Yet is that scene really like that? Is not Number 6 the one who is unemotional, cold and calculating as he reveals Number 1 to be himself! He then proceeds to chase Number 1, who he finally seals in the nose cone, before setting the countdown for the launch of the rocket. As for the destruction of his alter ego – Number 1, well yes I have to go along with that. But Number 6 might not be quite the man he was without his alter ego. Perhaps he'll find himself quieter and more sedate in the future, unable to make the difficult decisions he once did, the hard and difficult decisions which his alter ego made for him on more than one occasion.
Judging by the evidence of the scene itself, I would say it is not Number 6 who goes berserk, but Number 1! Number 1 who has been confronted by his alter ego, who cannot face the truth of the matter. That he has been the Prisoner-Number 6 all along.
Faced with this truth, Number 1 starts running about the Control Room, laughing maniacally, as he desperately trying to evade his other self, which he finally does, by climbing the steel ladder up into the nose cone of the rocket. Giving one final defiant maniacal laugh as he drops the hatch on his adversary.
Number 1, was he mad? Well that question was asked of Number 6 once, in ‘Hammer Into Anvil.’ The psychiatrist said not according to their records. In my own opinion, and that is a layman’s opinion, Number 1 was as mad as a hatter. But who wouldn’t be, cooped up in that rocket all the time. The only way he could enjoy The Village was though the experiences of Number 6. And many of those were far from pleasant!
Hello David
ReplyDeleteA known influence on The Prisoner was Brave New World. Mr. McGoohan seemed to have peppered Arrival with such references such as the twin electrician/ gardener. This would have been a reference to the Bokanovsky's Process by which twin like persons were created to conform to societies needs (see link below).
With such a technology at the disposal of The Village No.1 could be seen as little more than a type of clone into which No.6 mind was to drained (possibly by the Pulsator seen in Once Upon A Time or the Seltzman technology). The famous 'Gobldygook Man' wearing No.6 old clothes in Arrival may have been an embryonic No.1.
No.1 was simply an as yet to be completed copy of No.6.
Sincerely
Mr. Anonymous
http://kashifross.com/bokanovskys-process-and-technology/
Hello Mr. Anonymous,
DeleteAn interesting comment. Twins, persons created to conform to societies needs, well there are certainly enough twins in The Village, including Number 113b and Number 113c, the photographer and operator of The Tally Ho dispenser in ‘Free For All.’
Number 1 a clone of Number 6, if it is it’s not a very successful one! Yes he’s an exact replica of Number 6 in appearance, but his mind seems to be rather unhinged. But perhaps that’s because the clone wouldn’t at that time have a mind until one was implanted, I think! To be perfectly honest I’m not up on this kind of thing. But I can see the 'Gobbledygook Man' being a first attempt at a clone of Number 6. but then that would presuppose that Number 6 had been expected in The Village for a long time before his arrival. Because how long would it take for the doctors and medical team to produce a clone of Number 6, even an imperfect one?
Most certainly having produced a clone of Number 6, the Seltzman machine would be ideal to put Number 6’s mind in the clone, but then what of Number 6, he would be left without a mind, an empty shell incapable of thought, speech, or emotion. Rather like those brainwashed imbeciles, as Number 6 describes them, of the Town Council in ‘Free For All.’
Number 1 a completed copy of Number 6, I’ll buy that. But then so was Curtis, the Schizoid Man,’ after he had been amended slightly in appearance. They could have used the Seltzman machine to put Curtis’ mind in Number 6’s body, thus saving themselves time and resources in having to produce a clone!
I would buy into the clone theory, but it’s a question of time, how long would it have taken them to produce a clone of Number 6?
Best regards
David
Be seeing you
Hi David,
DeleteIf Number 1 was a clone of Number 6, then the Village leaders made a huge mistake! If a clone is an EXACT duplicate...in EVERY way, then they should have known that the clone would be every bit as rebellious and defiant as the original Number 6!
BCNU
Karen
Hello Karen,
DeleteThere is no way Number 1 could have been an exact clone of Number 6. Outwardly Number 1 is an exact double for Number 6, and yet for him to be a complete clone, to turn out identically both mentally and psychologically, he would have to have lived a life close to that of Number 6’s life from the moment the clone was born. Like the attempted clones of Adolf Hitler in the film ‘The Boys From Brazil.’
If Number 1 was as rebellious as Number 6, then Number 1 wouldn’t have incarcerated Number 6 in The Village in the first place. But he did, and just look at the 17 ordeals Number 1 had Number 6 put through. If anything Number 1 was a sadist!
Be seeing you
David