Download Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn

Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
A progressively lippogrammatic epistolary fable.
lipogram – defined in book
epistolary – defined in book
pangram – defined in book
fable – a short work in prose or poetry that offers a moral lesson; often involves animals. Example:
Aesop’s Fables. How is this book a fable?
parable – a simple story illustrating a moral or religious lesson; the lessons are often both simple and
enigmatic at the same time. How is this book a parable?
satire – a literary work that seeks to criticize and correct human beings and their institutions by means
of humor, wit, or sarcasm. What is being satirized in this book?
comic relief – a humorous scene inserted in an otherwise serious work; serves to relax the tension and
can deepen the empathy on the part of the spectator/reader. What scenes serve as comic relief in this
book?
farce – a type of comedy that inspires hilarity with panic and cruelty in the audience through an
increasingly rapid and improbably series of ludicrous or ridiculous events. In what way is this book a
farce?
Socratic Seminar –
Write five good, thought-provoking questions for the Socratic seminar; answer two of those questions
in a full paragraph. Your response should be in-depth, well-thought-out, and contain at least one
specific reference to the text (can be a direct quote or a paraphrase but must be cited by page number).
A good Romeo and Juliet question is: How does the light and dark imagery in Romeo’s monologue
help to convey Shakespeare’s theme about young love?
A not-so-good question for Romeo and Juliet is: Where does Shakespeare use light and dark imagery?
Thematic topics to consider in developing your questions/answers: These are suggestions only; you are
not limited to these topics.





censorship/language/communication
government/totalitarianism
religion/religious authoritarianism
hero worship
utopian societies – advantages/dangers of
You may also consider making a connection between one of the themes of the novel and a
contemporary situation/event.
Ella Minnow Pea Terms/Socratic Seminar 2009