Master Harold … and the
Boys - Quotations
Characters:
Sam
p.5 “…the
secret is to make it look easy. Ballroom must look happy, Willie, not like hard
work. It must…Ja!...it must
look like romance.” Attempt to escape reality of servitude; “must look like romance”
but in truth the romantic world of escape does not exist.
p.15 “They make you lie down on a bench. One policeman pulls down
your trousers and holds your ankles, another one pulls your shirt over your
head and holds your arms” True nature of life as a black male in Apartheid
South Africa- Hally refuses to hear anymore-racial
divide and treatment.
p.24 “You should be grateful. That is why you started passing your
exams. You tried to be better than me.” (They laugh together.) Closeness of the Sam’s and Hally’s relationship. Sam acts as
surrogate father-teaches Hally,
but they teach each other; friendship.
p.46 “Look
at the three of us this afternoon: I’ve bumped into Willie, the two of us have
bumped into you, you’ve bumped into your mother, she bumping into your dad…none
of us knows the steps and there’s no music playing.” Contrast to fantasy of
perfect and romanticized world (ballroom dancing)
p.46 “What I’m saying to you is that everybody’s got it.” Reference
to dancing-but can be said to allude to equality between races. All aspire to
the same romanticized and perfect world.
p.58 “If you ever do write it as a short story, there was a twist
ending. I couldn’t sit down there and stay with you. It was a “Whites Only”
bench. You were too young, too excited to notice then” Hopelessness of a
possible friendship-with Hally’s
growing awareness of his social obligations.
Willie
p.4 “Stage
instructions- He gets up and moves the bucket. Stands thinking for a moment,
then raisin his arms to hold an imaginary partner, he launches into an
intricate dance step.” Willie’s escape
from reality of life for a black male in Apartheid South
p.7 “So? She makes me the hell in-too much.”
Coarse and potentially abusive individual
p.9 “At your
service, Master Harold!” Does not share the close informal relationship with Hally as same does. Shows Willie at least in this
instance to be subordinate to Sam and especially Hally.
p.13 Sam:
Count Basie always gets there first. (Willie lets fly with his slop rag. It
misses Sam and hits Hally) Almost
childlike character of Willie. Again resorts to impulsive actions in response
to Sam’s lighthearted joke.
p.7 “He’s
little boy, Boet Sam, little white boy. Long trousers
now, but he’s still little boy.” In this instance, even more than Sam, Willie
recognizes the reality of the situation (Hally having
just spit in Sam’s face). Hally is young and follows
ideals set out for him by his society. Unable to comprehend the damage he has
just caused
Hally
p.15 “I’ve
heard enough, Sam! Jesus! It’s a bloody awful world when you come to think of
it.” Referring to police beatings of blacks-separation in society-for the black
community it is an ‘awful world’-Sam being exempt from this world Closeness of Hally’s relationship with Same and Willie-discussing open
and freely issues that more than likely would be taboo or socially
unacceptable.
p.19 “To
answer [who is a great man], we need a definition of greatness and I supposed
that would be somebody who…who benefited all mankind.” Roles are reversed-Hally an adolescent teaching a middle aged man. All ‘great’
individuals listed are white males-recognition that only Caucasians men are
seen to have the ability to further humanity.
p.29 “The sheer audacity of it took my breath away. I mean seriously
what, the hell does a black man know about flying a kite?” Clear example of
social belief’s of Hally. Hally’s lack of understanding-Sam in the end was taking Hally’s mind away from the harsh
and neglected reality of his relationship with his father. Sam was acted as a
surrogate father to Hally.
p.31 “I
don’t know. Would have been just as strange, I supposed, if it had been me and
my dad…cripple man and a little boy. Nope! There’s no chance of me flying a
kite without it being strange.” Conflict between relationships in Hally’s life-on one side he has
Sam but on the other his real father who, incapacitated and an alcoholic, does
not seem to play a pivotal in the boy’s life. Depicts Hally’s embarrassment and shame.
p.38 (after
Hally strikes Willie) “Get
back to your work. You too Sam.” Follows Hally’s frustrating call from his
mother. Hally’s irritation is carried through to Sam
and Willie Shows the fact that although these three individuals are friends, on
the surface Hally only a
young man, superior to both Sam and Willie.
p.56 “Sam” (Sam stops and looks expectantly at
the boy. Hally spits in his face.) Harsh depiction
of the reality. Any equitable relationship between a white and a black
male is impossible. Hally has lost his innocence and fallen
in line with Apartheid society-shows Hally’s
malicious nature, he trick Sam into turning around only to humiliate him.
Themes:
Apartheid
·
"Don't
be clever, Sam. It doesn't suit you." (Referring to themes of anger,
apartheid, white dominance over blacks)
·
"You
know what that bench means now, and you can leave it any time you choose."
(Referring to themes of the apartheid, loss of innocence, torn between worlds)
·
"The
way we want life to be ... a world without collisions. (Referring to themes of
escapism, idealism and Apartheid)
·
“…and
the one that gives you the strokes talks to you gently and for a long time
between each.” (Referring to themes of apartheid, segregation, ignorance,
reality)
·
“What
the hell does a black man know about flying a kite?” (Referring to themes of
ignorance, white oppression)
·
“He
struts around like a little despot...” (Referring to themes of aggression,
dominance, power, social class)
·
“He’s
a white man and that’s good enough for you” (Referring to themes of apartheid,
social power)
Teaching
·
"An
intrepid social reformer will not be daunted by the magnitude of the task he
has undertaken." (Referring to themes of power of the individual, to
change)
·
“Like
you and Winston Churchill” (Referring to themes of fatherly figure)
·
“Then
came my first lesson.” (Referring to themes of
teaching, power and dominance)
·
“There
were occasions when we deliberately let you win a game…” (Referring to themes
of education, self-control)
·
“Hell,
Sam, couldn’t you have waited until it was dark?” (Referring to themes of
education, fatherly figure)
Escapism
·
“…big
chamber pot with roses on the side and it’s full to the brim with piss.”
(Referring to themes of losing control, realist)
·
“Boet Sam? Lets dream.” (Referring
to themes of escapism)
Two Worlds
·
“…but
it also means we’re in for a nice quiet afternoon.” (Referring to themes of
torn between worlds)
·
“I’ve
also got a memory of a little white boy…” (Referring to themes of childhood
innocence)
·
“God,
what mental rubbish” (Referring to escapism, realist)
Events:
The dancing
p.5 “Ballroom
must look happy…not like hard work”
p.46 “Learn
to dance life like champions instead of always being just a bunch of beginners
at it?”
Hally’s phone conversation with his mother
p.33 “All
I want is for him to get better. And if he was, I’d be the first person to say:
“Bring him home”. But he’s not…”
The kite memory
p.28 “What
the hell does a black man know about flying a kite”
p.31 “You
can’t fly kites on rainy days”
The bench memory
p.58 “It was a “Whites Only” bench. You were too young, too excited
to notice then. But not anymore”
p.60 “You don’t have to sit up there by yourself. You know what that
bench means now, and you can leave it any time you choose”
The climatic argument between Sam and Hally
p.54 “To
begin with, why don’t you also start calling me Master
Harold”
p.54 “He
grabs Sam by the arm and tries to make him turn around. Sam reacts with a flash
of anger”
p.56 “The
face you should be spitting in is your father’s…but you used mine, because you
think you’re safe inside your fair skin”