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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Using the clues provided, and accounting for the missing words, who did Sydelle Pulaski announce as the murderer?

2. What did Otis mean by the phrase, "The turtle's lost its tail"?

3. Why did Turtle lie about Otis Amber?

4. What did Judge Ford do at the second meeting that shocked everyone?

5. What did Eastman know about Angela that surprises Turtle?

Short Essay Questions

1. What realization did Judge Ford suddenly make that convinced her that Westing was still alive?

2. How did Judge Ford react when told by Sandy that Jake Wexler was a bookie?

3. Why was there to be no liquor served at Crow and Otis Amber's wedding?

4. After reexamining their clues, who did Grace and Mr. Hoo think was involved in the mystery?

5. What happened at/to the Westing house at the end of the game?

6. What did Turtle suddenly realize about the winning clue in Chapter 26?

7. Why did Sydelle dress for the meeting in red and white stripes and decorate her cane with stars on blue?

8. Who was Rosalie and how did she die?

9. What is meant by the expression, "to go on the wagon"?

10. Why did the bomb squad seem indifferent to the fact that Turtle had been blasted by the latest bomb?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Every character in a well-written novel serves a purpose for being in the story. All of the characters in the Westing Game are either related to Westing on some level or were relatives of Westing - except for Denton Deere. What might Westing's purpose have been for including Deere among the heirs? What did Deere do that would help serve Westing's purpose? Use examples from the book to show Deere's possible purpose in the novel.

Essay Topic 2

The Judge and Sandy do quite a bit of research and an elaborate analysis of the clues. They never, however, discover the true solution to the puzzle. Where did they err? Given the same knowledge, why did they not come up with the same solution that Turtle did? Did Sandy, as Westing, affect the conclusion in any way? Show examples from the text where he may have given a false clue, leading Judge Ford to make the wrong assumption.

Essay Topic 3

Ellen Raskin has stated that the character she most identifies with from the novel is Angela. However, Turtle develops into being the main character. Why is Turtle the best choice to be the main character? Give examples from the book as to why Turtle makes the best main character. What about some of the other characters and their feelings about Westing? How would that make them not the most likely main character? Give examples from the novel about how Turtle feels about Westing in all his disguises.

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