Monday, May 20, 2013

The Westing Game (by Ellen Raskin)

Reviewed by Christina Miller

Summary

            Fictitious Barney Northrup invites certain people to move into the six apartments in Sunset Towers owned by the illustrious Sam Westing. When all is said and done, the tenants include Grace, Jake, Angela, and Turtle Wexler; Mr., Madame, and Doug Hoo; George, Catherine, Chris, and Theo Theodorakis; Judge Ford, Crow, Sydelle Pulaski, and Flora Baumbach. On Halloween night, Turtle accepts the dare of entering the old Westing estate – the tenants witnessed smoke rising from the building for the first time in years and were interested in determining if Mr. Westing had returned, or if he was actually dead on his Oriental rug. After Turtle sees a dead body in the bedroom, she leaves the house screaming. Turtle wakes up the next morning to discover in the morning paper that Mr. Sam Westing has been found dead in his bed. Later that day, delivery boy Otis Amber issues an invitation to sixteen people to the reading of the Westing will; the recipients include the tenants of Sunset Towers (minus Mr. and Mrs. Theodorakis) as well as Dr. Denton Deere (Angela Wexler’s fiancée), Sandy McSouthers (the doorman), and Otis Amber. During the reading of the will by lawyer Ed Plum, it is revealed that Westing’s life has been taken by one of them in the room. The “heirs,” divided into eight teams, are given clues and $10,000 and then directed to figure out the murderer. The winner will inherit Westing’s estate valued at $200 million. Westing is careful to warn the teams, “It’s not what you have, but what you don’t have that counts.” Back at Sunset Towers, the teams begin slowly working through their clues. In the meantime, bombs keep going off in different places and at different times in the building. Turtle figures out that the third bomb was set off by her perfect sister at her bridal shower; to protect her sister’s reputation, Turtle decides to set off a fourth bomb and falsely confesses to all of the bombings. Meanwhile, Turtle and her partner take their money and play the stock market, where they eventually make a decent profit investing in the Westing company. Judge Ford and her partner Sandy McSouthers investigate the personal lives of each of the sixteen heirs, but neglect to include themselves in that investigation. Suspicious Theo discovers that Crow (the building’s cleaning lady) and Otis work at a soup kitchen. The heirs are invited to a second will reading, where they are asked to reveal their team answers. After each team’s answer is declared wrong, the teams are broken up and each individual is left to figure out the solution alone. At the encouragement of Sandy, the heirs decide to put all of their clues together, remembering Westing’s directive of being mindful of what they don’t have. The clues spell out the song “America, the Beautiful,” minus the letters that spell Crow’s entire name. When this revelation is made, Sandy keels over from an apparent heart attack. Crow gives herself over, and it is determined that she is actually Westing’s first wife, whom he blames for the suicide death of their daughter. Unconvinced that they have solved the mystery, Turtle decides to hold a trial and interrogate each of the heirs, after which she reveals that Sandy McSouthers was actually Sam Westing. The rest of the will, read by Judge Ford, confirms Turtle’s claims and the game ends with no apparent winner – they have not solved the mystery that Westing laid out for them. Westing bequeaths the deed of Sunset Towers to the sixteen heirs. Turtle, after rehearsing the will in her mind, finally puts it all together. The one who wins is he who finds the fourth: the fourth charade of Sam Westing. She arrives at the Westing estate and meets Mr. Julian Eastman, a.k.a. Sam Westing, Barney Northrup, and Sandy McSouthers. During the next five years, Turtle spends her Saturdays with Mr. Eastman, who teaches her to play chess and gives her lessons in the school of life. Julian Eastman dies with Turtle by his side.

Interest

            This book would most appeal to those readers who are in the early adolescent stage because of the elements of suspense/mystery. Since the story is told in third-person narrative, it would appeal to both sexes. Boys would find enjoyment in the mystery aspect of the story, while girls would enjoy the intricacy of character throughout.

Developing Well-Adjusted Readers

Progressive Independence and Separation from Parents: Although there are multiple characters that are still dependent on their parents, the character that displays the most significant progressive separation is Angela Wexler. Angela is considered the perfect child – she is beautiful, smart, and always compliant. Her mother, desiring only the best for her child, uses these aspects of her daughter’s makeup to encourage her engagement to a promising young doctor, Denton Deere. Angela acquiesces and seems rather happy in her situation at the beginning of the book. As Mr. Westing’s game progresses, however, Angela begins to question her lot and wonder what her life would be like if she were to make other choices. Rather than risk disappointing her mother and everyone else, she takes matters into her own hands and decides to plant a bomb in a gift that she opens during her shower; the exploded bomb scars Angela’s beautiful face, devastating Mrs. Wexler. The “accident” affords Angela the time and space to reflect upon who she is as a person without the intrusive influence of her mother. Many adolescents will be able to relate to Angela’s situation of having an overbearing parent dictate their every move and will rejoice with Angela when she finally begins to figure out how to independently make her own life decisions.

