Ella Minnow Pea

Tassie writes to Ella about Mr. Warren’s arrival. She is smitten with him and cannot sleep—thoughts of his voice causing her to want to melt. Further, she explains the evening was nice despite the four missing letters. However, she admits, “there was slippage from each of us as the evening wore on, our tongues becoming looser….But we were lucky in that when such a misspeak took place, there were no ears pressing themselves against the portals or fenesters to overhear” (74).

Tassie’s mother, Mittie, writes to Ella’s mother, expressing her annoyance at the newest missing letter: “I cannot teach. Without that grammatical unifier. It is impossible. I plan to resign tomorrow” (76). She laments the inability to use “and” the most. Ella’s mother writes back and mentions eighteen families have been sent away because they used the newly banished letter. She uses the letter, too: “I go to the baker’s. I point. We all point. We collapse upon our mattresses at the close of each evening, there to feel…feel…utterly, wholly diminished.” She feels exhilarated to use the letter—her first offence.

After showing the letter to authorities, Ella’s mother receives a letter from the Council. They explain someone is now scanning all mail for the banned letters before they are sent out. Ella writes to Tassie, expressing her disbelief—she tells Tassie both she and her father are trying to convince Ella’s mother to go to the stocks rather than take a lashing for her first offence.

Upon writing back to her sister, Ella’s mother suggests they change their postal habits and no longer send letters through the regular means, but rather, use a courier service. “We now live in an official police state, be sure of it” (81).

In Tassie’s next letter, she describes a terrible nightmare in which she saw the letter “I” fall from the monument. Her mother had to reassure her it would not happen, that Nollop would not take a vowel away from them. After the nightmare, Tassie, her mother, and Mr. Warren talked about Nollop, and Mr. Warren revealed his intent to come up with a sentence even shorter than Nollop’s that demonstrates all the letters of the alphabet. Ella tells Tassie a new letter has fallen: “O”. However, because the letter “O” appears in other words on the monument, the Council entered an emergency meeting. Ella feels confident they cannot simply take the letter away.

Mittie’s friend who baked her cookies writes to her with sad news. Because she has already had two slip ups (the third meaning banishment), she has decided to never write or speak again. “My sweet Mittie, it is strange, so terribly strange how taxing it has become for me to speak, to write without these four illegal letters, but especially without the fourth. I cannot see how, given the loss of one more letter, I will be able to remain among those I love, for surely I will misstep. So I have chosen to stop talking, to stop writing altogether” (86). However, her friend also accidently uses “D” at the end of her letter—she receives a letter shortly afterwards advising her of her impending expulsion.

Tassie arrives at Ella’s house just as Ella’s father commits his second offence during a poker game. Also, when she arrives, the letter “K” falls from the monument. It is revealed the Council decided to leave the letter “O” alone for now. Further, Tassie reveals she is falling in love and that she and Nate shared a kiss.

Nate has gone into town to meet with one of the Council members to present the lab results of the tile glue. The Council member agrees the evidence is there, but suggests Nollop is working through the science and demands additional proof. Nate declares he can make a shorter sentence using all the letters of the alphabet that Nollop. The Council member agrees to the challenge and sets the number of letters at 32. They shake on it and the challenge begins.

Tassie writes with excitement to her mother—she, Nate, and the others are ready to tackle the challenge of crafting a new sentence: “each of us in pursuit of the magical, temporarily elusive sentence that shall result in our emancipation—to be sure, our very salvation! Albeit, a more corporal form of salvation. Our souls, though, are another matter altogether” (100).

Mittie’s friend Rory writes to her with his first attempt at a sentence (49 words): “A quick move by the enemy will jeopardize six fine gun boats” (104). Mittie returns the letter, explaining that her own attempts have fallen short. However, she reports that there is some success in town.

Tassie informs her mother of two new letters falling: another “O” as well as an “F.” Nate is taken away by the L.E.B. officers because they found out he was a mainland journalist. Tassie is devastated, but their pursuit of a 32-letter sentence containing all 26 letters of the alphabet is foremost on everyone’s mind.

The chapter opens with a letter from the Council addressing citizens’ concerns regarding whether numbers are still allow to be used in writing. They advise that since there are no numbers in the monument’s sentence, they are permissible.

Tassie’s mother writes to her, anxious about committing her second offence. She called a saleswoman by her name. However, never having seen the spelling, she assumed the woman’s name (Xenia) began with an X. However, it began with “Z,” long out of use. Mittie speculates someone in the line tattled and not Xenia herself. Worse still, Mittie accuses the same woman who told on her the first time, Georgeanne Towgate, of telling the authorities on her once more.

Ella writes to Mittie, explaining the town is currently stuck at 47 letters for the goal sentence. Further, she describes the astounding number of people who have left the island. Those who left also sent letters to their loved ones, ignoring the rules. “several on their way to Pier Seven (then on to the States) wrote parting letters without employing the necessary caution with respect to the current alphabetical restrictions, only to have the recipients themselves brought up on charges! Remember, as well, that L.E.B. thugs are still wont to engage in spot home searches” (119).

Mittie responds to Ella’s letter with disturbing news: the Council has seized her friend Rory’s property citing Nollop as the reason they must do so. They further reveal their intention to build a place of worship on his property—a place to worship Nollop. Rory is exiled after he verbally attacks the Councilmember. Mittie’s response to the expulsion is an increased motivation to write a sentence with less than 47 words, to get closer to their ultimate goal of 32.

In a letter to Nate, Tassie notifies him that more letters have fallen: 2 of the “E”s and the “B.” She worries that the mass exodus from the island will make it harder to achieve the perfect sentence they need to save the island.