The Role Play's

A number - essay

1 original son. 21 clones. Who is most important? The son or one of the clones? In this role play we get an insight on how it's to be a son whose father has cloned him.

Salter goes through a range of emotions from love, to anger, to despair, each as a result of his actions and decisions. He plays different roles when he is together with each of them. B1 is an angry 40-year old and Salter's first son. He is not a clone but Salter doesn't really see B1 as his son. We hear in the role play, that B1 was abused and neglected as a child by Salter but he still has a bond with him because he is his father. It makes B1 sad that Salter cares more about B2 than him and he thinks that B2 is a threat to their bond. I think he is also jealous because he gets angry and bitter when Salter talks about B2. I also think he is afraid to lose his bond to Salter and that's way he kills B2 of jealousy. He commits suicide after he has killed B2. I think he does it because if he lived, Salter would hate him and never talk to him again since he loved B2 very much. His clone son B2 is 35 years old and his life is full of lies. Salter has lied to him by saying first that his mother died when he was born and then saying that she was killed in a car crash but B2 finally gets the true out of Salter and he realizes that his mother committed suicide by getting hit of a train. He also finds out that he is a clone which makes him confused and a bit angry because Salter has lied to him the whole time. He gets ambiguous feelings and doesn't know what to do. He blames Salter but at the same time B2 is trying to understand him. He is also scared of not having a sense of self anymore and his lack of uniqueness because he is a clone. B2 is scared of B1 because he feels that B1 wants to hurt him and it ends with B2 gets killed. After the horrific incident Salter meets with Michael Black, another clone. Michal Black a mathematics teacher is 35 years old and lives a very normal life, has a wife and three children and is happy. He appreciates his life. But he is rather impersonal because when Salter wants to know something personal about him, he can't think of anything and instead he talks about other people and things that fascinate him. He gets fascinated when he finds out that he is a clone and Salter can't understand why he is happy with his life. Salter ends up being regretful and guilty and he misses and wants his 'sons' back but it's too late.

One of themes is failure. I think it describes Salter because he deserted B1. He wasn't there for him even though he was his son. And Salter abandoned him when he was a little child. He abused him and never showed him love. He did things a father shouldn't do. And B1 eventually killed himself. That's what can happen if you deserted one. Misery is also a theme, which describes this role play very well. Salter