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The Westing Game
Manage episode 333072655 series 2937778
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The Westing Game gave young readers a layered and complex mystery to solve and gave Ellen Raskin a Newbery medal. In this episode we discuss our heroine, Turtle Wexler, and her 15 fellow players in the Westing Game, and appreciate how richly drawn the characters are (except for Theo) in a book that is jam packed with main characters. We examine the themes of personal growth, being true to yourself, and found family. We try to decipher the true message of the book and debate whether the book is a paean to capitalism or low key progressive. And, in a These Books Made Me first, we give plaudits for excellence in editorial work after being impressed by the tightly written and totally cohesive puzzle that is Sam Westing's game.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We cover a lot of ground in this episode and used some articles and websites as jumping off points. Here’s a brief list of some of them if you want to do your own further research:
Capitalist or no? https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-westing-game-a-tribute-to-labor-that-became-a-dark-comedy-of-american-capitalism
The Westing Game online exhibit: https://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/the-westing-game-manuscript/
The Cover Art of Ellen Raskin: https://www.flickr.com/photos/crossettlibrary/albums/72157624916884152
Chapters
1. The Westing Game (00:00:00)
2. Intro (00:00:09)
3. Guests (00:00:30)
4. First time or reread? (00:00:41)
5. Plot (00:02:46)
6. Ellen Raskin (00:04:22)
7. Hawa's Headspace (00:06:31)
8. How does it hold up? (00:08:33)
9. Microaggressions (00:11:01)
10. Westing Chess (00:14:46)
11. Angela (00:18:43)
12. Violet Westing (00:22:25)
13. Grace Wexler (00:23:13)
14. Judge Ford (00:24:14)
15. Multiple protagonists (00:29:11)
16. Turtle (00:29:53)
17. Doug (00:33:41)
18. Mr Hoo & Grace Wexler (00:35:15)
19. Madame Hoo (00:36:26)
20. New Yorker article (00:40:45)
21. Theo (00:41:48)
22. Jake and his dad jokes (00:44:04)
23. Capitalism (00:46:37)
24. Successes (00:48:57)
25. Is this book for kids? (00:51:52)
26. Game segment (00:56:25)
27. Bechtel Test (00:59:25)
28. Outro (01:00:13)
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