The Westing Game

“Sydelle Pulaski looked up and saw only the dim, warped reflections of treetops and drifting clouds in the glass face of Sunset Towers.”

As Barney Northrup gives Sydelle a tour of the building she’s about to move into, she notices parts of the building’s appearance that have larger metaphorical meaning in the novel. In particular, the “warped reflections” suggest the tension between appearance and reality, thus introducing the theme of Appearances as a (Non)indication of the Self.

“They say his body is sprawled out on a fancy Oriental rug, and his flesh is rotting off those mean bones, and maggots are creeping in his eye sockets and crawling out of his nose holes.”

When the adolescents gather outside in the parking lot with Otis and Sandy, Sandy begins creating a mythology around Westing. This effectively propels Turtle to take the dare to enter the house, setting in motion the conditions necessary for the heirs to believe that Westing has died and left behind a fortune. Sandy (one of Westing’s personas) understands that the children have no personal history with Westing and uses this as a strategy to fill them with a sense of curiosity and wonder.

“There’d be fewer burglaries around here if people listened to her about putting in dead-bolt locks. But nobody listened. Nobody cared.”

Sydelle’s internal dialogue establishes her feelings of alienation and resentment early in the novel. Her bitterness only becomes heightened as she begins the Westing game, though it subsides as her relationships with Angela and the rest of the residents replace her time spent alone. The threatening tone she uses is a red herring used to distract the reader into believing her to be the murderer, even though she has absolutely no ties to Samuel Westing.

“The front door was opened by Crow. Although the Sunset Towers cleaning woman always wore black, here it reminded Grace Wexler to dab at her eyes with a lace handkerchief. This was a house of mourning.”

As the heirs gather at the Westing mansion on the inaugural evening of the game, many feel the need to establish their relationship with Westing to validate and, in Grace’s case, prioritize their seat at the library’s table. The performative nature of her behavior reflects the eagerness that many of the heirs feel to fit in during an otherwise unexpected and incomprehensible experience.

“Today I have gathered together my nearest and dearest, my sixteen nieces and nephews.”

As the heirs listen to E. J. Plum read the will, most are still unsure why they are present. This excerpt, written by Westing, foreshadows how closely all the heirs will come to know one another. It also suggests that unknown factors tether them to each other. The idea he’s suggesting is that the concept of “family” may relate more to personal connection than to blood ties, as in Flora and Turtle’s eventual relationship.

“Some are not who they say they are, and some are not who they seem to be. Whoever you are, it’s time to go home.”

Westing creates a sense of paranoia using this kind of language in the will. It has literal meaning: For instance, Otis Amber is not a delivery boy but a private investigator. However, it also becomes apparent over the course of the book that some characters are “not who they seem to be” in terms of personality. The will Westing has written shakes up the stable elements of the characters’ lives and makes them reconsider the parts of themselves and of others that they’ve taken for granted.

“His choice of words must have been limited; therefore, these clues were part of a longer statement. A statement that named a name. The name of a murderer.”

The entire premise of the murder is a puzzle that the heirs must solve. Westing gives them all the material they need to crack the case, but they commit themselves to finding a “murderer” rather than unpacking the clues as a team and taking into account the fact that Westing is a jokester and enjoys mind-bending games.

“Why did they ask about Denton all the time, as though she was nobody without him?”

This marks one of Angela’s breakthroughs, in which she realizes how others perceive her as the result of her stifling relationship with her mother and her family, who expect her to marry Denton. The party is a scene in which she is constantly engaged in conversations with people who know little about her external life and even less (or nothing) about her internal life. She begins to reach a breaking point and later goes off to the kitchen to be alone.

“Lured by the Westing house, they stood at their side windows, scoffing at the danger, daring to dream.”

The narrator often treats the characters as a collective, acting in a unified way despite their apparently conflicting goals. These statements broaden the scope of the narrative to remind the reader that despite the myriad personal backstories and narratives coexisting in the book, each character is a crucial element of a larger story. The “lure” of the Westing house is initially the money to be won. Considering Westing’s own self-built wealth and success, the heirs begin to wonder what they might amount to if given the means to advance in life. The initial checks they receive catalyze this interest, which Westing uses as bait to commit heirs to his game. The kinds of actions inspired by the will, however, expand the characters’ interests, developing the theme of Greed and Charity as Motivators.

“Her husband would have done just that, said it again, but Mr. Hoo only nodded in shared sympathy. What a gentleman.”

This occurs the day Grace starts working at Mr. Hoo’s restaurant. She likes that Mr. Hoo doesn’t take her literally when she says, “You can say that again” (73). This seems like an insignificant moment to value in one’s relationship with another person, but it reflects how Grace’s newfound and unexpected friendship alters the monotony that has compromised her marriage and motherhood.

“Without makeup, without jewelry, clothed only in a white hospital gown, she looked older, softer. She looked like a sad and homely human being.”

Angela goes to visit Sydelle in the hospital and takes note of Sydelle’s appearance. Sydelle is hyper-focused on how she dresses and how she appears to others and is now in a state of vulnerability. This humanizes Sydelle and broadens the reader’s understanding of her.

“Well, that’s it. Nobody else admits to having known Mr. Westing, except me.”

As soon as Sandy and Judge Ford meet up, they begin combining their methods to play the game. Judge Ford has hired a private investigator, while Sandy takes notes on his observations. Westing uses the persona of Sandy to help influence what types of information are available to the players, particularly Ford and Turtle. He makes himself seem a simple and forthcoming family man so as not to raise suspicions, but he also repeatedly draws Ford’s attention to the importance of each person’s association with Westing. This helps her stay focused amid an overwhelming amount of information.

“We are sinners, yet shall we be saved. Let us pray for deliverance, then you must go to your angel, take her away.”

