces of news does Ella reveal in her November 13 letter?
  2. What important news does Lyttle convey in his reply?
  3. Who leaves at the end of this section? Why?

Chapter 14-A****E*G*I* *LMNOP*RST**W** *

  1. How does Ella gain inspiration?

Chapter 15-A****E***I* *LMNOP*RST**W** *

  1. What does Ella allude to in the last line of “Letter to me"?

Chapter 16-*********** *LMNOP********* *

  1. Why is “Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs" significant?
  2. Who authored the sentence? When?

Chapter 17-ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

  1. What is an imperative sentence? Why is it appropriate?
  2. How did Nollop author the original sentence? Why is this important?
  3. Who tries to commit suicide? How?
  4. What sculpture does Ella suggest? Why?