Master Harold

La crítica social es la crítica de una sociedad, a menudo definida en los términos de la crítica, ya sea del todo o, por lo menos, de aspectos substantivos de esta.
Esa crítica típicamente se hacesobre una base radical, pero el término no es excluyente. Se ha argumentado que toda crítica social implica una idea de la felicidad o desarrollo humano, junto a una idea de deber ser: de como unasociedad debería organizarse o sus miembros deberían comportarse a fin de lograr esa felicidad o desarrollo del potencial humano.

Historical Context
Separate and Unequal
In the mid−twentieth century,the country of South Africa was dominated by the
policy of apartheid, a separation and segregation based on race. Strict policies
prohibited and governed such Issues as intermarriage, landownership, and use of
public facilities. In "Master Harold" . . . and the Boys, Sam illustrates the division
quite clearly: "I couldn't sit down there and stay with you," referring to a "Whites
Only" benchupon which Hally sat. The laws deliberately set out to humiliate people
of color, even to the point of determining who could sit on a particular bench Errol
Durbach explained the psychopathology ofapartheid in Modern Drama: "It is not that
racial prejudice is legislated in South Africa. It insinuates itself into every social
sphere of existence, until the very language of ordinary hu-mandiscourse begins to
reflect the policy that makes black men subservient to the power exer-cised by white
children."
Critical Overview
The summary of "Master Harold" 's action cannot begin to suggestits emotional
intensity or its impact on an audience. Many who saw the play in its debut were
greatly troubled by the society it depicted. Since that time' 'Master Harold" has
continued to provokecritics and audiences alike.
Errol Durbach, writing in Modern Drama, as-serted that "Master Harold". . and the
Boys is not an overtly political play, but a depiction of "a personal power−struggle...