The island's high council becomes more and more nonsensical as time progresses and the alphabet diminishes, promoting Nollop to a divine status.
She is a strong and intelligent young woman who uses her determination and persistence to survive the hardship placed on the island of Nollop by the high council.
She eventually runs across a sentence in her father's farewell letter that will save the citizens of Nollop from the oppression they are experiencing, and allow her family to return to the island.
She falls in love with Nate Warren, the writer and scholar, and gets into serious trouble with the council for sending them death threats because of their new legislation.
Nate eventually returns to the island after his banishment to rescue her from her punishment due to her rebellion of the council's laws.
Nathaniel Warren is a researcher who lives in Georgia and travels to Nollop when he hears about the government rulings against taboo letters.
He is willing to pose as "an old family friend" of the Purcys and use his knowledge and resources to help the people of Nollop find a logical solution to the "forbidden letter fiasco."
He brings to Mr. Lyttle, a council member, that the tiles falling is a result of the adhesive breaking down of the fixative holding them in place.
He plays a vital role in the attempt to find a pangram that fits the qualifications set by the council (also known as Enterprise 32).
Georgeanne Towgate is a citizen of Nollop who, at first, believes strongly in following the laws set up by the council.
Her view of the issue quickly changes when her family is directly affected by the law, when her son, Timmy is shipped away.
One of the main themes of the story is totalitarianism, in that the government attempts to control every aspect of written communication among the citizens, even sexual relations.
Once the laws begin to be passed, the people of Nollop are scared even to attempt to rebel against the council for fear of the harsh penalties.
[2] Ella Minnow Pea focuses on this theme when considering, "We slowly conclude that without language, without culture— the two are inextricably bound— existence is at stake".
"[5] Larson Award-winning writers Scott Burkell (script/lyrics) and Paul Loesel (composer) selected it out of many books to be produced as a musical.
Its first full production was in November 2008 at the Arthur Miller Theatre on the University of Michigan campus, performed by auditioned students in the musical theater program.
Ella Minnow Pea has been translated into French as L'Isle Lettrée by Marie-Claude Plourde,[citation needed] into Italian as Lettere: Fiaba epistolare in lipogrammi progressivi by Daniele Petruccioli,[7] and into German as Nollops Vermächtnis by Henning Ahrens.