Master Harold and the Boys
Athol Fugard's play Master Harold and the Boys portrays a White teenager, Hally's experiences, along with those of Willie and Sam, his Black (and much older) servants. The play is set in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, in the apartheid era (1950, to be precise). It takes place at the Tea Room of St. George's Park, owned by seventeen-year-old Hally's parents. The family managed to survive in a culture threatened by prejudice and racism. The play opens with Willie and Sam preparing for a competition in ballroom dancing (Rose 1). The implications of White South Africans' apartheid mentality will be examined in this paper, as will Fugard's effort to defend his actions that added to societal cruelty. The first part of the three-part play -- "A World without Collisions" -- discusses Sam's idea of ballroom dance as a symbol of utopian society; Hally's skepticism with regard to the matter is emphasized here. The second part, "Crippled Relationships," outlines Hally's troubled relationship with his biological father, together with the former's relationship with his substitute father figure, Sam. The third and final part, "Men of Magnitude," deals with the historic context of an important discussion between Sam and Hally (Fugard 9). "Master Harold and the Boys" delves into the social and psychological dynamics of character relationships' power, in the Apartheid era.
Social Dynamics
The character dynamics in Fugard's play are interesting; the character that signifies Fugard represents the only individual capable of liberating himself from apartheid. Harold's (Hally) racist biological father is caught up in his corrupt behavior, while Willie and Sam -- the black servants at the tea room -- are ensnared by apartheid. The only character who still appears to be free to decide on his life is young Harold (Fugard 9). The play portrays personal and familial struggles brought about by apartheid. The tale of two black brothers (one fairer-skinned and the other darker) who were meant to accept and deal with how their skin tone determines how they are treated by others as well as how they behave towards one another is told in this play. "Master Harold and the Boys" also dramatizes a sister and brother estranged for over a decade. Fugard confronts the mentality of prejudice and racism passed down from one generation to the next, which was absorbed into the White culture without even consciously believing in it, or choosing to agree to it. Apartheid is directly attacked in Fugard's work. The collaborative efforts that resulted from Winston Ntshona's and John Kani's improvisations on inspired occurrences brought great praise to the works of Fugard, in addition to an understanding among readers worldwide on the effects of apartheid. The Island, another work of Fugard, is a tale of fellow prison inmates Winston and John who co-produce a theatrical version of the play 'Antigone' for other inmates at their prison, questioning the political motives for imprisoning and punishing Antigone as well as the men (Jordan 8).
Relationships
Statements following a detention under the infamous Immorality Act deal with the love affair of a white female with a black male, in an age when any sort of inter-racial fraternization was forbidden. Since apartheid was coming to an end during the late eighties to early nineties, Fugard dealt with the fresh challenges posed to post-apartheid South African society. Fugard, voicing his disapproval of the decision made by the ANC (African National Congress) to prevent entry into African schools and education, in general, to black students, depicts a black and a white student debating the rights and values concerning education, bearing in mind latest governmental action (Fugard 9).
Thus, the apartheid system dominating 50's South Africa (i.e., the period in which this play is set) is observed in Master Harold and the Boys, as it lies at the heart of Fugard's message. The Black community's marginalization pervaded all layers of the nation's society -- all blacks (including their children) were coerced into being subservient to whites. Hence, it is ironic that an apartheid-age Black individual possessed the inner mettle and the heart to impart life skills to an advantaged white boy, having more physical and social superiority. The racist culture espoused by apartheid went practically...
Master Harold... And the Boys," by Athol Fugard and "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe. Specifically, it will discuss how both "Master Harold" and "Things Fall Apart" are set in periods or challenges of social transition or reform. "Things Fall Apart" and "Master Harold" both embody Africa during colonialism, when whites ruled supreme, and blacks were "put in their place." Both show the tragedy and hatred of prejudice, and
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