On January 30th, 1787, Thomas Jefferson wrote to James Madison, “I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and is as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.” Exploring the idea of rebellion through one of the most crucial wars in history and a fictional novel proves important to both parties' futures, freedom, and happiness. The novel Ella Minnow Pea and the American Revolution share the unlikely parallel that when the government instills laws that negatively affect society, the people are forced to rebel for the greater good of their lives, even if they risk their safety.
In the epistolary novel Ella Minnow Pea, the civilians of the fictional island “Nollop” experience a series of life-changing events.…show more content… This seven-year battle for independence had a variety of contributing factors. The one event that most directly correlates to rebellion and Ella Minnow Pea is the Boston Tea Party. The Bill of Rights Institute put out an article titled “The Boston Tea Party” that goes into depth about the event and its effects on the revolution. In 1773, Britain finally repealed most of the Townshend legislation. However, they left the tax on tea, which made colonists angry because this meant they were not able to import or trade with any country and instead strictly bought their tea from the British East India Company. A radical group called “The Sons of Liberty” joined together in disguise to dump 92,000 pounds of tea into Boston Harbor. Describing the perspective of John Adams on the rebellious act, the article states, “He thought the colonists had had no choice: “To let it be landed, would be giving up the principle of taxation by parliamentary authority, against which the continent has struggled for ten years.” John Adams views this event as an act of defiance needed to rebel against the unjust ways of the British. People viewed this as more than simply tea, but the stripping of rights, and because of this, most people agreed something had to be done. This event serves as a symbol of resilience and resistance. It is also vital to understand the rebellion at its core, as it was the first time a major act of defiance and rebellion was presented against British rule. In both the fictional island of Nollop and the historical American Revolution, citizens of a government are forced to live by oppressive laws, and this becomes the catalyst for
