Ella Minnow Pea

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Which of the following best describes the way Ella’s family feels about the decision to ban letters?

A) Reverent and accepting

B) Mournful and accepting

C) Mournful and rebellious

D) Vengeful and rebellious

2. Amos receives a letter from an American buyer, requesting he make more clay “vessels” but warning Amos that he will only pay in US currency. This is an example of what literary device?

A) Allegory

B) Foreshadowing

C) Colloquialism

D) Dramatic irony

3. Which of the following is the strongest example of the theme the Illusion of Power within the novel?

A) The Council seizing property and land

B) The Council scanning letters for banned words

C) Georgeanne Townsend using her social standing to get Tassie’s mother in trouble at work

D) The police interrogating Gwenette so severely that she commits her third offense

4. Early in the novel, Tassie compares the island’s residents to geese but notes that they would not make “even so much as a peep of dissatisfaction” when abused by their leaders. (Chapter 1) What is prophetic about this comparison?

A) The inhabitants of the island all move closer to one another until they become a proverbial “flock.”

B) The inhabitants of the island use birds to deliver letters without detection.

C) Some inhabitants of the island make vows of silence in an attempt to avoid banishment.

D) The mass exodus of people from the island is similar to the seasonal migration of geese.

5. What best characterizes Georgeanne Townsend’s change of heart?

A) She loses her faith in the divine power of Nollop and becomes agnostic.

B) She becomes overwhelmed with loneliness and seeks companionship.

C) She sees the error of her ways and seeks to rectify her past mistakes.

D) She feels betrayed by the Council and sees their actions with a new light.

6. Which scenario best showcases Ella’s growth and development throughout the novel?

A) Her romance with Tom

B) Her desire for community

C) Her interest in her family history

D) Her perseverance in Enterprise 32

7. Which best describes how the loss of letters impacts the islanders?

A) The loss of letters causes a loss of autonomy.

B) The loss of letters causes a loss of expression.

C) The loss of letters causes a loss of communication.

D) The loss of letters causes a loss of life.

8. Which statement best describes the differences between Tassie and Ella?

A) Ella is more rebellious, and Tassie is more melancholy.

B) Tassie is more defiant, and Ella is more dedicated.

C) Tassie is more frightened, and Ella is more pious.

D) Ella is more devoted, and Tassie is more wrathful.

9. Which of the following correctly describes the symbolism of the statue Ella proposes at the novel’s conclusion?

A) The 60 moonshine jugs represent the islanders’ success at Enterprise 32.

B) The use of marble represents the pristine and permanent nature of language.

C) The depiction of overflowing liquor represents the chaotic nature of communication.

D) The use of incorrect grammar and awkward syntax represent that no one is perfect.

10. In what way is the loss of letters linked to the development of the Nollop police state?

A) People cannot properly express themselves and are unable to stand up against injustice.

B) People are faced with harsh punishments and are frightened to speak out against the police and Council.

C) People do not understand the new laws and cannot decipher their new rights to be able to defend them.

D) People do not know who to trust with their secrets and become isolated from each other.

11. What does Nate Warren symbolize in the novel?

A) The power of love

B) The necessity of technology

C) The danger of distraction

D) The importance of new perspectives

12. Which of the following is the least reasonable interpretation for why Council member Rederick Lyttle changes his perspective and joins the rebellion?

A) He no longer believes in Nollop.

B) He respects Ella’s tenacity.

C) He sees the error of the Council’s edicts.

D) He misses the resources the island used to have.

13. Which moment best describes the cause of Amos, Gwenette, and Ella’s rebellion?

A) The Rasmussen family’s flogging

B) Mittie’s punishment for using the word dozen

C) The banning of the second letter

D) The scanning of letters for illegal letters

14. In Ella’s letters to herself, she continues to maintain the laws of banned letters even though no one else will read them. Why does she do this?

A) She is so afraid of the Council’s power that she will not use the letters.

B) She worries that if she uses a banned letter, her solution to Enterprise 32 will not be accepted.

C) She has been brainwashed by the cult of Nollop.

D) She is being exceptionally cautious so that she can remain working on Enterprise 32.

15. What is the most likely inclusion of the letters between Nate and his computer programmer friend, Doug, at the end of the book?

A) To show how technology can make things easier

B) To show the evolving nature of language

C) To show the randomness of pangram success

D) To show Amos’s true genius

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. Although Amos’s original pangram ends with a question mark, Ella changes it when she submits it to the Council so that it ends with a period. Why does she do this, and why is it important?

2. What is the central irony of the Council’s decision to ban letters? Please tie this to the theme of Change Versus Tradition.