Solidarity vs. Individualism Theme Analysis

When the supposedly deceased founder of the Westing Paper Products Corporation, the reclusive Sam Westing, he uses his will to call together 16 seemingly random strangers. He offers these people the chance to become potential heirs to his vast estate, matches them up in pairs, and urges them to compete for a $200 million prize, thus setting in motion a battle between individualism and teamwork. Westing’s challenge to his heirs—work together or lose everything—stands in stark contrast to his own union-busting techniques as a businessman. Yet it is clear that Westing longs to inspire a sense of camaraderie in his potential heirs. As Raskin shows her characters wrestling with the values of individualism versus solidarity, she argues that the sense of interconnectedness one learns through teamwork and camaraderie is among life’s most important lessons.

Although the individualistic, union-busting Westing learned the importance of teamwork, community, and solidarity too late, he hopes to impart to his heirs the importance of those things while they still have time to build a sense of community among themselves. Thus, the real purpose of the titular Westing game is, in spite of the competitive form the game takes, the cultivation of community and solidarity. Westing’s will doubles as a set of instructions as to how to play the Westing game—the game that will determine who is to be the sole heir to Westing’s vast estate. For years, Westing preyed upon his workers as they sought to unite, placing his company’s profits over the success of the individuals it employed. As such, he embeds in the will itself the directive to work together rather than struggle individually. Westing includes this cryptic reminder in his will: “It is not what you have, it’s what you don’t have that counts.” Westing is referring to the fact that the clues, when compiled, create a puzzle that can easily be solved (while on their own, each individual set of clues is meaningless). However, this statement also takes on a deeper meaning: Westing suggests that it is only by using their collective life experiences and wisdom, and recognizing that a balance of different strengths is more important that any one strength or weakness, that the group can solve the game. Westing wants his heirs to rely on the power of solidarity rather than individual achievement—however, he recognizes that it will take a while for the heirs to catch on, cast aside their pride, and work together. Westing even refers to them as his “nieces and nephews” in his will in order to inspire a sense of family and camaraderie among them. While many characters ignore this tip-off, by the end of the book, the heirs are united by their shared experience of playing the Westing game and do indeed become a kind of family, complete with periodic reunions.

Over the course of the game, its players go from seeing one another as enemies to appreciating one another as they learn that the only way to succeed in the game—and, more largely, in life itself—is to embrace openness, vulnerability, and solidarity. At the start of the novel, many of the characters are isolated, self-serving, or otherwise cut off from their community. For instance, Grace Wexler is a social climber concerned only with her own advancement—and she uses her beautiful daughter, Angela, as a pawn in her games, further isolating Angela from her own desires. Turtle Wexler, Grace’s other daughter, kicks anyone who gets too close to her in the shins—she literally repels anyone who tugs on her beloved braid in an attempt to tease her, express affection toward her, or establish familiarity with her through physicality. Madame Hoo, the young immigrant wife of restaurateur James Shin Hoo, has just arrived from Hong Kong and cannot speak English—she resorts to stealing her neighbors’ possessions in order to feel close to them, unable to find anyone who will put in the time and effort to help her learn to communicate. Chris Theodorakis, battling a neurological disorder, retains his brilliant mind yet finds himself unable to verbally or physically express himself as his body breaks down. Raskin uses these characters’ stories of isolation to highlight how badly they all need the Westing game—whether they realize it or not. As the game forces 16 characters together in unusual pairings, they find themselves forced to open up to at least one other person. Breaking through their loneliness and working together is a core tenet of the game—and slowly, the characters realize that even working together in devoted pairs is not enough. It is only when the characters finally pool their clues that they discover the answer—and realize that although their clues point to the name of Westing’s supposed “murderer,” they are unwilling to turn in one of their own for a chance at money. When they refuse to turn Crow in, they forfeit the $200 million—but they’re rewarded when Westing gifts them equal shares of Sunset Towers, a physical manifestation of the community they have built. The Westing game works after all: Westing teaches a group of 16 lonely people to see the importance in teamwork, solidarity, and advocating for the health, success, and happiness of people other than themselves. By the end of the novel, Madame Hoo is learning English from Jake Wexler, Grace’s husband; Chris Theodorakis has gained access to an experimental treatment from Angela’s self-absorbed fiancé, Denton Deere; and Turtle has found a mother figure in her partner, Flora Baumbach. The Westing game allows these characters to feel less alone and to understand the power of working together as a unit.

By having a character who failed to learn the lessons of solidarity and collectivism try to impart those lessons to a group of people in need of camaraderie, Raskin highlights how profound the benefits of community can be. For years after the game ends, its players continue to lean on and learn from one another. Raskin’s faith in the power of solidarity to change an entire community shines through in The Westing Game.