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The Westing Game · Garden Heights
Part 2
for The Westing Game · Part 2 · Chapters 5–8
8 Parts40 min
What Happens in Part 2
The sixteen invited heirs gather at the Westing house, where Sydelle Pulaski arrives on purple-and-white crutches claiming a dreadful disease, and Judge J.J. Ford quietly wonders why an inexperienced lawyer, E. J. Plum, is running so large an estate. Plum, the executor, verifies the will’s signatures and reads: the document greets the heirs as its nieces and nephews — and claims Sam Westing’s life was taken by someone in the room. Ch.7 turns the reading into a contest of eight assigned pairs, each holding a $10,000 check that needs both signatures and a set of clue words printed on Westing paper towels, under a warning that some some identities may be false — and Turtle swallows her clues rather than risk a thief. That night a blizzard buries Sunset Towers, and the snowbound heirs go to work: Turtle sells her summer-camp candles and reads the clues as stock tips, and partners bicker over their words. Judge Ford decides the game is not really a murder hunt and starts digging into Westing’s past — while Sydelle, who refused to share her shorthand record of the will, discovers her notebook has been stolen.
What We Will Learn
Section
What you will practice
Vocabulary
Estate and inheritance words: executor, heir, estate, forfeit, cryptic, snowbound…
Literary Elements
A document that does the talking, a red herring on crutches, and an ensemble cast
Cross-Curricular
Wills, estates & probate — how a fortune actually changes hands
Chapter Summary
Ch.
What happens
5
Sixteen Heirs — the invited heirs assemble at the Westing house: Mr. Hoo grumbles that his restaurant is sitting empty, Jake Wexler and Madame Hoo stay away, Judge J.J. Ford quietly wonders why an untested young lawyer is handling so large an estate, and Sydelle Pulaski makes her entrance on purple-and-white painted crutches, hinting at a terrible wasting disease no doctor has ever named.
6
The Westing Will — E. J. Plum, an executor who never met the man he serves, confirms that the will carries Westing’s signature and two witnesses’, then begins to read; the document greets the sixteen as its nieces and nephews, answers Grace Wexler’s surprise by name, and drops its bomb: Westing’s life, the paper claims, was taken by someone in the room.
7
The Westing Game — in a game room set with card tables, the will sorts the heirs into eight assigned pairs, hands each pair a $10,000 check that is useless without both signatures, and deals out clue words printed on squares of Westing paper towel; quitting costs a pair everything, the players are warned that some of them are not who they claim to be, and Turtle swallows her clues rather than risk a thief.
8
The Paired Heirs — a blizzard buries Sunset Towers and kills the phones and power; Turtle sells her summer-camp candles at five dollars apiece and decides her clue words are stock tips; partners huddle and bicker over their clues while Judge Ford concludes the game is not really about murder and starts digging into Westing’s past; and Sydelle, who refused to share her shorthand record of the will, finds her notebook stolen from her apartment.
Part 1
Vocabulary
Study 10 key words from Chapters 5–8, then answer each question.
📚Knowledge Bank · The Vocabulary of Inheritance
Law · Estate TerminologyEstate law keeps a precise word for every role around a will, and the reading in Ch.6 uses most of them. The person who writes and signs the will is the testator — Sam Westing, in this case — and everything he leaves behind, from towers to paper mills, is his estate. People positioned to receive that property are heirs, though lawyers reserve a second term, beneficiary, for anyone a will actually names. The document cannot run itself, so the testator appoints an executor to carry out its instructions, which is why a nervous young lawyer stands at the front of the room. Before a single dollar moves, a court must confirm that the paper is genuine, a checking process called probate, and a person who believes the paper is fake may contest it before a judge. Notice how many of these words appear inside the novel doing exact legal work. Raskin trusts young readers with the real, working vocabulary of inheritance.
executorn.Ch.6
The person named in a will to carry out its instructions
“The executor read the strange will exactly as written.”
heirn.Ch.5
A person in line to receive money or property from someone who dies
“Every heir in the room hoped the fortune had their name on it.”
estaten.Ch.6
Everything a person owns and leaves behind at death
“The Westing estate held towers, paper mills, and millions.”
eccentricadj.Ch.6
Odd in a personal, attention-getting way
“Only an eccentric man would print clues on paper towels.”
