M aster Harold …and the boys

1. Master Harold…and the boys A brief introduction

2. Where is South Africa? http://www.jhsph.edu/humanrights/locations/africa/ http://www.infoplease.com/atlas/country/southafrica.html

3. What is Apartheid? • A system of legal racial segregation enforced by the National Party government of South Africa • 1948 to 1994 • Though white people were in the minority, they ruled while “non-white” people’s rights were curtailed. http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/South_Africa

4. Residential areas were segregated (divided up into single-race areas), sometimes by means of forced removals • The government segregated education, medical care, and other public services • black people were provided with services inferior to those of white people • Apartheid was official government policy, but racial segregation in South Africa began in colonial times http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2009/apartheid-museum-womens-day-the-day-that-rock-beat-paper/

5. Meet the playwright:Athol Fugard • Born in 1932 • Grew up in Port Elizabeth, South Africa • Wrote “Master Harold…” in 1982 • Now lives in California • Parents were Afrikaner and Irish • Studied philosophy and social anthropology in school • Publicly supported the Anti-Apartheid Movement (1959–1994) http://heritage.thetimes.co.za/memorials/EC/AtholFugard/

6. Afrikaners • Ethnic group in Southern Africa descended from almost equal numbers of Dutch, French and German ancestry • native tongue is Afrikaans (a Germanic language which derives from Dutch). • South Africa was first colonized by the Portuguese (1487-1652), then the Dutch (1652-1814), and finally the British (1814-1934) before becoming independent. (http://africanhistory.about.com/library/bl/bl-Independence-SA2.htm) • This white group makes up about 9.2% of the population of South Africa (79.4% identify as black) (wikipedia.org)

7. http://www.lanterntheater.org/news/2006_0814.html The Play • Officially banned by the South African government (enotes.com) • Takes place in Port Elizabeth, 1950 • Inspired by events from the author’s life • Explores ideas of racial and gender inequality in the context of apartheid http://www.mvtimes.com/marthas-vineyard/calendar/2009/05/28/community-shorts.php

8. The Characters • Hally – “Master Harold” of the title. A South African high school student. His parents own the café. • Sam Semela – A black South African man in his forties. Sam is a “father figure” to Hally, Sam has been with Hally’s family for a long time. • Willy Malopo – Also a worker in the café, but Willy is perhaps less educated than Sam, and not as good of a ”dancer.” • Hally’s Father – Referred to as an alcoholic and a “cripple,” he never appears in the play, but his presence overshadows everything • Hally’s Mother – Also never seen in the play, but Hally’s phone conversations with her are some of the play’s most dramatic moments. • Hilda Samuels – Never appears in the play, but her relationship with Willy is one of the play’s important symbolic subplots.

9. Motifs and Symbols • Education/ Teaching/ Learning: Watch for this idea to develop and ask yourself what kinds of ways people become “educated,” and who is teaching whom? • Memory: watch for how memories, especially selective memories (remembering some things and ”forgetting” other things, operates in the play. • Ballroom Dancing: What does it mean to dance, to share the dance floor, and to avoid collisions? • Kite Flying: The play uses this as a central metaphor. Think about the tensions inherent in flying a kite. • Discipline and Punishment: The way in which people get punished and disciplined – in school, in jail, in life – has an important part in the play. Also, watch for references to the human backside (yes… the “rear end”). • Love and Hate: Can you love and hate something at the same time?