Master Harold... And the Boys Lesson Plan

What role did Sam and Willie play in Hally’s childhood? Has that role changed or remained the same as Hally has grown older?

In a childhood that Hally himself describes as unhappy, Sam and Willie were a refuge he could escape to. He would hide from his mother’s nagging and his father’s alcoholism with the two men. Looking back, Hally theorizes that without the two men and their friendship, he would have become the first certifiably insane 10 year-old in medical history. Though the characters have all grown and changed since the days of Hally’s childhood, the role Sam and Willie play has largely remained the same. Hally continues to use them as an escape from his strained...