Colliding Cultures

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer discusses that the concept of colliding cultures, as illustrated in 'Master Harold... and the Boys', 'Dream on Monkey Mountain', and 'No Sugar' contains both negative and positive implications. The writer notes that all three plays demonstrate that when cultures collide, the inevitable result is domination and oppression, which originate in racism because competing ideologies also are at work. The writer maintains, however, that the plays also are based on an alternate meaning of colliding cultures which involves illumination of one culture by another, as well as exposure of the value and dignity of the oppressed by comparison with the lack of humanity by the other. The phenomenon of changing identity as one of the main outcomes of colliding cultures is an important theme in all three plays, and this is explored along with strategies to indicate altered identity such as shifting forms of language.

Outline:
Introduction
The Meaning of Colliding Cultures
Manifestations of Colliding Cultures
Consequences of Colliding Cultures
Symbolism and Imagery
Conclusion
Works Cited

From the Paper:

"Hally is situated in a privileged class since he just happens to be the son of the proprietors, and so he can lord it over the black men. Hally has been culturally and socially conditioned to be the men's master but, in fact, he relies on them for emotional support. In an ironic reversal, they are the boys while he is the master. While Hally illustrates white dominance, he is too immature for the segregation but is quite capable of extreme racism against his friend Sam. There is a mutual emotional bond between Sam and Hally, and Sam is Hally's intellectual equal so that segregation is not possible."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Beck, Ervin. "Fugard's Master Harold and the Boys". The Explicator. 58.2, 2000, 109-113.
• Bruch, Debra. "The Australian Aborigines' Struggle Against Authority: An Historical Perspective on Government, Military, and a Corrupted Christianity in Jack Davis' 'No Sugar'". The Journal of Religion and Theatre. 5.1. 2006, 51-60.
• Cummings, Mark. "A World without Collisions: Master Harold and the Boys in the Classroom". English Journal, 78.6, 1989, 71-74.
• Davis, Jack. No Sugar. Athabasca University, 2005.
• Fugard, Athol. Master Harold... and the Boys. New York: Penguin, 1982.

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