63 pages • 2 hours read
Theodore TaylorThe Cay
Theodore TaylorFiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1969A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Chapters 4-7Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 4 Summary
Phillip and Timothy put their clothes back on and try to rest as the night grows cold. Phillip thinks about his home, where Black and white people mostly live separately. Henrik, who grew up on Curaçao, finds it easier to interact with Black people than Phillip does. Phillip asks Timothy where he is from, and Timothy says he comes from Charlotte Amalie, a town on the island of St. Thomas. Phillip is surprised to hear that, as a resident of the Virgin Islands, Timothy is American. He asks if Timothy’s parents were African, but Timothy does not remember his parents and has never been to Africa. Phillip “[is] almost certain now that Timothy had indeed come from Africa” (39) but keeps this thought to himself. He asks Timothy’s age and is surprised again: While he is over 60, Timothy is not certain exactly how old he is. The two try to sleep, though Phillip’s head is still aching, and he is cold.
The next morning, Phillip and Timothy hope that a boat will pass by and rescue them, but none do. Phillip starts to notice that something is wrong with his vision, as though there were a film over his eyes; Timothy thinks Phillip might have spent too much time looking at the bright sun. They make their shelter once more, and Phillip complains that the pain in his head is almost unbearable. He falls asleep and wakes to total darkness but no more pain. To his shock, Timothy tells him that it is only around 10 o’ clock in the morning; Phillip has gone blind. Timothy, horrified by this development, makes Phillip look at the sun, but to no avail. Timothy tells Phillip that he once knew a man who went blind for three days at sea, but then got better. Initially afraid, Phillip soon grows angry at his situation. He hits his fists against Timothy’s chest, which Timothy allows on the basis that it might make him feel better.
Chapter 5 Summary
On the third day on the raft, Timothy and Phillip hear a “far-off engine sound coming in faintly above the slap of the sea” (45). It is an airplane passing overhead. Timothy makes and lights a torch to try to signal to it, but the plane does not see the raft. They keep waiting to be rescued, but no other ships or planes pass by. Timothy starts to feel that Stew Cat is bad luck, although killing a cat would be worse luck. Phillip disagrees and is glad that Stew Cat is with them. Phillip asks Timothy to describe the sea and the sky to him in detail. When Timothy describes a bird flying overhead, Phillip wonders if he will ever get the chance to see a bird again, or whether his blindness is permanent.
Chapter 6 Summary
The next morning, Timothy spots an island on the horizon. Phillip is so excited that he falls off the raft and into the water. But Timothy jumps in after him and drags him back onto the raft. Once the two of them are back on the raft, Timothy is angry with Phillip for his carelessness. He soon calms down, explaining to Phillip that he must be careful, as there are sharks nearby. He describes the island to Phillip as they get closer: “’Tis a pretty ting, to be sure. I see a white beach, an’ behin’ dat, low sea-grape bushes; den on d’hill, some palm. Mebbe twenty, thirty palm” (51). It is very small and uninhabited, only a few feet above sea level. Phillip asks whether they might be safer and more likely to get rescued if they stay on the raft, but Timothy insists that they go to the small island, or cay, instead. He tries several times to persuade Timothy that the raft is a better option, but he is unsuccessful.
Chapter 7 Summary
Timothy gets into the water and swims toward the island, pushing the raft. He brings Phillip and Stew Cat to shore, dragging the raft up the beach as well so that it does not drift away. Timothy is confident that they will find seafood near the island, including small lobsters called langosta. Phillip questions Timothy about where exactly they are in relation to other Caribbean islands. Timothy’s answers are vague, and Phillip worries that there is something he is not saying. Timothy takes a walk around the island to explore. Although he is not gone long, Phillip soon gets frightened to be on his own.
When Timothy returns, Phillip angrily tells him, “Never leave me again. Don’t you ever leave me again!” (56). Timothy tells Phillip about the shape of the island (one mile long, half a mile wide) and the resources available on it (no water, but a good place to make a camp). Phillip asks Timothy to tell him the truth about their location. Timothy acquiesces: They are probably in the Devil’s Mouth, a dangerous region where boats rarely sail. Their location makes rescue less likely. Phillip is worried, but Timothy does his best to remain optimistic.
Chapters 4-7 Analysis
The developing friendship between Phillip and Timothy is central to The Cay. In these chapters, the two get off to a rocky start. Phillip does not trust Timothy, nor does he recognize the extent to which Timothy is trying to help him. He relies largely on his assumptions about Black people when asking Timothy about his past and his heritage rather than actually listening to what Timothy has to say about himself. Narratively, Timothy is an important main character who serves as a protector and mentor for Phillip. In Phillip’s view, Timothy starts out as an antagonist whose aims are counter to his own. He resists Timothy at every turn, even resisting approaching the island that will certainly offer safer shelter and more resources than the small raft.
When Phillip loses his sight, he finds that he has to rely even more on Timothy for support, whether he wants to or not. This is the first major step in Phillip’s Coming of Age journey. It also makes his Survival Against the Odds more difficult, as he is in constant danger without Timothy’s help. He falls into shark-infested waters and has to be rescued because he does not yet know how to keep himself safe. Becoming blind pushes Phillip to perceive the world in new ways: He can no longer rely on snap judgments about the world around him. In these chapters, Phillip’s blindness does not enrich his life. It makes him feel afraid and alone, and it makes him lash out in anger. Still, these chapters plant the seeds of later growth as Phillip adjusts to his new conditions.
Timothy’s expertise wins out over Phillip’s ignorance when they find the island. Phillip struggles to cope with the evolving situation and with the possibility that rescue is not coming any time soon. Although Phillip and Timothy are still not close friends who trust each other, Timothy does decide to tell Phillip the truth about their location. This is one of the first positive steps in their friendship, and Phillip rewards that trust by being able to handle the truth about the situation. This is a good sign: It means that he is prepared to rise to the challenges that living on the island will entail.
Although Phillip starts to show a few signs of maturity in these chapters, his journey of Overcoming Racism remains relatively stagnant. He trusts Timothy slightly more than he did before, but he still feels that the two of them are fundamentally different. He even disbelieves Timothy when he says that he does not come from Africa, suggesting that Phillip is not yet ready to accept perspectives that contradict his own. At this point in the story, Phillip still believes that Timothy is somewhat untrustworthy. He also believes that Timothy, as a strong adult who is able to see, should be responsible for the work of keeping them both alive. Things are changing fast for Phillip, but he is not yet prepared to question some of his basic assumptions about the world.
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