Hapgood Discussion: Act 1, Scenes 3 and 4

HONORS PS1500 - Physics in the Plays of Tom Stoppard

Hapgood, Act 1, Scenes 4 and 5 C Questions for Discussion

On p 519 to 524, Wates interrogates Blair. What are his suspicions about Hapgood?

On p 528, why does Hapgood say, "Wates, I could kiss you" after listening to his A corpse that=s been ten hours dead in the water@ dialog?

On p 532, Wates is described as "wrong-footed@ three times. What three of Wates concerns has Hapgood already taken action on?

What is your impression of Hapgood from Act 1, Scene 4?

Hapgood is filled with characters who have a dual personality:

Russian 1 and Russian 2 (twins)

Kerner (a British joe or a Russian sleeper?)

Blair (his personal and technical sides shown to Hapgood)

At the end of Act 4, what hypothesis do Hapgood and Blair share with Wates?

On p 541 there is a reference to a very famous problem in mathematics, The Königsberg. Bridges. The problem of finding a route that would cross all seven bridges just once was solved by Leonhard Euler in 1736. Try it yourself on the page handed out in class.

Recalling Ridley's stroll around the men's changing room near the bottom of page 491, what did Wates’ diagram of Ridley's walking demonstrate?

Kerner's dialog on p 544 invites you to imagine what the world would be like if quantum weirdness reached into our large scale world. Describe how quantum behavior would benefit spies.
On p 545, Kerner says of Einstein, "He couldn't believe in a God who threw dice." Until his final days, Einstein was a firm believer in Newtonian determinism, and rejected the new quantum theory. Neither did Einstein believe in free will. Try to imagine and describe the philosophical position and world view of a person who absolutely denies the existence of human free will and instead completely believes in Newtonian determinism. Could such a person believe people are responsible for their actions? Could such a person believe in morality? Ethics?
What is revealed about the relationship between Hapgood and Kerner in Act 1, Scene 5?

Acting Assignments for Hapgood

1. Act 1, Scene 4, pp. 525 - 534 (Five parts: Maggs, Hapgood, Wates, Blair, and Merryweather)

Starts with Maggs: Good morning. Do you want to see the decrypts?

Ends with Hapgood: Thank you, Ben. Well, should I be mother?

2. Act 1, Scene 5, pp. 538 - 539 (Two parts: Hapgood and Ridley)

Starts with Hapgood: No, he thinks it= s Kerner.

Ends with Hapgood: Trust doesn= t come into it

3. Act 1, Scene 5, pp. 543 - 545 (Two parts: Hapgood and Kerner)

Starts with Hapgood: Joseph - twins. Who= s in charge and is he sane?

Ends with Kerner: What were you going to say?

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Last modified: Wednesday, April 18, 2007 06:13 PM