Chapter 1
In the beginning of the book “The Cay”, Theodore Taylor richly sets up the time and place. The beginning of the book is set in the capital of Curaçao, Willemstad. It is circa 1940’s and is about a boy named Philip, whom is like any typical eleven-year old. During the time of the book, there was fighting between the southern part of the Caribbean and Germany for Curaçao and Aruba’s oil surplus. In the midst of the war evolving in Curaçao, where Philip lives, his mother, like any other mother would do, prohibited him from going out to watch the war. But Philip, naturally being curious did what any other rule-bending kid would do: he disobeyed his mother. Even after he saw the battle- grounds, his curiosity could not be controlled. Philip inquired whether Willemstad would be destroyed or why Curaçao couldn’t just go out and fight the Germans. Think: What would you do if you were in Philip’s shoes? Would you stay at home and follow your mother curfew or might you take Philip’s curiosity?
Chapter 2
In chapter two, we are still being introduced to the different characters. Philip’s mother, Grace Enright, who is neurotic as can possibly be, decides the family should escape the fighting and move back to their hometown: Norfolk, Virginia. Philip, who is stubborn, genuinely does not want to leave Willemstad, which he is quite fond of. Additionally, Philip’s father cannot leave Willemstad because of his work at the oil refineries. Moreover though, is that it is dangerous to sail with all the German U-boats determined to sink all Caribbean ships. The only other way to possible get to Norfolk is to fly, and of course, Grace Enright is frightened to fly. As of now, Mrs. Enright is not leaving the war-struck Willemstad.
* * * * * *
Now a few days later, the danger of sailing is confirmed. The S.S. Empire Tern was a ship that everyone hoped would make to its destination without being destroyed. However, right after the Empire Tern departed the harbor, it was bombed. The bombing led to a bigger disaster for Philip.
* * * * * *
Philip’s Mother in the end got her way. Philip was agitated when he heard that on Friday, he and his mother would leave for Miami on the S.S. Hato. Philip thought his mother was a coward because she was too nervous to stay and wanted to take the easy way out and just leave. Philip did not want to say goodbye to his dad for what possibly might be the last time. Think: How would you feel if you might never get to see your father again? Might you be angry with your mom if she did this to you?
Chapter 3
On April 6, 1942, the worst possible scenario played out: the S.S. Hato is destroyed. Mrs. Enright surprisingly stays very calm as she helps Philip who is confused. Indeed, however, the behavior of Philip is expected given that he is a young kid. During the process, Grace safely makes it on to a safety raft. However, while Philip was boarding the raft, something hit him. There, he fell into a deep trance for four hours. Instead of awakening to find his mother, he finds himself all alone with a big, ugly looking black man, whose name is Timothy. Timothy was an older man who was part of the deck crew on the Hato. In Philip’s mind, Timothy is a horrible, snotty and ungenerous human. For example, when Philip asked for water, Timothy gave him a tiny portion of the water in their only keg. Philip was “blind” to the fact that this was their only water and they needed to preserve it. Instead of being grateful for Timothy’s kindness, Philip got upset at Timothy and still poured himself more water. In reality, though, Timothy is only trying to make things easier for Philip and also, Timothy is much more understanding than most. When Philip started to punch Timothy in rage, Timothy simply responded: “If that will make you feel better, go ahead.” Think: If you were Philip what would you be thinking? Why do you think Timothy is such a strong human?
Chapter 4
Even though it is fairly early in the book “The Cay”, the plotline has already shifted from the exposition of the book into the rising action. Now that Timothy, Philip and Stew Cat have been on the raft for quite a bit of time, we start to also see more great character development. We uncover that Philip is a bratty, snotty and obnoxious kid who treats Timothy like a slave and acts as if he has all rights to do what he wants. However, it gets worse. Later in the chapter, one of the biggest problems comes into play: Philip becomes blind. Being blind prevents him from doing what is necessary to help him and Timothy survive. More importantly though, is that Philip uses his blindness as an excuse to treat Timothy even worse than before. Starting here, the problem for both Philip and Timothy turns from bad to terrible. Think: How would you deal with Philip if you were Timothy? What would you do if you one day turned blind? Do you think being blind is an excuse for not doing the necessary things? Also, is it an excuse for mistreating another human being?
