The Westing Game Turtle Wexler Character Analysis

Character Analysis

Reading the book The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin, I developed a liking to a certain character. That character is Turtle Wexler or also known as Tabitha-Ruth Wexler. She changes who she is throughout the story and this is what she’s all about.
When you first start reading The Westing Game Turtle is a brat. She is kicking people in the shins, which are messing with her or pulling her braid. The only person that Turtle didn’t kick is Sandy McSouthers. She was always arguing with someone about something she didn’t agree with or something they think she did. Before she played Westings game, she was an immature, child. She really wanted to figure out who killed Samuel Westing, and she did. Turtle didn’t do the entire discovery
alone; she had Flora Baumbach to help her. People underestimated Turtle, and she got angry but there are a couple people that believe in her and encourage her to try her best. As she starts to solve who murdered Samuel Westing, she grows into a mature, grown-adult. She learns that you shouldn’t kick people just because they do something that she doesn’t like. Other than moving on from a brat to a mature adult, she also learns to deal with her perfect sister, Angela.
Turtle doesn’t like that people are comparing Angela and herself. They are making comments like “Angela is the perfect child; she is smart and very pretty.” Turtle is always not having something done for her because someone is doing things for Angela. At the beginning of the story Turtle wants her witch costume sewn, but no one can sew it for her because they are helping Angela with her wedding dress. As the game continues things happen and people changed, and something definitely happened between Angela and Turtle. Angela makes a bomb and when it explodes she doesn’t confess that she does it because still wants to be the “perfect” child. So instead Turtle takes the blame for the bomb, and everyone believes her, no one suspects that it’s anyone else. Turtle knows that Angela is the bomber but she isn’t going to tell on her sister because no one will believe that Angela could do something like that. Turtle later finds out that there is also one other person who knows that Angela was the bomber, that person is Julian R. Eastman. Turtle never tells anyone but she doesn’t know how Julian knows that Angela was the bomber. Turtle starts to become herself and not worry about people comparing her and Angela anymore, that’s how Turtle changes her and her sisters’ relationship. But the best thing that I like about Turtle is that she solved who killed Sam Westing.
Turtle Wexler is the one who found Sam Westings body in his house.
On Halloween Sandy McSouthers, Barney Northrup, and Otis Amber dared Turtle to go into the Westings house and see how long she could stay in there. Every minute that Turtle stayed in the house she got two bucks from each guy. Turtle stayed in the house for twelve minutes and they couldn’t believe she would stay in the house that long. As Turtle was roaming the house, she wondered off to an area where once she slammed the door she found Sam Westings body. Once the press got the news it was spread out everywhere. That day when the press released the information, sixteen people got letters to the reading of the will. People that didn’t even know that they knew or were related to Sam Westing got invited, and some people didn’t go. Turtle got paired up with Flora Baumbach or Baba. They each got clues to figure out who was the murderer. When Turtle and Flora got the clues, Turtle memorized the clues and then ate the papers so that no one would be able to figure out what was in their minds. They go on thinking that these people killed Sam Westing. But an unusual twist came. Sandy McSouthers died also, in the process of the game. Turtle held her head up high and was strong, but now she really wanted to figure out what happened to both Sandy and Sam. Turtle set up a trial to get all of the facts. As she interrogated everyone one of the heirs, she figured out that Sam Westing was not murdered at all. He was sick and instead of alcohol in the flask, he had medicine for his sickness. But Sam Westing didn’t even die when they said he died. He was full of life and he was also playing the game. Turtle discovered that Sam Westing was disguised as four different people. Sam Westing was disguised as Barney Northrup, Sandy McSouthers, and Julian R. Eastman. But his real name was Windy Windkloppel. Sandy McSouthers, Barney Northrup, Julian R. Eastman and Samuel Westing were just his disguises and Turtle is the one who
figured it out. The game was over, they reached the point where they figured out the truth, Sam Westing wasn’t murdered, and he didn’t die from natural causes. No, instead he was still alive and playing the game with the rest of the heirs. They now concluded that Samuel Westing wasn’t murdered at all, neither was he dead, instead he joined the heirs for a playing of the Westing Game.
In the end, Turtle grows up and becomes a very successful woman. She visits Julian R. Eastman, and tells him everything that has gone on from a couple years ago. Turtle or also known as T.R. Wexler goes from a shin kicking, immature brat to a successful, grown, mature adult. The biggest step that she made was going out of her ways to find out who murdered Samuel Westing.