Abstract This paper examines the nature of the servant and master relationship in the film "MasterHarold and the Boys". The author points out that interracial relations are linked not just with racism and prejudice but also with sexism, classicism and stereotypes, as seen through the narrow world views of each character. The paper suggests that the play has hope for understanding.
From the Paper "The overt oppression and resistance of Guerrillas and the shocking overt racist words and actions in Harold and the Boys are merely symptoms of the power dynamics in interracial interaction. The actual structure that gives rise to the master and servant relationship is hidden. What is observed in both works is anger and reaction as misunderstanding because the structure is not understood. Harold, for example, projects his father on the world. The final words of Guerillas are deadly miscommunication: "Are you hearing me Jimmy?" "Massa" (248). The term 'massa' seems pleading, subservient, but is used by a character who has total control and seemingly wants to have revenge for Bryant's madness."
Abstract This paper looks at the subject of Apartheid in South Africa in the 1950's, by examining the dialogue between the three characters in the play "'MasterHarold'... and the Boys" by AtholFugard. It explains the narrative of the play and the describes the relationships between the characters in the play. The paper also discusses Fugard's technique of allowing each character to tell a story, which allows the audience a glimpse into the character's past and makes the play more real.
From the Paper "The play begins on a note of tolerance and agreement, and it ends in anger and racist speech. Apartheid was a deliberate creation of the White power structure to prevent the Blacks from gaining political power, and while racial segregation had been the norm through most of the century before that, apartheid made this the law and also made it harsher than it had been before. In the play, the White anger directed at Blacks is an anger that was general, meaning the Blacks were being made scapegoats for whatever other problems and concerns the Whites might have."
Abstract The play "MasterHarold and the Boys", was written during the era of apartheid in South Africa by AtholFugard. The paper discusses how the play portrays the way the white minority in South Africa maintained its dominant position through segregation of the races.
From the Paper "One morning, Hally finds Willie and Sam dancing, in preparation for a dance contest. He shouts to them, "Think you stand a chance. Act your bloody age! Cut out the nonsense now and get on with your work. And you too, Sam. Stop fooling around." (18). Hally criticizes Sam when he asks him sarcastically if he really thinks that he is good enough to win a dancing contest. A major theme of White supremacy and Black inferiority is demonstrated in this scene and also in the scene when Hally and Sam argue over the value of ballroom dancing. Hally fails to recognize its simplistic "beauty" (40), and consequently claims the activity to be "simple-minded." "I said it was simple-like in simple-minded, meaning mentally retarded. "
Tags: africa, discrimination, prejudice, racial, south
Abstract A comparison of these two stories which shows how the authors AtholFugard and Chinua Achebe achieved their subjective variations on the theme of human oppression.
From the Paper "The theme in Master Harold is also the oppression of human beings by discrimination, but in this story, the oppression is racial. Sam, a black man, has been a major male figure in the life of young, white Hally. Hally and Sam were very close during Hally's childhood, but he did not consider the older man to be his equal. Sam cannot sit on the same park bench with the boy because he is black. But during the course of the play, we see Hally pull rank on Sam and put aside their equality because Harold is white and Sam is not. "
An examination of colliding cultures in "MasterHarold... and the Boys" by AtholFugard, "Dream on Monkey Mountain" by Derek Walcott, and "No Sugar" by Jack Davis.
Abstract This paper explores the concept of colliding cultures and competing ideologies as well as the related theme of identity in the three plays; "MasterHarold... and the Boys" by AtholFugard, "Dream on Monkey Mountain" by Derek Walcott, and "No Sugar" by Jack Davis. The paper also analyzes the strategies used in the plays such as symbolism, irony, and contrast in their elucidation of colliding cultures. The paper explains that contrast in use of language serves a significant purpose in relation to evolving identity for the oppressed. The paper also notes that colliding cultures can be reduced to the values of white dominant culture in opposition to the other - whether they happen to be black, aboriginal people, or some minority ethnic group. In conclusion, the paper shows that because all the other variables such as identity never are static, the concept of collision is also fluid and appears where it would be least expected.
From the Paper "Davis' No Sugar is similar to Fugard's play in how it demonstrates the immediacy and perennial nature of colonialism. Mitchell (18-20) expresses this reality by stating that "the rhetoric of postcolonialism assumes that anti-colonialism has either overthrown imperialism or exhausted itself in the attempt". The fact is such a goal has not nearly been achieved; we continue to live in a colonial world. Walcott demonstrates class struggle and collision in his play through the ability of his Odysseus who is able to undermine the totalitarian power of the Cyclops (Giannopoulou 13)."
Tags: symbolism, irony, mimeticism, reactionary, nativism, drama
Abstract The writer discusses how both "MasterHarold" and "Things Fall Apart" are set in periods or challenges of social transition or reform. "Things Fall Apart" and "MasterHarold" both embody Africa during colonialism, when whites ruled supreme, and blacks were "put in their place." It explores how both show the tragedy and hatred of prejudice, and how it affects everyone it touches.
From the Paper "Both of these works are set in Africa, and both relate stories of how Africans have suffered at the hand of the whites that took their land, but most of all took away their way of life. Both stories also portray societies in transition, from the South Africa of "Master Harold," mired in apartheid and struggling to understand another race, to the Nigeria of "Things Fall Apart," mired in colonialism and struggling for freedom. They also illustrate how a society in transition can shape the way people view people, and a society that oppresses some of its members will eventually have to fall. Social transition and change does not end the underlying problem of hatred. When a society understands the damaging effects of hatred, then perhaps it can transform, but that does not happen in either of these works."
