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The Westing Game

by Ellen Raskin

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Student Question

What is strange about the initial letters in The Westing Game?

Quick answer:

The initial letters in "The Westing Game" are peculiar because they are sent by a fictitious character, Barney Northrup, and delivered by an elderly delivery boy. Additionally, the letters claim that there are only a few vacant apartments left, which is unusual given that Sunset Towers is a new building. These oddities contribute to the mysterious setup of the story, as tenants are drawn into the Westing Estate's enigmatic circumstances.

Expert Answers

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The Westing Game is a novel written by Ellen Raskin. In this novel, tenants move into a new apartment building called Sunset Towers that is owned by the Westing Estate. Soon after moving in, one of the tenants sees a dead body in the Westing house. The tenants are named as heirs to the estate.

At the beginning of the novel, six letters are sent. These letters are strange for many reasons. One of the reasons that these letters are strange is that they are not sent by a real person, but rather by a man named Barney Northrup. It is also strange for letters to be delivered by a sixty-two-year-old delivery boy. A third reason that these letters are strange is that they state that there are only a few empty apartment spaces left and that the people should call right away. This is strange because it is a new apartment building and it would be odd for the units to be full already. These letters help set up the Westing Game.

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