Cloning is a major part in “A Number” by Caryl Churchill, the play surrounds itself around a number of characters, Salter, a father with good intentions but an ambiguous past; Two middle aged men named Bernard, and a third man named Michael black. The Bernard’s’ and Michael Black share something, they are all clones of each other. And throughout the play slowly come to find out how. The setting of the play is mainly in or near Salters home. A cozy little house, nothing fancy or extravagant, just simple and enough to keep him content. The play is set in the not so far distant future in which cloning is possible, at least for humans, nothing much said about the side effects, but scientist have been able to clone other people. It is still a very new concept for many to grasp and understand, which makes it looked down upon when someone is found to be a clone or has been cloned, which is why in some places, it seems to be outlawed, so not too many people discuss about it in the open or even decide to talk about it.
Cloning is the process of making an identical copy of someone or something. It works by getting the DNA of an animal, plant or human (DNA can be a piece of hair from an animal or human, or for a plant, a leaf) and trying to replicate it. The first mammal to ever been cloned was a sheep by the name of dolly back in 1996/1997 (‘History of Cloning’), meaning that human cloning probably is not that far behind.
But the real question this play asks is whether cloning is ethical? Moral? Should it or should it not be allowed? In Yanagimachi’s seminar in 2001 he discussed how maybe these potential new “races” of clones may be able to bring forth new diseases and other health risks, whether they affect the “non- clones” or does not matter, he thinks that there are a lot more questions that need answering. For example, would or should clones be seen as an inferior race? Should they be subjected to be treated as second class citizens because they are just a number? They are just copies, not the original. Cloning cannot be done for this reason he reiterates.
The great thing with cloning and how it interacts with drama is how it forces actors playing the role to really stand out and to differentiate the two characters. Within the play, Bernard has to act out two other roles besides himself, so it really forces the actor to dig in and try and to make the audience know the difference between all three characters without even mentioning the characters names. Imagine a show like orphan black, where the main actress has to portray over 10 versions or herself (Hill, 2014). There are also many actors who try their best to act like a character they could be portraying Also in the world of art, sometimes we see how clones or replicas of paintings can been seen just as good if not greater than the original (Onishi, 2017). Cloning is everywhere whether one notices it or not.
Cloning may have some benefits to it, for example, it may be a fresh start or a do over for some, specifically in this play, that is where it comes into play. Salter needs a refreshing and new start for something horrible he has done. The second Bernard is his brand new start at being a father. But what the second Bernard does not know is that he is the clone, and that his “father”, Salter used the first Bernard’s DNA to duplicate him and create a second alternative son. So when he does find out, it is a huge shock. All of his life Salter has thought he was Salter’s original son, he never even thought he was a clone up until Salter told him. And to make matters worse for the two of them, the second Bernard is not the only clone of the original Bernard. Scientist took the originals Bernard’s DNA and made more copies of Bernard, leading to a whole new problem.
Works Cited
Yanagimachi, R. "A Seminar on Human Cloning: Cloning Humans?" Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics 18.8 (2001): 476.
“The History of Cloning.” Cloning Myths, learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/cloning/clonezone/.
Onishi, Wakato. “'Cloning' Takes Art Masterpiece Experiences to a New Dimension The Asahi Shimbun.” The Asahi Shimbun, 30 June 2017, www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201706300001.html.
Hill, Kyle. “ORPHAN BLACK Teaches You More About Genetics Than Any Other Show on TV.” Nerdist, Nerdist, 20 June 2014, nerdist.com/orphan-black-teaches-you-more-about-genetics-than-any-other-show-on-tv/.