In the disorienting darkness of the hallway, Theo accidentally knocks on Crow’s door instead of the Hoos’. Crow, traumatized by the suicide of her daughter that occurred decades ago, sees Theo and Angela as representative of Theo’s father and Crow’s daughter, who had been deeply in love. It is an opportunity, in her eyes, to recreate and alter history in favor of happiness and peace. Her biblical language creates a surreal atmosphere for the already-confused Theo, who awakes thinking the whole thing was a dream.

“Rosalie had 573 different swatches in her collection before she died. Mrs. Baumbach said her daughter might have been an artist if things had turned out differently.”

When Flora finally discloses personal information about her deceased daughter to Chris, it explains why dressmaking is so special to Flora. Her impulse to be a mother figure to Turtle and her unrelenting kindness results, in part, from this sad history. Her practice is not just a way to make a living but a way to continue cherishing an important and central memory.

“What a blessed relief. Otis Amber was wrong. James Shin Hoo was a charitable man, he couldn’t be the bomber.”

Mr. Hoo has just given Crow a pair of his paper insoles, which comes as a significant relief to her feet. Her immediate softness toward him is humorous. It has nothing to do with evidence that he is not the bomber, illustrating the limits of The Use of Rationality to Explain an Irrational World. The shifting relationships throughout the book are often based on personal circumstances, even in the context of criminal accusations (bombing, murder, and theft). Although these interactions are minor, they help the heirs see the real qualities in those around them rather than base their opinions on hearsay and—at times—meaningless clues.

“Besides, Violet didn’t have much of a business sense. After that her father never paid her much attention.”

Judge Ford approaches Mr. Theodorakis because she knows he used to date Westing’s daughter. Whether or not the heirs know it, much of their time is spent trying to discover what kind of person Westing is, yet he remains an enigmatic figure. George’s portrait of a man who neglected his daughter simply because she did not take after him is unflattering, and while he was clearly impacted by Violet’s death, it is worth noting that the character Westing bonds most closely with, Turtle, is one who shares his business interests.

“Maybe Westing paid for your education ’cause you were smart and needy, and you did all the rest by yourself.”

Judge Ford has just told Sandy about her family’s history at the Westing house and how she feels he paid for her education to “buy” a sympathetic judge. Although it does not become apparent until the end of the book, this is the first time Ford has heard anything heartfelt and loving directly from Westing’s mouth, as the last thing Judge Ford recalls Westing telling her disparaged her intelligence and race. In the guise of Sandy, Westing is trying to make amends with Judge Ford by giving her the self-confidence she needs to move on with her life and reshape her negative memories into positive ones.

“No, I wasn’t laughing at you, Sydelle, I’d never laugh at you. It’s just that suddenly everything seemed all right.”

As Angela watches her mother and father walk off together in pursuit of privacy, she begins to laugh. In an otherwise chaotic part of the book, right before the heirs gather at the Westing house for the second time, this represents a moment of comedic relief. It is cathartic for Angela to see this side of her mother, who, for once, has no interest in imposing limitations and expectations on her. She is finally able to pursue life as an autonomous individual thanks to her mother’s newfound happiness.

“Judge Ford strode in as regally as an African princess, her noble head swathed in a turban, her tall body draped in yards of handprinted cloth.”

The heirs are entering the Westing house to give their final answers to the question of the murderer. Following Judge Ford’s conversation with Sandy about her parents working at the Westing mansion, Judge Ford embraces the ethnic heritage that has previously been a source of pain for her. There is a proud and assertive tone in the language—“regally,” “noble,” and “tall body”—that suggests a breakthrough in her character. The language draws attention to how her garments enhance her stature and composure and points to her desire to defy Westing, who made racist comments toward her when she was a child.

“Everyone was given the perfect partner, Chris said. Chris was right.”

Chris oftentimes has difficulty communicating with other characters due to his disability, but he has consistently been attentive to detail throughout the game. The skills he’s acquired as a patient birdwatcher compensate for his inability to express himself. He realizes that the pairings Westing made were not random. Westing designed them to bring out the best characteristics of each heir (his own partner leads him to a helpful medicine, for example).

“Crow waited. She had not suffered enough for her sins, her penance was yet to begin.”

Crow’s internal dialogue here brings up an important part of The Westing Game, which deals with motherhood and gender expectations. The women in the novel often feel a disproportionate amount of anxiety and duty when it comes to their relationships with their families. Certain expectations are placed on them that their male counterparts do not experience. These women end up exceeding the strict guidelines they’ve internalized by the end of the novel, when they proceed to become powerful figures in society or find happiness in other ways.

“The great winter fireworks extravaganza, as it came to be called, lasted only fifteen minutes. Twenty minutes later the Westing house had burned to the ground.”

After the heirs exit the house, this display of fireworks erupts behind them. It is an obvious indicator of the end of the game and, metaphorically, of the end of their time being watched by Westing and his alter egos. Sunset Towers is no longer in the shadow of the Mansion, and the residents’ sense of being under surveillance is put to rest. By leaving behind no trace of himself and no opportunity for the heirs to dig more deeply, he ensures that his memory will live on and remain as much a legend as it was when Sunset Towers first became occupied.

“T. R. Wexler was radiant. Earlier that day she had won her first chess game from the master.”

Turtle has changed her name and now goes by her first and middle initials, suggesting she has restored her relationship with her family and has significantly matured and stopped relying on her old coping mechanisms. She is the only character in the book to beat Westing at his game, surpassing even Judge Ford. Of course, a whole community of support, not only Westing, has helped Turtle succeed. Only her own perseverance and willingness to take risks carried her to visit the Eastman house. That she has won against the master signifies a passing of tradition from one generation to the next.