CHAPTER 23: Strange Answers

Summary

Lawyer E.J. Plum is in the game room when Otis Amber enters, as are Flora Baumbach and Turtle Wexler, whose long hair had been cut. Flora shows Turtle a photo of her daughter Rosalie, and Turtle says she would have liked her. Sydelle Pulaski and Angela Wexler arrive next: Turtle had convinced Angela not to confess to being the bomber. As the heirs arrive, they comment on Turtle's haircut. Theo doesn't do so, as he sees the chess game has continued since last meeting and it's now his move. Judge Ford makes a grand entrance wearing a turban and an African print gown. Doug Hoo and his parents arrive, triumphant from the morning's track meet. Jake and Grace Wexler arrive, drunk from spending the afternoon at a cafe they frequented before they married. After everyone is seated with their partner at their designated tables, Otis asks if they can open the envelopes there. Inside is another ten thousand dollar check for each pair; Judge Ford signs her check and gives it to Sandy McSouthers to help him until he finds a new job.

Reading from the will, E.J. Plum instructs each pair to give their answer when called. As Plum calls out the name and listed occupation of each pair, several of the heirs are puzzled at the occupation listed for themselves. First is Madame Sun Lin Hoo, cook, and Jake Wexler, bookie: they finally look at the clues they should have received at the first meeting, OF AMERICA AND GOD ABOVE, and Jake asks Madame Hoo to say something. Table One's answer is what she says: "Boom!" Second is Flora Baumbach, dressmaker, and Turtle Wexler, financier: they place on the table the original ten thousand dollars and the profit earned from their investment. Table two's answer is $11,587.50. Sandy applauds and Turtle bows. Third is Christos Theodorakis, ornithologist, and D. Denton Deere, intern: Chris says that Sam Westing is a good man whose last wish is to do good deeds and give each heir the perfect partner to befriend. Table Three's answer is Mr. Westing was a good man. Fourth is J.J. Ford, judge, and Alexander McSouthers, fired: they have no answer, as planned. The judge looks to Denton Deere, who she gave a note earlier; he shakes his head to tell her that Otis Amber has never had plastic surgery on his face, meaning he isn't Sam Westing. Fifth is Grace Windkloppel Wexler, restaurateur, and James Hoo, inventor: Grace is drunk and stands up to announce the grand reopening of Hoo's On First on Sunday, then falls down when she sits where the chair wasn't. Table Five's answer is Ed Plum. Sixth is Berthe Erica Crow, mother, and Otis Amber, deliverer: Crow is surprised and asks if she wrote mother, while Otis believes she signed the receipt Good Salvation Soup Kitchen. Since Crow repeats it, Table Five's answer is mother. Seventh is Doug Hoo, champ, and Theo Theodorakis, writer: Doug is basking in his glory still, and Theo feels guilty because their chemical formula answer led to Otis Amber, who helps the poor at the soup kitchen. Table Seven also has no answer. Eighth and last are Sydelle Pulaski, victim, and Angela Wexler, person: Sydelle, dressed in red and white stripes and her clutches painted blue with white stars, stands up and sings the first stanza of "America the Beautiful". Table Eight's answer is Otis Amber.

Reading the next document, E.J. Plum instructs the heirs that there will be a short break and asks that Berthe Erica Crow go to the kitchen for refreshments. Fearful, Crow follows this instruction. Judge Ford sends Sandy to follow her; he does so, asking Crow to fill his flask. Angela leaves the room and is followed by Turtle, who wants to make sure she doesn't go to the fireworks room again. The other heirs stare at Otis Amber, who mocks them by pointing his finger and making machine gun sounds. Crow and Angela return with trays, followed by a relieved Turtle. Denton Deere tells Judge Ford that none of the heirs have had plastic surgery but that her partner Sandy McSouthers could use it. Sandy asks if anyone wants a drink from his flask and Judge Ford cautions him to remain clear-headed. Theo goes to the chess table and sees it's his turn again: he takes his mystery opponent's queen and believes he's won the game. E.J. Plum tries to talk to Angela Wexler while Sydelle Pulaski asks if he has the answer; when Angela repeats Sydelle's question, he responds he's following a schedule of instructions. He then realizes he's one minute late and rips open the next envelope for the next document: it tells everyone to "Go directly to the library. Do not pass Go."

Notes

From deriding the minstrelsy of her clues at the first meeting of the Westing heirs, Judge Ford makes a striking statement of reclamation when she appears at the second meeting in an African print gown (a wrapper or dashiki, as it's called). That is, she takes the offensive stereotype of the minstrel and replaces it with the image of the proud African American who is aware of her heritage. This contrasts against the two actual immigrants in the novel: Sam Windkloppel changes his name to Westing in order to have a brand that consumers will positively associate with paper products, while Sun Lin Hoo feels constrained by wearing the traditional Chinese dress - called a cheongsam - as that isn't what she'd wear in her homeland. Rather, it's imposed on her by her new husband James, who himself adds the name Shin to seem "more Chinese" for the sake of the restaurant. This is a common dynamic in America: the choice to shed or reclaim parts of one's ethnic heritage at will in a manner that better reflect one's individual identity and one's individual relationship to that heritage. Sometimes it's better to let go, sometimes it's better to take these traits on again; and sometimes, as with the Hoos, there is a conflict of interests.

Another important transformation is Turtle's hair. The new hairdo is symbolic of her move from childhood to a new maturity, as it's also tied into her sacrifice for Angela by claiming to be the bomber. As the one who finally wins the Westing game, the haircut is a rite of passage towards the woman she'll eventually become in order to deserve the inheritance. Readers also learn that Angela obtained her fireworks for the bombs from the cache kept in the Westing house.

The positions that Sam Westing gives to some of the heirs is meant to expose secrets and catch the heirs off-guard. Westing continues to set up the endgames with Sandy's drunkenness: having him drink more obviously from his flask distances him further from Judge Ford's image of Sam Westing, a teetotaler who never drank alcohol. It also sets up the accusation against Crow, who Sandy asks to refill his flask. The phrase "Do not pass Go" comes from the game Monopoly, when a player is sent to Jail and not allowed to collect the money usually given at the starting square. In that sense, the library becomes a "jail" for the heirs - and indeed, they'll be locked in there against their will.