Spies

by

Michael Frayn

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Spies makes teaching easy.

Stephen’s Father / Mr. Wheatley Character Analysis

Stephen’s father, a German immigrant to Britain, is the actual German spy in the novel (but working for the British side), though Stephen and Keith do not know this. Stephen describes his father as a dull man who works in an office and hardly talks. He is said to be found sitting at the dining room for hours with piles of papers and files, meeting with mysterious strangers, or dozing off silently in the living room armchair. He uses peculiar words like “coodle-moodle” and “schnick-schnack” that embarrass Stephen, but his odd vocabulary reflects his German origins. Although Stephen believes his father to be uninteresting, his involvement in Stephen’s life—his concern for Stephen when he is upset or when he comes home with a wound, for example—demonstrates that Mr. Wheatley is an especially caring father, particularly in comparison to Mr. Hayward.

Stephen’s Father / Mr. Wheatley Quotes in Spies

The Spies quotes below are all either spoken by Stephen’s Father / Mr. Wheatley or refer to Stephen’s Father / Mr. Wheatley. 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:
Class Difference and Social Status Theme Icon
).
Chapter 4 Quotes

“Anyway,” I say, “my father’s a German spy, too.”…
“Well, he is," I say. “He has secret meetings with people who come to the house. They talk in a foreign language together. It's German. I've heard them.”

Related Characters: Stephen Wheatley (speaker), Stephen’s Father / Mr. Wheatley (speaker), Keith Hayward
Page Number: 73
Explanation and Analysis:
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Stephen’s Father / Mr. Wheatley Quotes in Spies

The Spies quotes below are all either spoken by Stephen’s Father / Mr. Wheatley or refer to Stephen’s Father / Mr. Wheatley. 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:
Class Difference and Social Status Theme Icon
).
Chapter 4 Quotes

“Anyway,” I say, “my father’s a German spy, too.”…
“Well, he is," I say. “He has secret meetings with people who come to the house. They talk in a foreign language together. It's German. I've heard them.”

Related Characters: Stephen Wheatley (speaker), Stephen’s Father / Mr. Wheatley (speaker), Keith Hayward
Page Number: 73
Explanation and Analysis: