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Characters
The de facto protagonist of the novel and the youngest of Sam Westing’s 16 potential heirs, Turtle Wexler is a precocious preteen who is fiercely protective of herself, her secrets, and the beloved long braid that hangs down her back. She’s Angela’s sister and Grace and Jake’s daughter. A tomboyish shin-kicker who doles out physical punishments to anyone who dares touch her precious braid, Turtle doesn’t fit in with her family at all. The Westing game, then, presents her with a chance to shine on her own terms. While working through clues (and playing the stock market) with her partner in the game, the dressmaker Flora Baumbach, Turtle learns important lessons about empathy, teamwork, and having faith in other people. All her life, Turtle has felt lonely even within her own family—her bedroom is little more than a closet in her family’s apartment, and Grace’s preference for Turtle’s beautiful sister, Angela, has never been much of a secret. As a result, Turtle has cultivated a practical understanding of the world around her, refusing to play by anyone else’s rules or to let anyone get too close to her. As the novel progresses, Turtle finds herself questioning the defense mechanisms she’s developed and reconsidering her relationships with other people. Ultimately, after discovering the true identity of Sandy McSouthers—and the fact that Sam Westing created four aliases for himself based on the directions of the four winds—the logical and enterprising Turtle wins the Westing game, but she doesn’t tell any of the other players that she’s solved the puzzle. Turtle becomes the apprentice of Julian R. Eastman—Westing’s latest alias—and eventually, many years into the future, she inherits control of the Westing Paper Products Corporation. Shrewd, resilient, thoughtful, and observant, Turtle Wexler exemplifies the combination of canniness, enterprise, and self-determination that Westing seeks in an heir—not just to his company, but to his entire legacy.
Tabitha-Ruth “Turtle” Wexler Quotes in The Westing Game
The The Westing Game quotes below are all either spoken by Tabitha-Ruth “Turtle” Wexler or refer to Tabitha-Ruth “Turtle” Wexler. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 26
Quotes
The estate is at the crossroads. The heir who wins the windfall will be the one who finds the
FOURTH.
That's it, that has to be it: The heir who wins the windfall will be the one who finds the fourth! Windy Windkloppel took four names, and [Turtle] knew who the fourth one was!
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Chapter 27
Quotes
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.
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Chapter 30
Quotes
Julian R. Eastman was dead; and with him died Windy Windkloppel, Samuel W. Westing, Barney Northrup, and Sandy McSouthers. And with him died a little of Turtle.
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Veiled in black, she hurried from the funeral services. It was Saturday and she had an important engagement. Angela brought her daughter, Alice, to the Wexler-Theodorakis mansion to spend Saturday afternoons with her aunt.
There she was, waiting for her in the library. Baba had tied red ribbons in the one long pigtail down her back.
"Hi there, Alice," T. R. Wexler said. "Ready for a game of chess?"
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Tabitha-Ruth “Turtle” Wexler Quotes in The Westing Game
The The Westing Game quotes below are all either spoken by Tabitha-Ruth “Turtle” Wexler or refer to Tabitha-Ruth “Turtle” Wexler. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 26
Quotes
The estate is at the crossroads. The heir who wins the windfall will be the one who finds the
FOURTH.
That's it, that has to be it: The heir who wins the windfall will be the one who finds the fourth! Windy Windkloppel took four names, and [Turtle] knew who the fourth one was!
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 27
Quotes
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.
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Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 30
Quotes
Julian R. Eastman was dead; and with him died Windy Windkloppel, Samuel W. Westing, Barney Northrup, and Sandy McSouthers. And with him died a little of Turtle.
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Veiled in black, she hurried from the funeral services. It was Saturday and she had an important engagement. Angela brought her daughter, Alice, to the Wexler-Theodorakis mansion to spend Saturday afternoons with her aunt.
There she was, waiting for her in the library. Baba had tied red ribbons in the one long pigtail down her back.
"Hi there, Alice," T. R. Wexler said. "Ready for a game of chess?"
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