Changed Relationship with Peers: Turtle, who is on the verge of adolescence, is learning how to approach conflict maturely. At the beginning of the book, everyone calls her a “brat” for her insistence on kicking people in the shins when they annoy or aggravate her. Turtle doesn’t seem to understand her swirling pre-adolescent emotions, so she acts out in the only way she knows how: by physically hurting those around her. On multiple occasions, Doug Hoo and Theo Theodorakis reach out to Turtle in their own way, only to be rebuffed by her violent behavior. Turtle is not used to being accepted by anyone. She is the misfit in her family with her ugly hair, pointy face, and aggressive nature. As the book progresses, however, Turtle begins to realize that she is inherently valuable as a person, and we see her slowly maturing in her reactions to others. In fact, Turtle is the only one of the sixteen heirs who genuinely befriends Sandy McSouthers. At the end of the book, we see a Turtle whose fierce independent streak has been molded into a young lady that puts relationship with others first, including her relationship with one she previously rebuffed, Theo Theodorakis.

Coming to Terms with the Body: Turtle hates the way she looks. She hates her dark hair and her long, pointy face (hence the nickname Turtle). She is not pretty like her sister, and her mother does not help her to dispel this estimation. Because of this insecurity, Turtle is struggling to figure out where she fits in; when she feels out of control or agitated, she resorts to kicking to assuage her inner frustrations. After the fourth bomb singes off half of Turtle’s beloved braid, Turtle is forced to cut her hair short to her own consternation. It is only after the other heirs compliment her new style that Turtle begins to exude any kind of self-acceptance. She conducts the interrogation of the heirs with an air of confidence, admitting to herself that she likes the “grownup feeling of shorter hair swishing around her face.”  Even after five years pass, Turtle fully accepts the fact that she’s not pretty in the conventional sense of the term. But, the reader certainly gets the sense that she has come to terms with her looks and accepts herself for who she is. Many adolescents will be able to identify with Turtle’s feelings of insecurity and unhappiness with her physical body. They will also be encouraged by Turtle’s example of learning to accept herself for what she is and being willing to change what she can for the better.

Relating to the Opposite Sex: The book does not deal with this issue directly. Turtle’s progressive maturity of learning to accept her physical appearance certainly sets the stage for her to be able to set her own values regarding sexuality. The end of the book indicates that Turtle does eventually fall in love with and marry Theo Theodorakis, which seems to indicate that she matures normally in this area.

Achieving a Sense of Status: Turtle is trying to figure out where she fits in. She is not pretty and perfect like her sister. She is not refined like her mother. She seems to lack appropriate communication skills – she often turns to kicking her offenders rather than talking through issues. As the story, progresses, however, Turtle exhibits important character traits of loyalty, sacrifice, and determination. These traits fuel her interrogation of each of the heirs; we are introduced to the new Turtle, the Turtle who has come into her own to the surprise of her fellow heirs. Turtle finally figures out her personal value; and in so doing, she begins to understand the value of others as well.

Achieving an Integrated System of Values: At the beginning of the story, Angela Wexler does only what is told her by others. She seems to have no mind of her own. As the story progresses, however, we witness Angela’s inner rebellion against her mother’s constant interference in her life. Angela is initially afraid to make any other choices – she does not wish to upset her mother or ruin her own chances for happiness. When Angela finally decides to make her own decisions, we begin to see her personal sense of value really take shape. She does not believe, as her mother does, that she has to marry a rich man to be happy. She desires to go back to school to finish her medical degree. All of this goes against what she has always been taught about herself: that she is just a “pretty thing” whose only redemption in life is to marry well. When Angela takes charge of her future, she is essentially acting upon what she truly believes, not what has been fed her all of her life. Many adolescents will be able to identify with Angela’s struggles for her personal independence and will be encouraged themselves to make value-based decisions, rather than rely on the opinions of others.

Work Experience: The book focuses on a number of characters who hold down jobs. Both Theo Theodorakis and Doug Hoo work for their parents in their respective restaurants. The author seems to treat this as an expectation – it is expected for these boys to work to help support their family’s businesses and to establish their personal work ethic. The fact that Angela does not work seems to picture her dependence upon her parents; if Angela had a job, she may have been more tempted to act independently of her mother’s choices earlier. The adolescent reader can draw from these examples the benefits of working to become gradually independent of parental influence and provision.

Making a Vocational Choice: The author certainly purports that making a conscious vocational choice is best. After the passing of five years, Mr. Hoo’s orthotic shoe inserts become a big hit; Doug Hoo becomes a celebrated Olympic athlete; Theo becomes a well-known journalist; Denton Deere becomes a neurologist; Angela goes to medical school; Sydelle marries the president of the sausage company; Judge Ford becomes a judge on the United States Circuit Court of Appeals; and Grace Wexler becomes owner of multiple successful restaurant chains. The author seems to contend that each of these heirs is happy because they have pursued the life path of their own making, a principle that the adolescent reader can be encouraged to apply to his own life.

Issues

            I do not foresee the Christian school teacher having any particular issues when teaching through this book.

Recommendations

            This book is the 1979 Newbery winner. I would wholeheartedly recommend this book for reading, especially to those students who are in the early adolescence stage of reading. The characters are believable, relatable, and constantly developing throughout the story. The plot is intriguing and ingenuous – it keeps the reader engaged and encourages him to figure out the solution for himself. While the book is easy-to-read in its third-person point of view, it handles the themes of appearances, identity, deceit, and patriotism with simplistic depth. This book will keep the reader wanting to read more!