A political allegory, “MASTER HAROLD” . . . and the boys deals with family, race, society, government, and art. Set the fifties in South Africa, the drama exposes difficult relationships that exist among fathers and adolescent sons. The sociopolitical environment for Fugard’s play—the South African apartheid government—infects Hally, a seventeen-year-old, white student, and his relationship with the longtime, black workers in his mother’s dessert shop.

Lessons include the analysis of character, language, dialogue, symbol, allusions, flashback, point of view, and allegory. Students perform research, infer outcomes, form syllogisms, debate issues, and graph reader-responses. In addition, lessons emphasize note taking, organizing, and essay writing. The unit features a discussion of what constitutes human greatness.

 

A short-answer exam with answer key is included in the final lesson for this play. A handout in the final lesson suggests several essay topics.