Symbolism In Master Harold And The Boys

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A White Boy, a Black Man and a Kite
Racism continues not only in the United States, but many other foreign countries.
Many men such as Martin Luther King Jr. experienced the trouble of attempting to end such problem, leading to the hatred and opposition of the people that surrounded them. This rejection of society is found in the play, “ Master Harold and the boys” where the relationship between a young a white boy named Hally and a black employee named Sam end due to their cultural differences. Author Athol Fugard displays the difficulty of going against racism by using a kite as a symbol of hope for an unrealistic world, displaying a crumbling friendship between two characters, and showing the end of
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Finally, in “ Master Harold and the Boys” we observe the dilemma of fighting against racism through a father and son relationship between Hally and Sam. Since Hally’s father was not in the picture for most of his life, this allowed Sam to take up a fatherly figure. Sam spent plenty of time with Hally, doing everything in his power to remove the sadness he had.
He took time off of work and did normal father and son activities such as flying a kite. Hally stated in his own words that a, “little white boy in short trousers and a black man old enough to be his father [were] flying a kite [together which was] not everyday that you saw that.”(Fugard). This recognizes how close both of them were even though it was very uncommonly seen. Hally really depended on the company of Sam and not only needed him for small things such as flying a kite but also confronting the problems he had with his real father. By the end of the play, this relationship is broken. Hally spits in Sam’s face and cuts any ties of the relationship. He asks Sam to begin calling him “Master Harold,
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This was the turning point of their relationship instead of viewing themselves as father and son they went back to only a relationship between a boss and a employee.
In conclusion, in the play “ Master Harold and the boys” the readers can observe the difficulty of going against discrimination through the connection between Sam and Hally and the kite they built together. The kite was a sense of hope for their bond which only ended in hurt and deception. Society influenced them to lose each other not only as father and son but as friends. Racism is a continuing battle today and although many have filled the world with hatred it is time to fight back . So as Martin Luther King stated, “There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.”

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