Compare and Contrast Activity: The author uses adjectives to describe both Timothy and Philip. Think or write down a few words to describe Timothy and Philip. Are any of them exact words or synonyms?
Chapter 5 & 6
Life on the raft became much different immediately after Philip turned blind. To know about different things, Philip relied on Timothy to describe each object. Sometimes however, Philip doesn’t believe what Timothy is saying, which lead to conflict. And Philip asks silly questions, but this time directs them to Timothy.
* * * * *
One day, Philip was unaware of his surrounding, and fell of the ledge of the raft. This part is where we discover Timothy’s upset side. Fortunately, we only see this twice in the book, yet it is not fun to hear. When Timothy rescued Philip, he screamed in great rage, “Damn fool mahn! I tol’ you ’bout d’shark!” But, to conclude the chapter with a positive ending, Timothy gets the first glimpse of an island. Think: Try to remember all the kids you’ve met in your life, which one is most like Philip? Now try to remember all the adults you’ve met in your life, which is most like Timothy?
Chapter 7
In chapter seven, probably the greatest thing happens since the beginning of the book—they reach land! Except, it is a tiny, vacant Cay. As Mr. Taylor describes, it is shaped like a melon fruit and is roughly one mile long, and half a mile wide. The length of the cay is equal to the distance from about 79st to 59st, and the width is equal to the distance from York Av to Park Avenue. Their new cay is located in the midst of Devils Mouth, a group of many small cays in the Caribbean. The cay is covered with palm trees and sea grape bushes, and their hut resides at the peak of the Cay.
* * * * *
Being on the Cay, however, didn’t change the way Philip generally thought about Timothy. When Timothy ventured out to explore their newfound cay, Philip gave Timothy an earful that he left him all alone. Nor did Philip show any signs of happiness that they were at least safe. Instead, Philip acted as if he was too good to be on this cay. On the other hand though, Timothy was triumphant about finding the cay. Timothy was ecstatic; he was out and about exploring and planning a feast for the two of them. Think: In your mind, what do you believe the cay looked like? Why do you think Timothy is so excited about the cay? Why isn’t Philip?
Chapter 8 & 9
Life on the cay proceeded as expected. Timothy builds a hut for the two to dwell in and he caught langosta for them to eat. The last thing the he did for survival, however, revealed a crucial piece of information about Timothy—he is illiterate. Timothy was setting up a sign with rocks that would portray the word “help.” Immediately, Philip realized, by the tone of Timothy’s voice, that Timothy could not spell the word. Philip had to write out the word and that gave Philip a sense of comfort, knowing he knew something that Timothy did not.
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After the hut was made, Timothy decided Philip needed a way to safely, but quickly move from the beach to the hut, so Timothy decided that a rope was to be made. This time, though, Timothy asked Philip to do it. Timothy thought that Philip needed to do something with his life other than sitting and praying that he would be able to see again. Timothy still got the same response “I am blind Timothy.” Timothy, however, simply responded: “The hands aren’t blind though.” And that started a tiny dispute, but in the end, something magical happened.
* * * * *
After Timothy and Philip’s quarrel, Philip began to understand the motivations behind each thing Timothy did. There was then a change, the biggest one in the book. After all the hate towards Timothy, it ended with these words “I want to be your friend.” Then, this response from Timothy, “Young bahss, you ‘ave always been my friend.” Philip also yearned for Timothy to call him Philip, instead of young bahss. Think: How would you react if you could spell when someone like Timothy couldn’t? What would you do if when you were blind and someone tried to teach you to “knit”? What emotions do you think were going in Timothy’s mind when Philip wanted to be his friend? Why do you think Philip wanted to be Timothy’s friend?