Abstract This paper discusses two characters in two very different books set worlds apart, namely Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" and Fugard's "MasterHarold and the Boys". The author explores the two characters, with examples from the texts, and how they both find disillusionment in a world that they were too young to fully understand.
From the Paper "Hallie tries to do his home-work. That is his reality. On the other hand, the two dancing black men have a different sense of reality. The reality is that dance takes blacks away from the everyday agonies of their existence. "...like being in a dream about a world in which accidents don't happen..." That dream world of the three is shattered, when the teen-ager talks about the conversation he and his father have about "a nigger's arse" Sam now sees Hallie as the son of his father: "Well, you've done it...Master Harold. Yes, I'll start calling you that from now on. It won't be difficult any more...You've hurt yourself, Master Harold." As Sam describes the times he had to carry Hallie's drunken father home, with the little white boy following behind, the relationship is now different."
Abstract This paper examines the three plays, "MasterHarold and the Boys", "A Doll's House", and "Los Vendidos" and delineates how the communication of the theme of human oppression is achieved in each of the plays.
From the Paper "The authors exemplify the human spirit's ability to transcend domination and injustice caused by racial and sexist bigotry. They personify this theme in their stage characters in order to show how their characters overcome the societal constraints of male chauvinism, of racism, and of class bigotry. "
Abstract This paper uses Derek Walcott's "Dream on Monkey Mountain" and AtholFugard's "Blood Knot" to discuss how the mulatto figures in post colonial discourse. It examines the tragic figure of the post colonial mulatto who is caught between black and white, without knowing which race he belongs to. The paper shows how both playwrights reflect their opinions and perspectives of mulattos in their plays.
From the Paper "In colonial discourse race is a mask for class, and class is a mask for being. Since the mulatto doesn?t know which race he belongs to, he cannot know his true being. For Walcott, in his Overture, the struggle of the mulatto is the "wrestling contradiction of being white in mind and black in body, as if the flesh were a coal from which the spirit like tormented smoke writhed to escape"(Walcott, 12). Walcott explores the problems of this opposing binary through his character of Corporal Lestrade, in Dream on Monkey Mountain. Athol Fugard takes this examination of the mulatto psyche even further through his character of Morris in Blood Knot."
A discussion of the use of the character of Miss Helen to examine biopsychosocial issues which are part of the aging process in women and role of the social worker in that process.
2,700 words (approx. 10.8 pages), 9 sources, 2000, $ 95.95
Abstract "This paper uses the character of Miss Helen in AtholFugard's moving play, The Road to Mecca, to examine many of the biopsychosocial systems and issues that are part of the aging process in women.
From the Paper "This paper uses the character of Miss Helen in Athol Fugard's moving play, The Road to Mecca, to examine many of the biopsychosocial systems and issues that are part of the aging process in women. The individual grows, develops, and ages within the wider environment of the surrounding community. This extended system limits, influences, and affects the ways in which its members grow up and grow old, and Miss Helen provides an especially intriguing case study of this process at work. Many of the issues raised by her case are useful in understanding the social worker's role in analyzing and designing a plan for care for older, widowed women in the community. Her case also suggests some of the kinds of clues that the caring, perceptive social "worker might look for in studying and serving older individuals.
This paper looks at the concept of colliding cultures in 'MasterHarold... and the Boys' by David Hoegberg, 'Dream on Monkey Mountain' by Derek Walcott and 'No Sugar' by Jack Davis.
Abstract In this article, the writer discusses that the concept of colliding cultures, as illustrated in 'MasterHarold... 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."
Abstract This paper discusses various elements of Asian religions and how it is intertwined in Crane's novel "Bones of the Master". These elements include pilgrimage, master/disciple relationship and the importance of meditation. The book is a true story of a man on a spiritual quest for the truth.
From the Paper "The concept of the teacher and the student is prevalent in Bones of the Master. When beginning a religious path, it is most widely agreed that the best place to start is by finding a teacher, or a master. It is this teacher, that can guide the student towards proper meditation techniques and passing their wisdom down to the student. In his younger days, Tsung Tsai found his master in Shiuh Deng. One of the key teachings of a Buddhist master is the art of meditation. For one who is seeking a religious path, the most important aspect to learn is meditation."
Abstract This paper chronicles the famous Scottsboro Boys trial. It's a story of racism in the 1930's that describes the events leading to the trial, the trial itself and the outcome. The paper describes what happened to the boys while they were in jail and the events and outcome of their second trial. Racism appears and reappears throughout the story of the Scottsboro Boys, as they were sentenced to death on several different occasions, despite obvious inconclusive or debatable evidence. Finally, the paper briefly describes the fate of all people involved in the case.
From the Paper ?When the train that they were riding on stopped in Stevenson, Alabama, the small group of black boys decided to walk along the tracks. A short while later they met up with some more black boys from another car. The boys decided that they would get back at the white boys who had been throwing rocks at them earlier. Once the train started again, the same group of white boys started throwing rocks at the blacks from a lower car. The now rather large group of blacks got in the car that the whites were riding in and started fighting them."
Abstract This essay focuses on the characters of the three central personalities in "The Master Builder": Halvard Solness, Aline Solness, and Hilde Wangel. Personal traits and the relationship of individuals to each other as a means of plot development are viewed as well as a discussion of what each character shows us about the human identity and soul.
From the Paper "The character of Hilde Wangel stands as the "wild bird of the forest" or foil to Aline's conservatism. Her appearance breaks the tension that we feel between Kaja the bookkeeper, Halvard, and Mrs. Solness in the first act, and draws attention to the magnificent and culminatory events at Lysanger ten years earlier."