shorthandn.Ch.6
A system of quick symbols for writing as fast as people speak
“Her shorthand caught every word of the reading.”
forfeitv.Ch.7
To lose or give up something as a penalty
“Quit the game and you forfeit the money along with it.”
crypticadj.Ch.7
Having a hidden meaning that is hard to work out
“Four cryptic words made a very stubborn clue.”
snowboundadj.Ch.8
Shut in one place by heavy snow
“The snowbound tenants met their partners by candlelight.”
transcribev.Ch.8
To write out a complete, readable copy of something
“She promised to transcribe her notes someday, for a price.”
conspicuousadj.Ch.5
Standing out so much that everyone notices
“Painted crutches made her the most conspicuous guest.”
ⓘ The vocabulary words in this list are selected to help you understand and complete this workbook. Some may not appear verbatim in the original novel.
1The person named in a will to carry out its instructions is the ___.Ch.6
2‘Snowbound’ describes people or places shut in by heavy snow.Ch.8
3Odd in a personal, attention-getting way is ___.Ch.6
4Fill in each blank with the correct word.Ch.6–8
Word choices:shorthandestateforfeittranscribe- some words will not be used
Sydelle recorded the whole reading in rapid strokes.
Everything Mr. Westing left behind makes up his .
5To give something up as a penalty is to ___ it.Ch.7
6Something worded to hide its meaning is ___.Ch.7
7To ‘transcribe’ notes is to destroy them so nobody else can read them.Ch.8
8Fill in the blanks with the correct words.Ch.5–8
Word choices:conspicuouscrypticsnowboundheir- some words will not be used
Purple-and-white crutches made Sydelle instantly .
Each hoped the fortune would land on them.
9Which word best describes the tenants of Sunset Towers during the storm in Ch.8?Ch.8
10An ‘heir’ is the person who writes a will and gives away property.Ch.5
Part 2
Comprehension
Show you understood what happens in Chapters 5–8.
📋Knowledge Bank · What an Executor Actually Does
Law · Probate ProcessAn executor’s job sounds grand and is mostly paperwork. First comes proof: the executor files the will with a probate court and shows that it was properly signed and witnessed — exactly what Plum does when he verifies the signatures of Westing and his two witnesses. Next comes an inventory, a complete list of what the estate contains: bank accounts, buildings, shares in the family company, and every unpaid bill. Debts and taxes are settled before anyone inherits, because the law treats creditors as first in line and heirs as last. Only then does the executor distribute what remains, following the document to the letter, whether the letter is sensible or strange. The role demands neutrality; an executor serves the document, not the loudest heir in the room. That is what makes Westing’s choice so odd: he handed a sixteen-player puzzle worth millions to an inexperienced stranger. Either the choice was careless — or Plum was picked precisely because a seasoned lawyer might have asked harder questions.
1Why does Mr. Hoo want the reading to start the moment he arrives?Ch.5
2How does Sydelle Pulaski present herself at the will-reading?Ch.5
3E. J. Plum tells the heirs he knew Sam Westing well for many years.Ch.6
4What does the will claim about Sam Westing’s death?Ch.6
5Write the numbers 1–5 in the boxes to show the correct order of events in Chapters 5–8. Number 1 = what happens first.Ch.5–8
The eight pairs collect their checks and paper-towel clues.
Sydelle arrives at the Westing house on painted crutches.
Sydelle discovers her shorthand notebook is gone.
A blizzard knocks out the power and seals Sunset Towers.
Plum reads the will’s accusation to the sixteen heirs.
6A pair’s $10,000 check is worthless unless both partners sign it.Ch.7
7Who is Turtle Wexler’s assigned partner in the game?Ch.7
8What does Turtle sell to the snowbound tenants in Ch.8?Ch.8
9Sydelle happily shares her shorthand notes with any neighbor who asks.Ch.8
10How does Turtle choose to read her pair’s clue words?Ch.8
Part 3
Literary Elements
Understanding HOW and WHY Ellen Raskin tells the story across Chapters 5–8.
