Master Harold . . . And The Boys (Penguin Plays)
by Athol Fugard
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Book Summary Information
Author: Athol FugardEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1984-11-06
ISBN: 0140481877
Number of pages: 64
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Book Reviews of Master Harold . . . And The Boys (Penguin Plays)
Book Review: A Masterful Play
Summary: 5 Stars
Set in 1950s South Africa, this short one-act play packs a lot of power. The play starts fairly slowly, building the scene and allowing the reader to get to know its three characters: the teenage Hally, who's white, and Sam and Willie, the two black men who work in Hally's mother's restaurant. Willie is a less developed character than the other two; he is a simple man who is thick-headed and abusive toward his girlfriend. More central to the play is the complex relationship between Hally and Sam, who are in a sense opposites--Hally is well-educated but arrogant, while Sam lacks formal education but is humble and wise. Sam has been a lifelong fixture in Hally's life, essentially raising Hally while his father spent his days drinking. Beneath their dynamic relationship is an undercurrent of racial tension, which builds to a powerful climax at the play's end.
Much of the play's effectiveness owes to its portrayal of the subtleties of racism. It is clear that Hally views himself as an enlightened person; he espouses lofty ideals, tutors Sam in geography, and prides himself on the taboo friendship he had with the two black men as a child. When Sam finally gets him to take an interest in his passion of ballroom dancing, Hally seems to congratulate himself for finding some value in what he calls "the release of primitive emotions through movement" in a "primitive black society." Yet in his smugness, Hally is oblivious to what's really going on. For all his talk of the need for "progress," he is unwilling to take personal responsibility for it, resigning himself instead to waiting for the next great social reformer to come along. He is condescending toward Sam and fails to realize he has anything to learn from the older man. However, the young man's ignorance comes through most poignantly when the two recall an incident during Hally's childhood where Sam took him to fly a homemade kite. We learn later that because of Hally's obliviousness toward Sam--and toward the sting of racism--his recollection of the event is missing a painful, essential truth that changes the story completely.
MASTER HAROLD does leave the reader with a glimmer of hope, embodied by the dignity and compassion Sam maintains even when abandoning these virtues would be more than understandable. But the play also shows how formidable are the psychological obstacles standing in the way of change, and the degree to which racism causes suffering on both sides. Once the truly ugly side of Hally's view of Sam comes out, he becomes committed to it. Further, it's not just between Sam and Hally--Hally is burdened by the failings of the previous generation, and beneath his arrogance is a deep shame about his crippled, pitiful alcoholic father. In the end, one cannot help but feel for Hally, because of the damage his racism has done to the most important relationship he has.
The dialogue in MASTER HAROLD is very real, yet it's also fraught with layers of meaning. That this play imbues a single sixty-page scene with so much significance, complexity, and wrenching emotion is a real testament to Fugard's masterful writing.
Summary of Master Harold . . . And The Boys (Penguin Plays)
Drama / 3m (1 white, 2 black) / Int.The role that won Zakes Mokae a Tony Award brought Danny Glover back to the New York stage for the Roundabout Theatre's revival of this searing coming of age story, considered by many to be Fugard's masterpiece. A white teen who has grown up in the affectionate company of the two black waiters who work in his mother's tea room in Port Elizabeth learns that his viciously racist alcoholic father is on his way home from the hospital. An ensuing rage unwittingly triggers his inevitable passage into the culture of hatred fostered by apartheid.
"One of those depth charge plays [that] has lasting relevance [and] can triumphantly survive any test of time...The story is simple, but the resonance that Fugard brings to it lets it reach beyond the narrative, to touch so many nerves connected to betrayal and guilt. An exhilarating play...It is a triumph of playmaking, and unforgettable."-New York Post
"Fugard creates a blistering fusion of the personal and the political."-The New York Times
"This revival brings out [the play's] considerable strengths."-New York Daily News
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