Reading Questions for Athol Fugard’s Master Harold…and the boys
1. What are some conditions of apartheid? Although the St.
George’s Park Tea Room is in some ways isolated from the world, how are
these conditions present in the play? How do Hally’s interactions
with Wally differ from his interactions with Sam?
2. Master Harold is a play about teachers and students.
What does Hally teach Sam? What does Sam teach Hally? What
kind of teaching strategies does Sam employ? What does Same try to
teach Willy beyond the basics of ballroom dancing?
3. Hally’s parents are offstage characters, but their presence
is felt via the interruptions on the telephone. How does Hally
feel about his father? What is his father trying to teach Hally?
4. Hally and Sam get into a discussion of great men, “men of magnitude.”
Whom do they include in their respective lists? What are the requirements
of greatness?
5. Why did Sam build the kite for Hally? What meaning does
Sam try to get across to Hally regarding the kite and the “whites only”
bench?
6. Sam is a man with a vision. His vision is of a perfect
world, “a world without collisions.” How does Sam apply the example
of ballroom dancing to his vision of a perfect world?
7. Why does Hally insist that Sam call him Master Harold?
Though he insists upon his superior position, what is Hally emphasizing
by forcing Sam to call him Master?
8. Why does Hally spit at Sam? How does Sam respond to this
treatment?
9. What is the state of the relationship between Hally and Sam
at the end of the play? What do you think the future holds for these
two? (The author’s full name is Athol Harold Lannigan Fugard).
10. Notice the song cues (4, 9, 37, 60). How do the lyrics
connect to the action of the play?
11. In what ways does the play correspond to the requirements
of tragedy?
12. Willy listens for most of the play, but he has the words:
“Let’s dream” (60). What has Willy learned in the course of the afternoon?