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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:
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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 Character Timeline in The Westing Game
The timeline below shows where the character Tabitha-Ruth “Turtle” Wexler appears in The Westing Game. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
...can see that there is smoke coming from the chimney of the Westing house. Junior-high-schooler Turtle Wexler pedals into the driveway on her bicycle, having seen the smoke herself. She asks...
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...says, a pair of kids entered the Westing house on a dare on Halloween night. Turtle whips her head around. Doug Hoo dodges Turtle’s long braid—she kicks in the shins anyone...
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Chapter 3
...Mrs. Wexler, delighted, announces her intention to bring a housewarming gift to their new neighbors. Turtle bursts in with the news about the smoke—again, she is too late. Mrs. Wexler is...
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Turtle asks Flora if Flora can hem the witch costume Turtle has selected to wear tonight...
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...a bruise on Crow’s shin, Jake asks her about it. Crow replies that his daughter, Turtle, kicked her the other day for touching her braid. Such things happen, Crow declares, when...
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Chapter 4
Under the full Halloween moon, Turtle, dressed in her witch costume, meets Doug at the Westing manor. She sees that the...
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In the Westing manor, Turtle found the corpse of Sam Westing tucked in a four-poster bed on the second floor...
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As Turtle reads the sixty-five-year-old industrialist Westing’s obituary, she learns that he was the only child of...
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At the end of the obituary, Turtle is shocked to find no mention of how the body was found—or the note she...
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Chapter 5
Flora Baumbach arrives and sits with Turtle. Otis Amber arrives next, followed by Doug Hoo and Mr. Hoo. Sandy arrives, then the...
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...says her husband isn’t either. She explains he was called away for emergency surgery, but Turtle whispers to Flora that her father’s absence has something to do with a football game....
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Chapter 7
...wife and the cook at Shin Hoo’s, is paired with Jake Wexler—but both are absent. Turtle is paired with Flora. Chris is paired with Denton Deere. Theo suggests he should be...
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...game and play the way Westing would—“mean.” Flora can’t begin to understand the clues, but Turtle, feeling she understands them intuitively, puts the paper in her mouth and swallows it. As...
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Chapter 8
...awake to find snowdrifts imprisoning them in the building—the phones and power are out, too. Turtle goes door-to-door selling homemade striped candles which help to tell time at five dollars each....
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Turtle has interpreted the will’s order to “Take stock in America” as a recommendation to invest...
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...a few additional words (and even with a piece of paper Angela has stolen from Turtle’s drawer, a piece of paper on which are written some stock market calculations), nothing seems...
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Chapter 9
...those willing to share their clues to come to the coffee shop the next morning. Turtle asks for the return of a stolen Mickey Mouse clock. Hoo posts an advertisement for...
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At Flora’s apartment, Turtle and her partner have just finished placing an order on their stocks. Turtle feels she...
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...a twin. Grace asks Sydelle if she’ll show her her notes. Sydelle refuses to respond. Turtle, uncomfortable, hurries out to meet her date to the party, Flora.
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Chapter 10
Turtle and Flora poll the gathered guests about whether they think “May God thy gold refine”...
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Chapter 11
On the third snowbound morning, Turtle prepares to go to the meeting at the coffee shop. She rushes to Flora’s apartment...
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...reads aloud. One question asks if anyone is a twin—no one answers. Another asks what Turtle’s real name is. Grace states that it is Tabitha-Ruth. The next question asks who has...
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Chapter 12
...the door startles her. Angela, who is with her in the apartment, answers it—it is Turtle, furious with Angela for stealing her newspaper earlier. Turtle is in a foul mood because...
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Chapter 13
Grace seats Jake at a table with the sour-faced Turtle, who is listening to the stock market report on her radio. Hoo comes over to...
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Chapter 14
...beneath the hoods of cars in the parking lot, but she finds nothing. Flora and Turtle drive together to their broker’s office to watch their stocks. Turtle is disheartened by their...
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...the Theodorakis brothers, that the “shin” in “shining” might refer to James Shin Hoo or Turtle’s shin-kicking, and that AM and BROTHER can be shortened to AMBER—as in Otis.
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...comes into the lobby and excitedly tells Angela he’s found the source of the quote Turtle was curious about: “May God thy gold refine.” He opens up a library book and...
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Chapter 15
On Friday, Theo, Doug, and Turtle all return to school. The coffee shop is full, but Shin Hoo’s is empty. Ford...
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Turtle, Sandy, Doug, Theo, and Otis stand outside Sunset Towers looking at the Westing manor—no smoke...
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Doug teases Turtle about being the murderer, since she was the one who found Westing’s corpse. He pulls...
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Chapter 16
...that none of her own career-focused friends are present. Angela opens two identical, gaudy gifts—as Turtle reaches for a third, Angela snatches away and opens it. An explosion goes off and...
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...Angela claims to be unable to remember anything about the moment the bomb went off. Turtle sits by her sister’s bed and comforts her—Angela is worried about damage to her face,...
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Chapter 17
Monday is a gray day. The stock market falls even further, and Turtle begins to worry. She is not the only anxious one—all the heirs are nervous in...
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Chapter 18
Flora and Turtle have settled into a routine each day: Flora braids Turtle’s hair while Turtle reads The...
