Athol Fugard in his play, Master Harold… and the Boys shows that despite being friendly and helpful, one can be lured in by the power that is available to him, and use that power over the friendly person.
Hally is not sure if he should use his power from his “white man” status over Sam, but he does anyway, even when Sam is teaching him valuable lessons. Sam is a very generous guy, and when Hally was a boy he made him a kite and taught him how to fly it (28-29). Sam wants to have fun with Hally and sometimes acts as a father figure. Not only does Sam be friendly with Hally, but he likes to have in depth conversations with him as well. They argue about who is a person of magnitude, and during that Sam is very reasonable with Hally, not arguing and giving him new ideas (19). Hally takes a stab at Sam saying he’s “sentimental” toward Abe Lincoln and slaves, even though “[he’s] never been a slave.”(20) Sam could’ve taken that very offensive, but instead he lets it go showing his elderly approach to the situation. Even with that Hally still abuses Sam because he thinks he has to abuse the power that is given to him. Hally is very demanding to Sam, asking him what the menu is(11), who the comic books are for(11), and saying “Stop!” throughout the play. Sam becomes extremely patient with Hally. A patience which must be hard to keep, when Hally is such a jerk to him. Sam is joking with Willie about the dancing contest and it gets heated. Hally dawns them as “acting like bloody children” and orders them “back to work.”(38) Through all of these orders Sam is still able to be helpful and pleasant to Hally. He believes that Hally is doing things and saying things that he doesn’t exactly mean, but rather that he is being taken in by the power which he obtains. Sam teaches him the art of ballroom dancing so Hally can write a paper, and how it connects to the greater meaning of life (42-46). He also puts up with Hally’s anger after finding out his dad is coming home, and all of the crap he was saying out of frustration. Hally suddenly turns on Sam and makes sure he is in his place as “a servant” and that “he should never forget it.(53)” Hally tells Sam a nasty joke directed at black men, and Sam is in shock, knowing that Hally is losing his logic, and that isn’t who he actually is(55). Hally then spits on Sam and demands to be called “Master Harold” showing his “white power.”(56) Sam decides to teach him a lesson and shows his butt to Hally in attempt to help him to become logical(56). After they let all of their anger out, it becomes a room filled of lost emotion. Sam is lost and doesn’t know what happened, he wants to start over and “fly another kite” because “this time [he] [needs] it as much as [Hally] [does].”(59) Hally doesn’t “know anything anymore” and in his last attempt of help Sam says “you don’t have to sit there by yourself.”(59) Because of this fight, Hally and Sam’s relationship will never be the same. Even though each of them calmed down and stopped the argument, this debacle will always be in the back of their minds. Until Hally decides whether he wants to use his power or leave it behind, their relationship will always be tense.