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Master Harold And The Boys Essay

Decent Essays

In Master Harold ...and the boys by Athol Fugard, privileges play a major role in the relationships and roles between Hally, and his two African friends, Sam and Willie. Hally is open to more privileges compared to his other two friends. The main reason for this privilege unbalance is due to the fact Hally is “White” and Sam and Willie are “Black”. Later on in the play, Hally clearly abuses his privileges and tries to set himself as a higher figure than Sam and Willie. The relationship between Hally and his two friends describe the relationships between white men and black men during the apartheid.
Firstly, at the beginning of the play, Hally does take advantage of his privileges, although not in extraordinary measures. Sam and Willie are conversating about Hilda and the ballroom competition. Soon enough, Hally seems to lose concentration and scold both men. “Sam! Willie! (Grabs his ruler and gives Willie a vicious smack on the bum)... Get back to your work. You too, Sam. (His ruler) Do you want another one, Willie?”(Fugard 38). Despite of Sam and Willie being older than Hally, Hally treats them as if they were his slaves. Hally would intentionally take his ruler and clearly abuse the two men, especially Willie. Here, Hally is clearly abusing his …show more content…

Privileges could be from gender, wealth, social status, age and race. Gender privileges in today’s society highly focus on men, when it comes to occupation, or to authority. Men seem to have more privileges compared to women. Wealth also is a privilege category. The higher someone’s wealth. The more privileges available. Wealth is one of the most important factors in today’s world. In today’s society, people abuse privileges all the time. Wealthy people spit on the homeless. Men abuse women, one race classifies themselves more superior to another race. Privileges destroys the balance of the world, regardless of time, from the apartheid, to modern

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