In the case of semantics in Ella Minnow Pea, connotations and loaded double-meanings run deep… Through being forced to both over-complicate and over-simplify language, the citizens of Nollop discover an essential truth. There are vast implications in word choice: social structure and hierarchy, age and educational status, respect and relationship, and basic competency and sanity.
It all starts rather innocently with the use of synonyms. Ella says, “Would you have lost my meaning should I have chosen to make the substitutions . . . What, my dearest Tassie, have we then lost?” (Dunn, 2001, p. 7). But this innocent use of synonyms soon becomes restrictive and indicative of social breakdown. Loss of language not only tears apart meaning – it destroys community.
In his last words, Nollop encouraged his neighbors to “Love one another, push the perimeter of this glorious language” (Dunn, 2001, p. 74). This is an allusion to the words of Jesus in John 13:34, drawing a parallel between Nollop and Jesus in the eyes of the community. This points at the deeper questions raised by the novel about what happens when God is replaced by false religion and false idols. The glory of God for the citizens of Nollop is replaced by “glorious language.” Words are divinity, and immaculate lexical skill is connection with the divine. This is why it is all the more tragic for the Nollopians when their language is lost.
Dive deep into layers of meaning with this exploration of SEMANTICS…
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