it has been argued that one of the themes of this novel is that people often hide their true identities from others. what evidence from the text supports this themre

The most evident theme in The Westing Game is the theme of lies and deception, and the power of lies and deception. From the opening chapter of the novel, Ellen Raskin, the author, utilizes deception to mislead and trick the readers as she introduces a character named Barney Northup, who according to Raskin is not a real person. However, this is only the beginning of the lies that frequent the novel. As the novel progresses, many of the characters in the novel - such as Sandy McSouthers, James Shin Hoo, Sydelle Pulaski, and Turtle Wexler - use deception to obtain their true desires or hide their identity. For instance, Sydelle Pulaski fakes a debilitating leg injury in the opening chapters of the novel, and she hobbles around on crutches for the remainder of the book. In this aspect, she uses deception to receive attention as well as make people feel pity for her. Alternatively, Sandy McSouthers, one of the four identities of Samuel Westing, constantly deceives the other Westing heirs with incredibly sly lies and deception, distracting characters such as J.J. Ford and preventing them from discovering his true identity. Moreover, many of the characters such as James Shin Hoo and Jake Wexler often lie about their professions, as they do not want their counterparts to discover their past (and current) job histories.