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...wouldn’t want that. Denton asks Angela what it is that she wants. She doesn’t answer. Turtle busts into the room. Denton tugs her braid, and she kicks him in the shin....
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Chapter 19
On Thursday, Flora sits at the broker’s office and watches WPP stock rise and rise. Turtle is at school, listening to the reports on her radio—but when she’s caught, she blames...
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Chapter 20
On Friday, as the specter of returning to the Westing house looms, Turtle skips school and accompanies Flora to the broker’s office. As WPP reaches its highest price...
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Chapter 21
Theo comes up to Flora’s apartment, where Turtle and Flora are counting their stock market winnings, to ask if he can borrow Turtle’s...
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...third floor. By the time the bomb squad reaches the scene, the smoke has cleared. Turtle is huddled in the hallway, crying. Most of her braid has been singed off. As...
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The bomb squad brings Turtle to 4D to see the judge. As Ford questions Turtle about her actions, it becomes...
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Turtle asks for some bourbon on a piece of cotton to put on her bad tooth....
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Chapter 22
...of Sunset Towers awake to find a notice posted in the elevator. It is from Turtle. She admits to being the bomber and apologizes for being “dumb”—but she insists she is...
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Jake and Grace, in the elevator on the way to Doug’s track meet, argue over Turtle. Grace insults her daughter, stating that she’s always felt the hospital mixed up the babies...
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...arms, telling her they can skip the meet. On the second floor, though, the doors open--Turtle, having been at Flora’s, is standing in front of them. She apologizes to her crying...
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Turtle goes to her dentist appointment. She is unimpressed by the dentures in a glass cabinet...
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Chapter 23
Plum, Turtle, and Flora are already in the game room when Otis Amber arrives. Otis makes fun...
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...continue to arrive and take their seats at the small tables. Sandy and Chris compliment Turtle’s haircut. Judge Ford arrives dressed in traditional African clothes—she wears a turban and a handprinted...
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...each pair and collects their answers. Jake and Madame Hoo offer “boom” as their answer. Turtle and Flora, having won over a thousand dollars in the stock market with their initial...
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...Sandy passes his flask to Crow and asks her to refill it. Angela leaves, too. Turtle follows Angela to make sure she doesn’t set off any more fireworks.
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Chapter 24
...the door and allow Dr. Sikes in, Sandy is beyond help—he expires on the floor. Turtle screams, pushing through the crowd to reach the doorman. As she looks down at him,...
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Chapter 25
...committed murder, while others believe she herself killed Sandy by filling his flask with poison. Turtle laments her friend’s death. Denton chastises her for kicking her friend. Turtle swears she’s never...
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...games as a girl—he always sacrificed his queen but won on the next move. As Turtle revels in Theo’s loss, she thinks about her poor friend Sandy. As she recalls Sandy’s...
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In the corner of the room, Turtle rereads the will. When she gets to the bit about Westing’s ashes being “scattered to...
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Turtle continues reading the will aloud. The indignant Otis interrupts to ask why Westing would make...
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...will, but it’s currently November. Otis Amber laments that today, the 15th, is Crow’s birthday. Turtle looks up from the will, remembering that Sandy asked her for a striped candle for...
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Chapter 26
Hoo is reluctant to listen to Turtle, whom he believes is the bomber—but Ford insists on allowing Turtle to follow through with...
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Turtle calls her next witness: Otis Amber. Turtle asks Otis to reveal who he really is....
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As Turtle continues questioning Otis, he reveals that he never investigated the man known as Sandy McSouthers...
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Turtle calls Denton Deere to the stand. She asks, if in his professional medical opinion, the...
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Turtle calls Sydelle to the stand. She asks about a typo in Sydelle’s copy of the...
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Turtle gives her closing arguments. She points out the contradictory nature of Westing’s life and persona....
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Turtle stops talking. Ford waits for her to make the connection between Sandy and Northrup for...
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Chapter 27
...lost the game. As everyone gripes about what a cheat and a miser Westing was, Turtle goes to the window which looks out over Westing manor. Suddenly, rockets light up the...
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The next morning, Turtle heads out on her bike to collect her prize. Now that she has figured out...
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Chapter 28
Turtle never tells anyone that she won the Westing game. Every Saturday afternoon, she tells her...
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...between classes, weekly dates with Sydelle, and Sundays volunteering at Otis and Crow’s soup kitchen. Turtle, meanwhile, keeps playing the stock market. Crow and Otis move into an apartment above their...
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Chapter 29
...“attractive young woman” talking to Flora is—Grace is surprised that Theo doesn’t recognize the eighteen-year-old Turtle, who now goes by T.R. Wexler. No one knows that earlier that day, T.R. won...
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Chapter 30
Another handful of years later, Turtle—who now goes by T.R. Wexler—is on the board of the Westing Paper Products Corporation. With...
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T.R. tells Eastman about the other heirs. Ford is now on the United States Supreme Court....
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Eastman asks about his niece, Gracie Windkloppel. T.R. reveals that Grace now has ten restaurants. Jake, meanwhile, is the state crime commissioner. Eastman...
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...him die Windy Windkloppel, Sam Westing, Barney Northrup, and Sandy McSouthers. No one ever learns T.R.’s secret—and so a little bit of her dies with him, too. She inherits Eastman’s stock...
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