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!