Chapter 10 & 11
As time went by, the relationship grew stronger. During a huge rainstorm that struck the cay, they were as happy as can be collecting the water. Then, they told each other about their lives. Afterward, they began discussing that some white people hate some black people and that some black people hate white people. However, in the end they agreed that blacks and whites are all the same in the inside.
* * * * *
Also, as time passed with no
signs of rescue, Timothy began to believe that Stew Cat was a jumbi. (A jumbi,
is like a jinx) Philip, though, was not convinced that there was even a jumbi.
The next morning though, Timothy sent Stew Cat temporally off the island while
he began to work on a wooden sculpture that would kill the evil jumbi (Stew Cat.)
Meanwhile, Philip started to believe that Timothy was starting to go crazy, but
that wasn’t the case. Think: If you have been stuck on an island for this
long, would you believe in jumbi? Why?
Chapters 12 & 13
Philip befriended Timothy at the perfect time. The next morning Timothy caught Malaria and Fever— again. Philip who was unable too actually help him, simply sat down and expressed comforting words to him, with the hope he’d get better. After a bit of time, Timothy, whom was unconscious, ran down into the water. Even though Philip was blind, he tried desperately to rescue Timothy. After some plunging and wrestling, he saved Timothy. Timothy’s remedy happened to be the water, and luckily he recovered, but he never fully regained his admirable strength.
* * * * *
Timothy, cognizant to the fact that his life would be over fairly soon, began to teach Philip how to catch food. Near the reef, Timothy found an unflawed, little pit that was filled with a variety of seafood. All Philip would need to do is jump in, and spear a fish or pluck a mussel. It worked; he helped catch food for their dinner that night. Better yet, Philip climbed a palm tree, and cut off a coconut, bringing them sweet juice and meat. This didn’t happen without some perseverance from Philip. Now, Philip realizes that it is better to have Timothy as an ally, not a foe. Think: How would you handle Timothy’s Malaria and Fever situation if you were Philip? How do you think Philip felt when he could catch fish and coconuts?
Chapters 14 & 15
One morning in July, their luck came to an end— a hurricane was coming. Similar to when the S.S. Hato was torpedoed, they both remained calm. Philip and Timothy prepared water and a hideout (the palm tree), and secured everything with rope. Afterwards, all they could do was wait.
* * * * *
The storm hit hard on the cay, clinging to the palm tree for dear life, Timothy risked his life, letting the violent storm clash onto him and not Philip. Then came the eye of the storm, and then the storm again. Still, the two remained calm.
* * * * *
After the storm had subsided, the two took a long rest, but one was eternal: Timothy’s. Timothy could finally do no more. Think: What would you do if you were Philip and Timothy just died? Why?
Chapter 16-18
Life on the cay was sorrowful for Philip after Timothy’s death. The man he knew so well had died, but he had to continue life. After the storm, Philip rebuilt the hut and then scavenged the island. He found mostly trash and birds. Philip continued to fish with the last legacy of Timothy: his fishing poles. However, at some points, he wished Timothy took Philip with him.
* * * * *
One day, he heard a drone of an airplane. Learning from his previous mistakes, he ignited the fire and then added the oil from the sea grapes creating black smoke. Screaming “help” repeatedly the drone drew closer and then it left. Think: What would you feel if your thought your only hope of survival was lost?
Chapter 19
As Theodore Taylor richly set the story up, he richly ended it. With feeling and emotions all added in, it truly was a spectacular ending. Not long after the passing of the drone, rescue boats found him. When he returned to Curaçao, his petrified parents greeted him. Afterwards he took many x-rays and reported on Timothy. Best of all was he that got eye surgery; he was no longer blind. Every now and then, he would play with Henrik von Boven, but he felt that compared to him, Henrik acted too young. Think: How do you think Philip felt to be back on Curaçao?
Compare and Contrast Activity: Remember the first Compare and Contrast Activity you did? Try doing that again, but this time; compare the new Philip to Timothy. What are the results?
