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America As A Land Of Opportunity In Ellen Raskin's The Westing Game

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America, U.S.A, the Big Apple, the land of opportunity, the land of Liberty; whatever one wishes to call it, America is full of opportunity. America is commonly considered to be the land of opportunity because many people immigrate to America in search of the sensational, lucrative, stable lifestyle it promises. Further, people often come to live in America to pursue the vast amount of job opportunities, and to seek out the promised fortune. The same is true of the characters in the novel The Westing Game. The Westing Game is a fiction mystery novel written by the American author, Ellen Raskin, about heirs working together to try to solve a mystery. In this novel, there was a motif of America portrayed as a land of opportunity. Quintessential …show more content…

Hoo. Mr. Hoo, whose full name is James Shin Hoo, is 50 years old and was born in Chicago. Once James Shin Hoo moved into Sunset Towers, by the prompt of Barney Northrup and the help of his wife Sun Lin Hoo, he opened his first restaurant. Sun Lin Hoo came from Hong Kong two years ago speaking very limited English. Despite the fact that Sun Lin Hoo did not speak any English, she was able to help her husband open a restaurant and contribute to its success. “Mom went into the restaurant business, has a chain of ten. Nine are quite successful. I keep telling her to give up on Hoo’s On Tenth, to cut her losses, but she’s stubborn as ever. I guess she hangs on to it because it’s in Madison, to be near Dad. He’s now the state crime commissioner” (Raskin, 181). This quote explains that overtime, James Shin Hoo’s business with his partner Grace Wexler developed into a successful enterprise. Together, they have almost 10 successful chains of restaurants. They have both grown into better people and made lots of money and shared it equally with one another. This quote connects to the statement of America being the land of opportunity because it displays a great example of how James Shin Hoo and Sun Lin Hoo, who were immigrants, had the opportunity to open and develop 10 successful

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In the Westing Game sixteen people, who do not know each other, are invited to live in Sunset Towers. These sixteen strangers are requested to gather at Sam Weston’s house for the reading of his will. After arriving at Mr. Weston’s home, the guests are informed that they will be playing a game to determine who killed Sam Weston. Not only was Mr. Weston killed but also according to the will, one of the new residents is the killer. The setting of the book takes place at Sunset Towers.

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A lot of people turn to mysteries when they want something to read. The Westing Game, by Ellen Raskin, is a great one for all. The students at GLMS read it and then watched the movie. They were trying to figure out the answer to the riddle and they did. The Westing Game book and movie contain similarities and differences that are worth looking into.

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My theory on The Westing Game is Flora Baumbach is the killer. I believe she is the killer because she was super excited when she found out Turtle was here partner (pg. 33). Her next victim could be Turtle for kicking her in the shin. She also would want to kill Sam because of his daughter's wedding.

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The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin is very innovative and mysterious. The book and movie is full of mysteries and red herrings. The Westing Game contains many similarities and differences that are worth reading about. The Westing Game, is about a young girl named Turtle who takes on a murder mystery. Samuel W. Westing is a man who plays the four winds that fools the heirs, almost.

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Is money really that important? The novel “The Westing Game” written by Ellen Raskin follows 16 random individuals as they receive a perfect offer; a luxury apartment, in a prime location, for an extremely low price. Thus they all accept their offers for apartments at Sunset Towers. It is later revealed that these 16 people are heirs to Samuel W. Westing's $200 million fortune and his paper company. To access their inheritance, they must compete to find Sam Westing’s murderer.

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Fundamentally, the “American Dream” is the idea that anyone can achieve success and happiness in life solely through hard work. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby, life moves very quickly for Americans and there's no time for people to care about each other's problems. This is not simply because people in this era are self-centered; but, it's the fact that self-importance has consumed the moral sense of East and West Eggers alike. Throughout the story, Fitzgerald utilizes motifs, which can be seen when he incorporates recurring elements such as color, flowers, or cars. Motifs are essential to any novel since they help to develop the novel's underlying theme or purpose.

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Natalie Merchant, singer of “Gold Rush Brides” mentioned various aspects of American History situating around Westward Expansion in her lyrics. “The land was free and the price was right.” In this line there’s a reference to the Homestead Act which allowed Americans to put in a claim for free acres of federal land by encouraging westward migration. “The Price was right” referred to the small filing fee that the Homesteaders had to pay. “I see indians that crawl through this mural that recalls our history.”

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In the reading The Idea of America by Nikole Hannah-Jones is a critical part of the 1619 that was launched by The New York Times Magazine. This article marks the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in Virginia. In the article, Nikole Hannah Jones will explain the contributions of black Americans to the nation, explaining how fundamental and important they are to the country, and how fundamental they are to American democracy. She would also explain the fight for rights and democracy, despite the country’s history of slavery and racial segregation. She would suggest that black Americans have played a critical role in influencing ideas for democracy.

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The use of the words “fresh” and “green” create the image of a bountiful land, a new frontier to be explored. This new world represents a land of opportunity and possibility for the settlers. Fitzgerald uses this positive description to show the basis of the American dream; where it originated and what it once meant. He portrays America as an old island

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