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A former machinist, Rudy Hertz is now an old man who lives in Homestead and spends his time drinking at the bar with his blind dog at his side. When Paul, Finnerty, and Shepherd were still young engineers, they were tasked with visiting a machine shop and recording the physical movements of the best machinist. These movements were then put on a tape and played through a machine that, in turn, recreated the laborer’s movements. To this day, Rudy Hertz is still proud that Paul, Finnerty, and Shepherd chose him to be the one they recorded. When Paul sees him for the first time in many years at a bar in Homestead, Rudy speaks admiringly of him in front of everyone else, making Paul extremely uncomfortable because it’s clear that the other customers despise him (since he’s part of the elite class that forced them out of work by designing so many machines).
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Rudy Hertz Character Timeline in Player Piano
The timeline below shows where the character Rudy Hertz appears in Player Piano. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...the “machine shop[s]” and identified the machinist with the most skill. The man’s name was Rudy Hertz, and he was honored to be chosen.
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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 technology, he...
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Chapter 3
...said he had the most skilled hands in Ilium: the old man, Paul realizes, is Rudy Hertz.
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...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 him a “damn fine machinist”...
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Paul falls into conversation with a man in thick glasses sitting next to Rudy. This man’s 18-year-old son recently failed the National General Classification Tests, meaning that he can’t...
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Thankfully, Rudy puts some money in the player piano near the bar, which cuts off all conversation....
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