Ella Minnow Pea

The day after the “Z” ban goes into effect, Tassie writes to Ella. She says that the library has been shut down and that her mother, Mittie (a second grade math teacher), spent the day halting and stammering, fearing she would use the illicit letter. Tassie says that many of Mittie’s students are not permitted to discuss the ban by their parents, but that Mittie is “angry and rebellious.”

Tassie wonders if eventually the words they have lost will completely fade from their memory, as if they never existed. Tassie writes that offenses are already mounting: even the tiny village of Nollopville, 17 people have a first offense and two have reached a second offense. One of those with two offenses is a beekeeper, who is struggling to describe the bees without using the letter “Z.” He now sits in a headstock on the village commons. His livelihood will soon be destroyed, Tassie writes, because the bees “speak the offending letter.”

The second person who has a second offense is Willy Creevy, “a riotous, rule-flouting young man.” He says that he “does not believe in obeying laws written by madmen,” and after gaining two offenses, he chose to be whipped. Tassie writes that she commends Willy’s disdain for the High Island Council but she does not share his  rebelliousness. She says that at present, it’s easier for people to tolerate the Council’s injustice and wait to resist until the problem gets worse.

Ella returns Tassie’s letter, writing that 60 people were charged with a first offense in the first week in Nollopton. She writes that about “neighbor turning in neighbor, perpetuating old grudges and grievances.” Thirteen people were also charged with a second offense—one of whom has now taped his mouth shut to prevent a further violation.

Ella notes that the editor of the Island Tribune, Mr. Kleeman, also has two offenses. He is contemplating a suspension of the publication, so as not to be banished after a third. Ella worries, however, that this would mean losing Nollopton’s only news source.

Ella tells Tassie how, the day before, she, her mother Gwenette, and her father Amos took a walk together and spoke freely with one another. Ella worried that people might be hiding in the bushes to report them. She notes that Tassie was right about the law: it not only prevents people from communicating on a practical level, it also prevents them from making meaningful connections with each other.

In a note left on the Minnow Peas’ kitchen table, Amos writes to Gwenette that he has gone to the town center to do a bit of work for the local construction company, which is a few carpenters short this week due to fallout from the “Z” ban. Gwenette returns Amos’s note later, saying that she isn’t fooled—she knows he is out getting something for their anniversary. She tells him she will be out buying some hens for dinner that evening.

Two days later, Tassie writes to Ella, informing her that Willy has been banished. After he was flogged, he let out a tirade that included many words with the letter “Z.” Within an hour, he was on a boat to the United States. Tassie writes, “what have those fools on the Council wrought?” She notes that the next day, the PTA at the school will have a meeting day to vent their anger and frustration.

The next day, Ella writes to Tassie asking how the meeting went. She is frustrated that they can’t speak on the phone, as phone service has been disrupted (which she believes the Council is responsible for). Ella writes that she hopes the ban will be lifted soon, however, because the letter “Q” has now fallen from the statue as well.

The next day, Tassie returns Ella’s letter, saying that she’d heard about “Q.” She tells Ella that at the PTA meeting, Willy’s mother described the incident as “naked martial tyranny.” Tassie notes that she is filled with rage, but now she is also growing fearful.

Tassie worries that the fallen “Q” will make the Council feel more justified in their earlier decree rather than forcing them to rescind it. Tassie makes one final note: that the radio broadcasts are now only playing music without words, because the station manager does not want to search through the lyrics to root out those with the illicit letter.

Ella’s next letter informs Tassie that in a week, “Q” will be banned from the Nollopians’ vocabulary just as “Z” was. Ella says that there are whispers of a Council recall or a military coup, but no one knows how to instigate such actions—and thus, they must simply “mind [their] p’s and bury [their] q’s.”

Ella notes another development: Mr. Kleeman printed a final edition of the Tribune, entitled “The Bees’ Lament,” which printed “Z” nearly four or five thousand times. Ella writes that she respects Mr. Kleeman for the protest but she is disappointed by his “cowardly exit,” as now the paper is shut down and the rest of the citizens no longer have access to the news. She also tells Tassie that Nollopton’s library remains open, though only with musical albums and some picture books. She invites Tassie to visit.

Tassie returns Ella’s letter, saying that she hopes to visit soon. She confesses that the previous day, she carved three slashes into a tree (to make a “Z”) and she laughed at this small act of resistance. Tassie thinks about leaving the island to live with her father in America but she doesn’t want to abandon Mittie.

Tassie also writes that Mittie received a first offense for speaking the letter in her math class, and one of her students, Timmy, told his parents about her slip. Mittie was brought before a faculty assembly and reprimanded for trying to use the word “dozen” while teaching. Mittie was humiliated. Tassie says that she may write to Timmy’s parents to find out why they reported Mittie.

Gwenette writes back to Tassie, noting that Mittie has to be very careful about what she says in front of her students, especially when the “Q” ban goes into effect. Ella adds a post-script, noting that she is working longer hours at the launderette because so many people want their clothes cleaned before emigrating to the United States.