“Tell me now, who am I?” Yes
that’s what we would like to know! In Germany you went by
the name of Schmitt, in France Duval in fact you took the name of the most
common surname used in each country, that’s why in Britain you chose
Smith! And yet there is a remarkable resemblance between you and John Drake,
but I suppose three look-a-likes for you would be stretching a coincidence too
far. In The Village you are Six, Number Six, well I suppose it’s as good as any
name, or number. And yet you claim not to be a number, you are a free man, well
hardly that. But you are a person. But why protest? After all a number in The
Village is more individual than a name. And even in the outside World you were
known by a number ZM73. 73, that’s the same number as the woman who committed
suicide by jumping to her death through a hospital window. So what’s the ZM
stand for I wonder? Zebedee, Zeke, Zack? And the M, Mitchell, Michaels,
Montague, Macbeth? Even your fiancée wouldn’t use your name. Tell us Number 6,
who are you? Now where can the harm be in that? Unless you have such an embarrassing
name that you refuse to use it. Do you know, that after almost 50 years there
is one thing we can be sure about you Number 6, and that is we can be sure of
nothing!
Be seeing you
Hi David,
ReplyDeleteI once read that Patrick McGoohan chose the number 6 for The Prisoner because it was the only number that when turned upside down, was another number.
I think that is big clue to what he was trying to say with The Prisoner, that everything has 2 sides..black and white...true and false...bad and good...
Humans especially show this feature...from moment to moment sometimes!
It would be sad indeed to have to ask someone else "WHO am I?"...to lose your sense of identity. Have you ever thought about what it would be like to wake up one morning , and not know where you were, who the people were around you....anything????
Scary!!!!
BCNU
Karen
Hallo Karen,
DeleteIf that’s right, then McGoohan forgot about the number 9, 99, 66 and so on!
That’s very true, we all have a good and bad side to our nature, it all depends upon which side we allow to rule. What’s more in ‘the Prisoner’ McGoohan showed we are all our own worst enemy, after all Number 6 was himself responsible for his incarceration in The Village.
As for losing ones identity, not to know where you are or the people around you, that must be a terrible thing. But people do suffer from that everyday, it’s called Alzheimer’s, its terrible, and anyone with that has my sympathy, and I hope I never suffer from it.
Be seeing you
David