The Importance of the "Spitting Scene" in Master Harold... and the Boys
The play “Master Harold”... and the Boys”, by Athol Fugard, illustrates life in South Africa under the apartheid rule. The play is written in the South African context and the issue of apartheid is central in the play. The play is an informative and autobiographical one-act play about the relationship between Hally, Willie and Sam. Throughout “Master Harold”.....and the Boys, Fugard describes many emotions that take place between the characters, to which different reactions are noted. The primary emotions in the play are love, happiness and anger. In each, the reactions can be seen as good and bad.
Racial prejudice was very common and constantly relevant during apartheid rule. The consequences were enormous for the Black society, who were basically kept in prison on native land. The Whites determined their lives, educated and passed down laws for Blacks. Thus the relationship between the two controversial racial groups in most cases was not very good, because life of a Black native South African was oppressed. The three most significant characters of the play are Master Harold, member of the White race and also referred to as Hally, secondly the Black Sam and thirdly also a Black servant named Willie. Both Sam and Willie are servants working for Harold’s family.
The typical relationship between a Black and a White during apartheid rule was very distant. The Whites were the dominant people, acting as masters while the Blacks were seen as naturally inferior and thus were oppressed. The relationship between Hally and Sam, however, does not follow the typical pattern. Their relationship is a friendlier and open one. Sam, unlike his colleague Willie who calls Hally “Master Harold,” refers to the White teenager simply as Hally. This was obviously not very common during apartheid rule, with most Blacks finding themselves in the same position as Willie.
Like most Blacks Sam is uneducated. However, he is interested in learning and gains his personal education from
Racial prejudice was very common and constantly relevant during apartheid rule. The consequences were enormous for the Black society, who were basically kept in prison on native land. The Whites determined their lives, educated and passed down laws for Blacks. Thus the relationship between the two controversial racial groups in most cases was not very good, because life of a Black native South African was oppressed. The three most significant characters of the play are Master Harold, member of the White race and also referred to as Hally, secondly the Black Sam and thirdly also a Black servant named Willie. Both Sam and Willie are servants working for Harold’s family.
The typical relationship between a Black and a White during apartheid rule was very distant. The Whites were the dominant people, acting as masters while the Blacks were seen as naturally inferior and thus were oppressed. The relationship between Hally and Sam, however, does not follow the typical pattern. Their relationship is a friendlier and open one. Sam, unlike his colleague Willie who calls Hally “Master Harold,” refers to the White teenager simply as Hally. This was obviously not very common during apartheid rule, with most Blacks finding themselves in the same position as Willie.
Like most Blacks Sam is uneducated. However, he is interested in learning and gains his personal education from