Ella Minnow Pea

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Mr. Lyttle’s perspective changes as the events of the novel unfold.

• What events transpire to make Mr. Lyttle change his mind about the meaning of the dropping letter tiles? (topic sentence)
• Identify 3 passages in the novel describing Mr. Lyttle’s behavior and underlying perspective during the letter banning.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, describe how Mr. Lyttle’s changed perspective reflects the theme of Change Versus Tradition.

2. An epistolary novel is a novel told in a written letter (correspondence) format.

• What does the novel gain by being told in an epistolary format? (topic sentence)
• Identify three passages in which the epistolary form of the book is critical.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, describe how the novel’s format impacted your reading experience.

3. Romances, both established and new, feature prominently at pivotal moments of the text.

• What is the significance of both the continuation and development of romantic relationships within the novel? (topic sentence)
• Select three places in the book in which romance is seen OR select three couples and identify moments in the text that display their romantic connection.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, discuss how the presence of new and/or old romance connects to the theme of the Individual Versus Society.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. In her final letter, Ella recommends the construction of a new town statue and describes it as follows:

And upon the bandiford beneath the sculpture, writ not on tiles, but chiseled deeply into the marble façade, the following sentence nineteen letters in length, containing a mere ten different graphemes of the English alphabet: ‘Dead dogs tell no tails.’ And by deliberately keeping the word ‘tails’ frustratingly mishomonymized—we offer this guarantee: that our descendants will never have reason to exalt this sentence beyond simple sentience. (Chapter 17)

In what ways does this recommendation reflect how the town of Nollop has learned from its past mistakes? How does this connect to the themes of the novel? As you write your essay, cite three specific quotes to support your analysis.

2. Early in the novel, Tassie describes her desire to live in the United States, while Ella remains firm in her desire to stay on Nollop. Compare and contrast their experiences, critiques, and frustrations over the course of the book. How do their experiences intersect with the theme of the Individual Versus Society? As you write your essay, cite three specific quotes to support your analysis.

Many characters begin the novel believing that Nollop is a god-like figure who continues to impact the world after his death. How does this belief empower the gradual growth of an authoritarian police state? How is this belief challenged or usurped by the end of the book? How is this progression tied to theme of the Illusion of Power? As you write your essay, cite three specific quotes to support your analysis.