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Lawson Shepherd is Paul’s second-in-command at the Ilium Works. A deeply competitive man, Shepherd resents that Paul got the manager job, thinking that he should have gotten it himself. For this reason, he hates working for Paul and is eager to get transferred to another branch. But Paul can’t be bothered by Shepherd’s competitive spirit. He even wants to stay on friendly terms with him, since they’ve worked together ever since they both started at Ilium as fresh, impressionable young engineers. Shepherd, however, seems determined to smear Paul’s name with people like Kroner and Baer, going out of his way to tell them that Paul’s nerves have been troubling him. He also makes a habit of visiting Anita and filling her in on everything Paul does that might hurt his chances of landing the open manager position in Pittsburgh. Paul eventually discovers that Shepherd and Anita are having an affair, but Anita shows no remorse. Later, while Paul is on trial for treason, she makes a point of announcing to the press that she and Shepherd intend to marry as soon as possible.
Doctor Lawson Shepherd Quotes in Player Piano
The Player Piano quotes below are all either spoken by Doctor Lawson Shepherd or refer to Doctor Lawson Shepherd. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 1 Quotes
Some people, including Paul’s famous father, had talked in the old days as though engineers, managers, and scientists were an elite. And when things were building up to the war, it was recognized that American know-how was the only answer to the prospective enemy’s vast numbers, and there was talk of deeper, thicker shelters for the possessors of know-how, and of keeping this cream of the population out of the front-line fighting. But not many had taken the idea of an elite to heart. When Paul, Finnerty, and Shepherd had graduated from college, early in the war, they had felt sheepish about not going to fight, and humbled by those who did go. But now this elite business, this assurance of superiority, this sense of rightness about the hierarchy topped by managers and engineers—this was instilled in all college graduates, and there were no bones about it.
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Chapter 6 Quotes
When Paul thought about his effortless rise in the hierarchy, he sometimes, as now, felt sheepish, like a charlatan. He could handle his assignments all right, but he didn’t have what his father had, what Kroner had, what Shepherd had, what so many had: the sense of spiritual importance in what they were doing; the ability to be moved emotionally, almost like a lover, by the great omnipresent and omniscient spook, the corporate personality. In short, Paul missed what made his father aggressive and great: the capacity to really give a damn.
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Doctor Lawson Shepherd Character Timeline in Player Piano
The timeline below shows where the character Doctor Lawson Shepherd appears in Player Piano. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...tells Paul through the intercom that a machine is malfunctioning in Building 58. Normally, Doctor Shepherd would fix this, but since he’s out sick, Paul has to handle it himself. He...
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...work at Ilium 13 years ago with his friend Ed Finnerty and their colleague Lawson Shepherd. Paul doesn’t like the way these young engineers act so important, even if people in...
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...days, at which point Paul will receive new instructions from his superiors and then order Shepherd (his second in command) to reset the machines according to how many new refrigerator parts...
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Stroking the cat as he walks through Building 58, Paul wonders if Shepherd is really out sick. He’s probably having meetings with important people so that he can...
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After Paul, Finnerty, and Shepherd recorded Rudy’s movements, they took him out for a beer. Although Rudy didn’t understand the...
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Chapter 3
It quickly becomes clear that having his craftsmanship recorded by Paul, Finnerty, and Shepherd was the highlight of Rudy’s life. Knowing that someone as intelligent as Paul would call...
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Chapter 5
...and when Anita asks who made this claim, Bear blurts out that it was Doctor Shepherd, though Kroner quickly insists that Baer must be mistaken: according to Kroner, Shepherd said no...
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...are 27 managers and engineers. There are also two empty places belonging to Finnerty and Shepherd. Paul is disappointed in his reunion with Finnerty and hopes he doesn’t see him for...
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Paul isn’t mad at Shepherd. In fact, he even gets up from the dinner table to go find him, hoping...
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Shepherd seems to want Paul to be mad, but Paul refuses to get wrapped up in...
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Back in the Country Club, Shepherd claims to feel a little sick. To ease the tension, Kroner plays into this obvious...
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...bet money on the game, wagering that Paul will win against the machine. Berringer and Shepherd take him up on this bet.
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...door, Finnerty congratulates Paul on his win, but Anita begs him to give Berringer and Shepherd their money back. She complains that it isn’t fair for Finnerty to keep their money....
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Chapter 6
...success, he realizes he doesn’t have the same “corporate personality” as his father, Kroner, or Shepherd. What he lacks, he senses, is the ability to actually care about his job.
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Chapter 8
In his office, Paul receives a call from Shepherd, who complains about an “unauthorized” person in the plant. Paul says he’s the one who...
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Chapter 9
...they were supposed to be home for dinner. But Anita tells him not to worry. Shepherd came by the house to apologize for the previous night, and he mentioned seeing Paul...
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Chapter 10
The next day, Paul doesn’t arrive at work until the afternoon. Shepherd is at Paul’s desk doing paperwork; it seems he’s been there for a while and...
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...Anita to dinner, claiming he just wants to catch up. After the call, Paul ushers Shepherd out of the office, at which point he receives a call from the police, though...
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Chapter 14
Paul learns that Shepherd has been made captain of the Green Team—a surprising development, since only important people are...
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Chapter 16
...Meadows. Does he have nice tennis shoes to wear? And what about his socks? Apparently, Shepherd is taking 12 pairs of green socks because he is the captain of the Green...
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...all these questions, Paul finally thinks to ask how, exactly, Anita knows all this about Shepherd, and she says that he came over to get her help as he plans for...
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Chapter 18
...to punish her—she thought he was suspicious that she has been having an affair with Shepherd. This catches Paul off-guard. “I’ll be jealous of Shepherd when you’re jealous of Katharine Finch,”...
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...job and live on the farm no matter what she says. Anita then reveals that Shepherd told her Paul would surely quit, though she didn’t believe him at the time. When...
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Chapter 22
...that Paul is getting fired—Gelhorne’s colleagues purposely said something to this effect in front of Shepherd at dinner that night. This will surely make the Ghost Shirt Society pay attention to...
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Chapter 25
...how much he must be enjoying this moment—until, that is, he realizes the man is Shepherd and the woman is Anita.
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Chapter 32
...the press that she disapproves of his actions. She also announced that she’ll be marrying Shepherd as soon as she and Paul get divorced. But Paul doesn’t care about any of...
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