STUDY GUIDE
English 4
Ms. Iacullo
Name: ______
Period: ______
Thematic topics to look for in the play
- Racism (causes, effects, transcending it, etc.)
- Friendship and relationships
- Role of art (ballroom dancing, stories about the old days at the boarding house, the making of the kite)
- Dreams and hopes (the dream of a “world without collisions”)
- Guilt and shame, and how they might be transformed into art or change
- Fathers and sons (Hally and Sam; Hally and his real father)
- Integrity and greatness of character (men of magnitude)
- Making the passage into authentic adulthood/maturity
Part One: Characters
Directions: Identify key traits and characteristics about the following characters while reading the play “Master Harold.”….and the boys.
1. Sam- Mid-40s ; African American; works as a waiter
Sam is a better ballroom dancer than Willy (helping him learn the art of ballroom dancing)
2. Willie - Mid-40s ; African American; works as a waiter
Wille is practicing for a dancing competition (Sam is helping him practice)
3. Hilda
4. Hally
“Master Harold” … and the boys:The play’s opening (pp. 3-14)Feature / Description / Significance
Characters
Relationships / What do you notice about the characters in the opening minutes of the play? Think about appearances, traits, behaviors, speech, relationships, etc.
- Hally (Behavior)—Treats Willie and Sam like “slaves” at times by the way he speaks and behaves
- Willie hits Hilda (abusive)
- Wille has a baby with Hilda—he thinks it is not his baby (flawed moral compass/not taking ownership of his actions)
- Hally has a father-son relationship with Willie and Sam
- Hally , at times, seems to be racist in his treatment of Willie and Sam
- Hally misses his father, but doesn’t want him to come home (a good or a bad relationship with him…????)
- Sam is a better dancer than Willie (Willie needs Sam’s help for the dance competition)
Tensions
Topics / What tensions or problems can you detect? What topics come up in important ways?
- Willie and Sam address Hally as “Master Harold”
- Hally might not like Willie and Sam
- Racism
- Relationships between co-worker and their boss
- Relationships between African Americans and Whites during this era
Setting
Atmosphere / What is the set and setting like (think about location, time of day, weather, etc.)? What do you notice about the mood or atmosphere at this point? How does the play “feel”?
- 1950s in South Africa
- Hally’s family owns a restaurant (tea room)
- Willie and Sam are the workers—the waiters
- Wet and windy afternoon
- Tensions seem to be developing between the three main characters (Willie, Sam, and Hally)
- Setting: Windy and rainy
- Weather reflects how the characters may be feeling
- Maybe they’re not feeling themselves—lazy because of the weather
Part Two: Questions for Discussion
Directions: Answer the following questions while reading the play. Record page numbers for easy accessibility during our discussions.
1. Describe the setting of the play (Setting: Time and Place).
2. Do some research! What is going on during the 1950s particularly concerning the African American community. (List three to five facts and cite where they are from. NO Wikipedia).
3. What is Willie practicing for? How is Sam helping him?
4. Describe the conflict between the characters of Willie and Hilda. What TYPE of conflict would this be classified (i.e internal or external, character vs. character, self, or nature).
5. Why is Hally so concerned about his father? What does his father seem to be hospitalized for?
6. How friendly is Hally with Willie and Sam? Does Hally treat them as “equals”? Do you feel, as a reader, Willie and Sam respect Hally? Why or why not? Give evidence from the text to support your claim.
7. Hally describes being reprimanded at school for a drawing he made. What discussion is sparked between Sam and him? (pages 14-16)
8. Sam and Hally talk about “men of magnitude” (19). Would you consider Charles Darwin a “man of magnitude” why or why not? Give reasons to support your claim. In 2013, who do you consider to be a “man (woman) of magnitude” and why?
9. What is Hally’s favorite memory with Sam? Describe the story and the significance of the story to the play as a whole. Does the memory have symbolic meaning? (Pages 28-32)
Sam makes a kite for Hally and he is embarrassed by the look of the kite (tomato box/stockings for a tail) and Hally states: “what the hell do black men know about flying a kite?”
Hally is showing that he is a racist and makes statements such as the above and doesn’t realize it.
Hally is fond of this memory because it’s a peaceful one (father-son)
10. After what event does Hally’s attitude change? Why do you, as a reader, think Hally’s personality shifts at this point in the play? (Think about the causes and the effects of the change)
The phone call from his mother that his father is being released from the hospital. Hally doesn’t want his father to come home because his an alcoholic who steals money from the family (ex. Science book)
11. What does Hally finally realize is beautiful and decides to use this subject as the thesis for his homework? What about the images Sam creates is “beautiful” to you, as the reader of the play? To Hally?
Hally finally realizes that ballroom dancing is beautiful and decides to use this as the subject for his paper.
Hally realizes that ballroom dancing is a skill and a talent that not everyone has.
12. Hally states, “So much for a bloody world without collisions.” (50). What has just happened in Hally’s world that has caused him to believe that a “world without collisions” is not possible?
Hally’s biggest nightmare in his world came true—his father is coming home from the hospital and he has to face this issue again first hand.
13. Explain the confrontation that happens between Harold and Sam. Why does this confrontation happen in your opinion? Explain your reasoning.
Confrontation—Hally tells Sam that his father once made a racist joke and he laughed at it because he found it funny. Hally tells Sam that he should be calling him “Master Harold” and not just Harold like Willie does. The REAL reason why Hally is so angry is because his father is coming home and he doesn’t like the way he treats his family—he is taking out his anger on Sam.
14. What is the ending to the kite story told earlier in the play?
Sam couldn’t fly the kite with Hally because Hally was sitting on a “whites only” bench.
15. Would you consider Harold a racist? Why or why not?
Hally is a racist—he makes comments that shows he is racist, but doesn’t fully realize them.
Hally has been taught to be a racist because he parents say things to him that make him feel the way he does (i.e. father’s joke; mother stating that he is becoming too comfortable with Sam and Willie)
16. Do you think the event that occurred at the end of the play has forever changed the relationship between Sam and Harold? Why or why not?
Yes, the damage is done and the last scene shows Willie and Sam dancing in the end (their escape from racism).
Part Three: Symbol Chart
Symbolic significance in
the kite and the ballroom dance
Directions: In literal and symbolic ways, the kite and the ballroom dancing are critical to the drama as it unfolds in “Master Harold,” both in terms of our understanding of the characters and important themes. Use the chart below to explore Fugard’s use of the either the kite story (pp. 24-32), or the dialogue about ballroom dancing (pp. 38-47), thinking both about dramatic effect and symbolic implications.
DetailsDetails you could include the content of the kite story or dancing dialogue, key quotes or the way in which it is staged. / Effect on the drama/symbolic implications
Think about the importance of the kite story or the dialogue about ballroom dancing in developing the audience’s understanding of and response to the characters, thematic messages it conveys, and the way the story fits into the larger structure of the play.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Pull your findings together about the symbolic significance Fugard invests the kite story or the ballroom dancing with, and why they are so important to the play.
1