SuitabookThe Westing game
Ellen Raskin
- Reading
- Keep a simple character-and-clue list, noting each pair, clue and alliance. Pause after major revelations to test theories, and discuss unfamiliar social attitudes in context rather than treating every character’s view as the book’s own.
- Themes
- Teamwork and individual ambition: Sixteen strangers are paired and challenged to compete for an inheritance, with the game presenting cooperation and individual gain as opposing pressures. The book leaves its stance open to more than one reading.
- Prejudice and social difference: The ensemble includes minority and disabled characters whose differences are used as grounds for judgement and discrimination. The thematic account says the story exposes prejudices and stereotypes, presenting social targeting as a problem rather than an ideal.
- Wealth, inheritance and greed: A wealthy figure uses an inheritance and a competitive game to bring strangers together, making money and power central to their decisions. The book leaves its stance open to more than one reading.
- Worth knowing
- Be aware of a murder-mystery frame involving a supposedly deceased millionaire, an alleged murderer and a fortune at stake. The story also includes racial and class prejudice, stereotyping and unfair treatment of minority and disabled characters.