Family and connections is a
floating theme throughout the book The
Westing Game. Certain characters are
in a traditional family setting but are lacking a true connection to
anyone. In setting up his game, Samuel
Westing pairs players together in a way that everyone gains something from the
relationship they share with their partner.
What they gain is a connection to someone and a sense of purpose and
belonging. By the end of the book the characters have all made a connection, be
it a stronger bond to that partner, or their relationship with their family has
evolved to something much greater.
In the beginning of the book,
Turtle seems to be floating through life doing things as she pleases. No one
seems to put any effort into asking what she is doing or how she is feeling. Her mother disregards her, favoring her
sister Angela over her. We see no
interaction between Turtle and her father and Angela seems to put up with her simply
because they are sisters. It is in her
pairing with Flora that Turtle connects with someone and feels like she
matters. Flora is also suffering from a
lack of family after losing her only daughter to pneumonia. Flora soon takes on the grandmother role to
Turtle. She worries about her well-being,
brushes her hair, comforts her, and treats Turtle with respect. Flora also
listens to Turtle and takes her seriously, not treating her like a naïve
child.
Angela does not seem to have a
voice of her own throughout a great deal of the book. In being paired with the loud, outspoken Sydelle,
she begins to ponder what she wants in life.
Sydelle knows what she wants and will go to the extreme to get it. Angela witnesses Sydelle’s antics and even
covers for her when the terminal illness farce is about to be exposed. Angela makes a connection Sydelle and they
have that understanding between one another.
They can be honest with each other and also have one another’s
back. Angela has had to sit back and
watch her mother plan the wedding, but with Sydelle they work as a team valuing
one another’s opinions.
Chris and Dr. Deere are an odd pair
to be placed together in the game. Chris
is wheel chair bound and interested in bird watching while Dr. Deere is a
plastic surgery intern. Neither have
had any interaction together until the game begins.
The relationship that develops between to two seems to be that of
friendship. While there is never a
concrete example given in the book, the reader is given the idea that Dr.
Deere’s outlook on life changes a bit after his time spent with Chris. Dr. Deere also looks into medicine and
treatment for Chris’ medical condition. By the end of the book, Chris is in college and independent from his brother, Theo, something that may not have happen should he not been partnered with Dr. Deere.
Other characters made connections
to their partners as well. Jake is the
only person who sees Madame Hoo for who she is, a person, someone who needs to
be acknowledged as well as spoken to.
Jake treats her like he would anyone else; he does not care that she
can’t speak English and encourages her to try.
He finds humor in her (lack of) words and never leaves her in the corner
ignored. Crow and Otis are paired
together and their connection grows eventually leading to their marriage in the
end. Judge J.J. and Sandy are paired
giving J.J. a time to reflect on her relationship with Westing and how her life
has turned out. In the end, she donates
money to a scholarship for a college student, in doing so she is letting go of
the turmoil she feels in knowing Westing paid for her schooling.
The
Westing Game carries an underlying theme of family and connecting to the
ones around us. The characters
connected to their partners and that in turn aided them in connecting to their own
families. The story starts with strangers moving into an apartment building,
not only are they strangers to one another, but to their own family members as
well. By the end of the story, the end
of the game, bonds between family members and friends are stronger than ever
and seem to be growing.
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