Master Harold... and the boys Themes

Racial tensions are the story in in "Master Harold" …and the boys. The play puts South African apartheid on the stage, with one young, white character lording it over two older black men. It's ha...

Hally, the protagonist of "Master Harold" …and the boys, isn't easy to like. He's angry, arrogant, and sometimes just downright mean. But he can be suddenly and unexpectedly, warm, sweet, and nos...

What is art, anyway? It's a big question, but it comes up in pretty interesting ways in "Master Harold" …and the boys. The play has characters arguing over what qualifies as real art and what's j...

Hally's a 17-year-old white boy who goes to school, draws ugly pictures of his teachers, and complains about his homework. Sam, on the other hand, is a 40-something black man who learns everything...

Home, sweet home it ain't. In "Master Harold" …and the boys, home is where the humiliation is. Hally, the main character, has nothing but terrible memories of the boarding house he grew up in wit...

The idea of competition comes up both explicitly and implicitly in "Master Harold" …and the boys, but it's an ever-present background noise in the play, like Muzak on an elevator. Whether it's Sa...

Living in a society in which your race determines every single opportunity available to you (or lack thereof), it's not surprising that the characters in "Master Harold" …and the boys are deeply...

It isn't too surprising that a play about South Africa in 1950 has a strong undercurrent of violence. That potential for explosions always feels just beneath the surface, and it gets stronger as th...