🧠Knowledge Bank · The Document That Runs the Room
Literary Craft · The Will as NarratorSam Westing is believed dead when the heirs gather, yet in Ch.6 and Ch.7 he is the most powerful character on the page. Raskin manages this through a device older than the mystery genre: the will as a speaking document. The paper greets its listeners, teases them by name, accuses one of them, and sets rules they must obey — everything a living character does, performed from beyond the page. Around that voice she runs an ensemble of sixteen, and she keeps them distinct the practical way, issuing each heir one vivid handle: painted crutches, a growling restaurant owner, a judge who measures everyone she meets. Sydelle’s invented illness works as a red herring, steering attention toward the least informed player in the room. And the will’s warning that some players are lying about themselves is pure foreshadowing, a promissory note the book will spend twenty chapters honoring. The result is a scene in which no speaker can be trusted, and every reader leans closer.
Red herring
Sydelle’s painted crutches and invented illness are a planted false lead — they pull every eye toward the heir who knows the least.
The document as speaker
To the heirs, Sam Westing appears only through a will that greets, teases, and accuses the room — a piece of paper stands in for a character.
Ensemble cast
Sixteen heirs share one scene; Raskin keeps them distinct with one vivid tag apiece — crutches, a grumbling restaurant owner, a measuring judge.
1The will’s claim that one heir took Westing’s life works mainly as ___.Ch.6
2Fill in each blank with the correct literary term.Ch.5–8
Word choices:herringensemblesonnetflashback- some words will not be used
A planted clue that misleads the reader is a red .
A large cast sharing one story is an cast.
3Raskin gives Sydelle a fake illness and painted crutches mainly to ___.Ch.5
4To the assembled heirs, Sam Westing appears in these chapters only through the words of his will.Ch.6–7
5Requiring both signatures on every check is Raskin’s way of ___.Ch.7
6The cryptic clue words dealt on paper towels invite the reader to ___.Ch.7–8
7The narration stays locked inside one character’s head across Ch.5–8.Ch.5–8
8Fill in the blank with the correct literary term.Ch.5–8
Word choices:omniscientlimitedunreliablerhymed- some words will not be used
A narrator free to enter any character’s mind is .
9The will’s warning that some players are lying about themselves plants a mystery for later chapters.Ch.7
10Chapters 5–8 mainly work to ___.Ch.5–8
Part 4
Think Deeper
Four deeper challenges — no single-word recall. Read, weigh the evidence, and reason it out.
💡Knowledge Bank · Money With Strings Attached
Estate Ethics · Conditions & ControlMay a dead man tell the living what to do? Estate law answers: partly. A testator may attach conditions to a gift — finish school, keep the family name, care for a relative — and courts will generally enforce them, a power lawyers call dead-hand control. The hand has limits. A condition demanding something illegal, impossible, or against public policy is struck down, and no court will order an heir to marry, divorce, or worship on command. Westing’s will sails close to the edge: it withholds a fortune until strangers play a game, co-sign checks, and hunt one another as suspects. Nothing in that is illegal, which is the uncomfortable point — money can lawfully purchase behavior long after its owner is gone. The sharper question is ethical. The heirs are free to walk away, but a shared $10,000 check makes walking expensive, and Westing knew it. Whether his game is a gift, a test, or the purchase of sixteen consciences is the debate these chapters open.
Think back over these chapters. A young lawyer stands in a dead man’s house, straightening papers he barely understands, while sixteen invited guests watch him and each other. A woman nobody noticed last week thumps in on purple-and-white crutches and enjoys every stare. Then the paper starts to speak: it calls the room its nieces and nephews, it answers one listener by name, and it announces, almost cheerfully, that someone present took its writer’s life. Checks are dealt like playing cards, clue words ride on squares of paper towel, and outside the tall windows the snow begins that will seal every player inside one building.
Original passage written for Garden Heights — not a quotation from the novel.
1Claim: “The Westing game is built to force strangers to depend on each other.” — choose the two details that best prove it.Claim & Evidence
2The will’s rules, or The heirs’ own choices? Tap each detail to send it left or right.Sort into two
◄ The will’s rulesThe heirs’ own choices ►
3Match each cause to its result. For each cause, pick its result.Cause & Effect
The will claims one of the heirs took Westing’s life→
A blizzard knocks out the phones and power at Sunset Towers→
Sydelle records the will in shorthand nobody else can read→
Turtle decides the clue words are stock-market tips→
4Fill both blanks to complete the reasoning.Build the Argument
The game’s structure encourages each pair to guard its clues because , which shows that .
