. Throughout the novel Ella Minnow Pea there is a progressive impoverishment on the language of the Nollopians due to the decrease in available letters as laws are passed throughout the book. This causes repercussions throughout the town and makes communication difficult. Socially the laws presented numerous occasions of social tension between the inhabitants of the island and weakened the social and eventually the political system of the island. The capability to communicate, or lack thereof shapes our social interactions and our own self-image.
At the beginning of the novel it is well established that Nollop is a rather old-fashioned community in culture and speech. While a specific year or time period is not established for the setting of