Master Harold And The Boys Analysis

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Peter GilHwan Lim Ms. Enas Abdallah ENG 142 – IB English A: Literature SL I November 13, 2015 Significance of the Title in “Master Harold” …and the boys The title tells the whole story. “Master Harold” …and the boys is the title of a play written by Athol Fugard, a South African playwright. Its plot is based in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, in the year 1950 (Fugard 4)—famously known as the period of Apartheid in the history of South Africa. In this time of history of institutionalized racism, blacks and whites lived in severe bipolar conditions. However, against all social norms, the play is based on the close friendship between three people: Sam, Willie, and Hally. Hally is a “seventeen-year-old white boy” (Fugard 9), son of the owner of St. George’s Park Tearoom, and a good friend of Sam and Willie. Sam and Willie are black employees of this tearoom mentioned above, so they are definitely of a lower class than Hally. Despite this, the three of them share a friendship beyond racial boundaries; they consider each other as good friends rather than master and servants. Without reading the entirety of the play, but only just reading the title, gives the readers a sense of the overall meaning of this play. The significance of the play’s title is immense; it allows the readers to interpret it in terms of plot, in terms of literary features, and in terms of context, which as a whole enable us to understand the significance of the title. The title of the play “Master Harold” …and