Characters
Who is the heir partnered with Turtle Wexler?
Flora Baumbach
What event/invitation brings all the heirs together at the beginning of the story?
The reading of Sam Westing’s will
What source do we discover all the clues given to the heirs are from?
The song "American the Beautiful"
In your own words, explain how "deception" is a theme in this story
Nearly all the characters have secrets that come out / Many are pretending to be someone they are not (angela, sydelle, Sam westing, turtle, crow, otis) / Many character's go by multiple names
What genre would you classify The Westing Game?
Mystery
Which Heir is revealed to be Sam Westing in disguise?
Sandy McSouthers
What is the supposed cause of Sam Westing’s death?
His life was taken by one of the heirs (murder)
Name one of the suspects that the clues point to and which clue implicated them?
Purple fruited = ed plumb
Grace = Grace Wexler
Grains = Otis (oats)
Why is Turtle's braid her "crutch"?
She is very protective of it / it makes up a large part of her identity / its something she uses as an excuse to kick people if they mess with it / It's her connection to the people who love her (those she lets touch her hair)
Define the word "Heir"
A person legally entitled to another’s property or title upon their death
What is Angela Wexler’s secret struggle throughout much of the novel?
Living under her mother’s expectations / lack of independence / pressure of being perfect / she does not want to get married
Turns out Grace really is related to Sam Westing. How do we discover that?
Grace's maiden name is Windklopple
Crow's married name was Windklopple
Crow was married to Sam Westing before he changed his name for business reasons, making Grace (likely) his niece, just as she remembered.
What does JJ Ford believe is going on with this "Westing Game"?
She thinks its a trap for whoever is being targeted in the will. She wants to protect (not turn in) the subject of the will. She thinks Sam Westing is out for revenge beyond the grave!
Explain how loneliness affects the characters in the story
Sydelle - desperate for attention because she has no friends
Angela - so much pressure from others / dropped out of college so she does not have easy access to her friends / her mom controls a lot of her life
Turtle - She is ignored by her family and gets away with a lot of trouble (kicking shins) until someone takes notice of her
Chris - Dismissed because of his disability, he holds on to the check to keep Denton Deere visiting him
**Nearly any character can be worked into this concept**
What is the benefit of having the narrator change from character to character in this type of book?
We get to see them all follow different paths to solve the will / it helps the reader get a wide range of information about the clues and the game
Which heir is considered the most observant and intelligent even though they are often overlooked due to their disability?
Chris Theodorakis
Who was the limper?
Dr. Sikes, who was a life-long friend of Sam Westing and helped him fake his death
The pairs seem matched in the worst way when they are first paired up. What benefit came about for all of them because of their pairings?
They all got the companionship they were looking for / They all were paired with the person they needed most / The pairings made them grow and change
Why was the body dressed as Uncle Sam?
He loved the 4th of July
He claims they are all his nieces and nephews
To hide the fact that is was a fake body
How does the story build suspense?
the slow discovery of clues
the secrets that get revealed about the characters
the comparison between Violet's tragedy and Angela
*many more options for this answer*
What connection do Judge Ford and Sam Westing share from the past?
Westing financed her education / She thinks this was to manipulate her so he could have a judge in his corner
Name the 4 identities of Windy Windklopple
They are all the same person (Barney Northrup, Sandy McSouthers, Julian R. Eastman, Sam Westing)
What's interesting about the "winner" of the Westing Game
Turtle wins not through money, but through insight and integrity / Crow wins the money by being the answer but does not "win" the game
Several of the characters are criminals. Give one of these characters and a justification for why they committed a crime
Bomber (angela) - she wants to break out of her "perfect" image / avoid her wedding
Bookie (jake) - he needs more money to cater to Grace's image and send Angela back to college / to gain respect from his wife
Burglar (Madame Hoo) - she wants to sell the stuff to buy a ticket to travel home to China
How is this a coming-of-age story?
The characters grow and changed based on their relationships and the challenges they face in the story.