Master Harold And The Boys Analysis

Master Harold and the Boys is a play by Athol Fugard, a South African novelist, actor and playwright, in 1982. This novel is based in the tragic and emotive experience Athol lived when he was 17, which marked him all his life that included his servants Willie and Sam. The play is set in the St George Tea Room in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Fugard in this play is trying to show the apartheid which took place from 1948 to 1994 and his political opposition to this theme. The apartheid was, “a system of racial segregation in South Africa, under which the rights, associations, and movements of black inhabitants were reduced”. Fugard’s play “Master Harold and the boys” shows the relationship that existed between black and white, the racial hierarchies
Hally has been the teacher of Sam since he goes to school because he has received good education, education that in that moment blacks were banned to receive. When Hally arrives from school to the Tea Room he tells Sam and Willie the he was punished for drawing a picture of the teacher that was disrespectful, here is when Sam explains the painful and unfair punishment that black a black person had to face if they disrespected a white person. Hally was shocked and could not believe it. Here Hally and Sam have a conversation about the injustices of the world and Hally promises that one day he will change the system so it can be fair and provide justice to everyone equally. Hally and Sam discuss the possibility of a big change is this world throughout either a social, political or economical reform and then the discussion becomes more aggressive. We can see this when they discuss who was a man of magnitude by thinking who had made more contributions to society , this is where Sam takes all the knowledge that he had learned from Hally. By discussing a long time they get to the conclusion that a man of magnitude was Alexander Fleming, the inventor of penicillin. In this scene we can see how interested Sam is in knowing and understanding more about the world he lives in; to explore and understand his society with the little knowledge he is provided. This shows clearly the
“He starts with reckless words and ugly laughter”, Hally mocks his crippled father, alluding to him with the dance metaphor as one of those who are” "out there tripping up everybody and trying to get into the act”, because he is feeling the anger, sadness, and shame of his father coming back. Then he decides to act towards Sam and Willie, how he has known all his life showing power of whites over black, regardless of their age or social position by humiliating and looking them as they were less. “To begin with, why don’t you also start calling me Master Harold like Willie, he says to Sam”. In this quote we can see how Hally has adopted the system of apartheid, considering blacks to be inferior. “He is a white man and is enough for you”; we can see clearly that he has been affected by a racist ideals, breaking the relationship of equals they had formed during the years. He has gotten into the cruel system and structure of apartheid and uses it to silence Sam and Willie, when they say something he doesn’t want to hear. Finally, the saddest and cruelest moment of the play is when Hally spits in Sam's face, here Hally, has broken the friendship forever. Although, Sam stills wants to solve the problems with the little kid he had formed as he was his own son, so Sam offered Hally another opportunity so they didn’t lose their