Part 5
Standardized Test
Reading passage · How a Will Works · Words in Context & Central Ideas · SAT & TOEFL-style practice
🎯 You already have the skills from the sections above — this is just a fun way to meet real SAT & TOEFL-style questions. Read the passage (the highlighted words are tested below), then answer the questions below. Tap an answer to select it, then tap it again to confirm — you can change your choice until you confirm.
Sixteen strangers crowd into a mansion to hear a lawyer read a dead man’s instructions — and, minus the fireworks, that scene is how real inheritance begins. A will is a legal document in which a person, called the testator, states who should receive his or her property after death. Everything the testator leaves behind — money, buildings, company shares, even a paper-towel fortune — is called the estate. Without a will, state law divides the estate by a fixed formula, no matter what the owner might have wanted.
A will cannot enforce itself, so the testator names an executor, the person responsible for carrying out the document’s instructions. First the will goes through probate, a court process that checks whether the document is genuine — properly signed by the testator and by witnesses. The executor then gathers the property and pays the dead person’s debts and taxes before anything else. Only after the bills are settled may the remaining estate pass to the beneficiaries the will names.
A testator may also attach conditions to a gift. An inheritance can depend on finishing college, running a family business, or even winning a game, and courts will usually enforce such strings. There are limits: a condition that demands something illegal or impossible is struck down. Anyone who believes a will is fake or unfair may contest it, which means challenging it before a judge, but contests rarely succeed when the paperwork is clean — one reason careful witnesses matter so much. A game stitched into a will is unusual, yet as long as the document is signed, witnessed, and lawful, nothing stops it.
Original passage written for Garden Heights — not a quotation from the novel.
1What is the main idea of the passage?SAT · Central Ideas
2According to the passage, the person who writes a will is called the ___.TOEFL · Factual Information
3In the passage, an executor is ___.SAT · Words in Context
4Before property is distributed, what must the executor pay first?TOEFL · Factual Information
5In the passage, probate is ___.TOEFL · Vocabulary
6According to the passage, which condition would a court refuse to enforce?TOEFL · Factual Information
7In the passage, to contest a will is to ___.SAT · Words in Context
8Prose Summary (TOEFL).The passage explains how a will moves from paper to property and what limits apply. This TOEFL task lists six sentences; choose the THREE that best capture the passage’s main ideas. The other three do not belong — they state minor details or ideas the passage does not present.TOEFL · Prose Summary
9The passage suggests witnesses matter mainly because they ___.SAT · Inference
10Which detail from Ch.6 does this passage BEST explain?SAT · Inference
Part 6 · Optional
Creative Writing
A bonus challenge to practice your English. Take your time and have fun with it.
About This Section
This writing task is optional and is not part of your auto-graded score. The feedback below checks only the basics — length, spelling, and grammar — not whether your ideas are right or wrong. It is meant for classroom discussion and creative practice, so feel free to use your imagination!
Writing Task — Part 2 “The Partner You Did Not Pick”
In Ch.7 the will sorts sixteen people into eight pairs nobody asked for, backed by a $10,000 check that only works with both signatures. Write about a time you had to team up with someone you did not choose — a project partner, a teammate, a seat neighbor. 6–10 sentences. End with what the forced partnership taught you.
You can start with: “Nobody asked me who I wanted to work with, and that turned out to be...”
0 / 40 words minimum
🗣 Teach It · Just for Fun (optional)
No right or wrong — close the screen and tell someone nearby what happened in this part. Can’t find anyone? Tell yourself out loud. The moment you teach it, you truly understand it.
Part 2 Complete!
You finished Chapters 5–8 of The Westing Game.
Here are your auto-graded results:
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points out of 100
Your Writing
Your writing was checked automatically for length, spelling, grammar, and whether you included the key parts of the scene. Scroll back to Part 5 anytime to read your feedback and improve your work.
Independent study guide by Garden Heights. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Ellen Raskin. Contains original analysis only; no text from the novel is reproduced. Reference text: This workbook follows Ellen Raskin’s classic text (the standard Puffin edition sold worldwide). Revised 2023 UK editions change some wording and may not match the vocabulary studied here.
