STUDY GUIDE
English 4
Ms. Iacullo
Name: ______________
Period: ______________
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Thematic topics to look for in the play
 Racism (causes, effects, transcending it, etc.)
 Friendship and relationships
 Role of art (ballroom dancing, stories about the old days at the
boarding house, the making of the kite)
 Dreams and hopes (the dream of a “world without collisions”)
 Guilt and shame, and how they might be transformed into art or
change
 Fathers and sons (Hally and Sam; Hally and his real father)
 Integrity and greatness of character (men of magnitude)
 Making the passage into authentic adulthood/maturity
Part One: Characters
Directions: Identify key traits and characteristics about the following characters while reading
the play “Master Harold.”….and the boys.
1. Sam
2. Willie
3. Hilda
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4. Hally
“Master Harold” … and the boys: The play’s opening (pp. 3-14)
Feature
Characters
&
Relationships
Tensions
&
Topics
Description
Significance
What do you notice about the characters in the opening minutes of
the play? Think about appearances, traits, behaviors, speech,
relationships, etc.
What qualities, values, feelings, motivations, etc.
does the playwright seem to be setting up in the
characters? What is their relationship like at this
point?
What tensions or problems can you detect? What topics come up
in important ways?
What larger issues or themes does the playwright
seem to be setting up?
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Setting
&
Atmosphere
What is the set and setting like (think about location, time of day,
weather, etc.)? What do you notice about the mood or atmosphere
at this point? How does the play “feel”?
What is the effect of the set and setting do you
think the playwright chose this setting and wanted
to establish this atmosphere?
Part Two: Questions for Discussion
Directions: Answer the following questions while reading the play. Record page numbers for
easy accessibility during our discussions.
1. Describe the setting of the play (Setting: Time and Place).
2. Do some research! What is going on during the 1950s particularly concerning the African
American community. (List three to five facts and cite where they are from. NO Wikipedia).
3. What is Willie practicing for? How is Sam helping him?
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4. Describe the conflict between the characters of Willie and Hilda. What TYPE of conflict
would this be classified (i.e internal or external, character vs. character, self, or nature).
5. Why is Hally so concerned about his father? What does his father seem to be hospitalized for?
6. How friendly is Hally with Willie and Sam? Does Hally treat them as “equals”? Do you feel,
as a reader, Willie and Sam respect Hally? Why or why not? Give evidence from the text to
support your claim.
7. Hally describes being reprimanded at school for a drawing he made. What discussion is
sparked between Sam and him? (pages 14-16)
8. Sam and Hally talk about “men of magnitude” (19). Would you consider Charles Darwin a
“man of magnitude” why or why not? Give reasons to support your claim. In 2013, who do you
consider to be a “man (woman) of magnitude” and why?
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9. What is Hally’s favorite memory with Sam? Describe the story and the significance of the
story to the play as a whole. Does the memory have symbolic meaning? (Pages 28-32)
10. After what event does Hally’s attitude change? Why do you, as a reader, think Hally’s
personality shifts at this point in the play? (Think about the causes and the effects of the change)
11. What does Hally finally realize is beautiful and decides to use this subject as the thesis for
his homework? What about the images Sam creates is “beautiful” to you, as the reader of the
play? To Hally?
12. Hally states, “So much for a bloody world without collisions.” (50). What has just happened
in Hally’s world that has caused him to believe that a “world without collisions” is not possible?
13. Explain the confrontation that happens between Harold and Sam. Why does this
confrontation happen in your opinion? Explain your reasoning.
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14. What is the ending to the kite story told earlier in the play?
15. Would you consider Harold a racist? Why or why not?
16. Do you think the event that occurred at the end of the play has forever changed the
relationship between Sam and Harold? Why or why not?
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Part Three: Symbol Chart
Symbolic significance in
the kite and the ballroom dance
Directions: In literal and symbolic ways, the kite and the ballroom dancing are critical to the drama as it unfolds in
“Master Harold,” both in terms of our understanding of the characters and important themes. Use the chart below to
explore Fugard’s use of the either the kite story (pp. 24-32), or the dialogue about ballroom dancing (pp. 38-47),
thinking both about dramatic effect and symbolic implications.
Details
Effect on the drama/symbolic implications
Details you could include the
content of the kite story or
dancing dialogue, key quotes
or the way in which it is
staged.
1.
Think about the importance of the kite story or the dialogue about
ballroom dancing in developing the audience’s understanding of and
response to the characters, thematic messages it conveys, and the
way the story fits into the larger structure of the play.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Pull your findings together about the symbolic significance Fugard invests the kite story or the ballroom
dancing with, and why they are so important to the play.
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