evolution of Hally's character throughout the play "master harrold... and the boys" by athol fugard

“Master Harold”… And the boys
Athol Fugard

Identify and explain the different aspects of Hally’s character, and explain audience frustration with and sympathy for him. What does this portrayal of Hally add to the ideas of racism and the father/son relationship at work in the play? Try to find as many different aspects of Harold’s character as you can from different parts of the play.

Like many families that lived in South Africa in the 1950’s that experienced the apartheid, Master Harold, otherwise known as “Hally” has two black servants. These men play a big part in Hally’s life from early childhood. They became his minder, playmate and friend.
The play is set when Hally is seventeen. He is presented with a very complex character. At the beginning of the play he is introduced in a good mood, he enters and says cheerfully “How’s it, chaps”, although this does not last as at the sound of the possibility of his father returning from hospital his mood sudd...