Ready Reference Treatise: The Cay

By Raja Sharma

“The Cay” by Theodore Taylor was first published in 1969. It is a children’s novel. According to the author, Taylor had taken only three weeks to complete this novel.

The central character of the boy has been inspired by a real life incident. This character is based on a child who was onboard the Hato, when it was torpedoed. The boy fortunately drifted out to sea in a lifeboat.

Ready Reference Treatise: The Cay
Copyright
Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Plot Overview
Chapter Three: Characters
Chapter Four: Complete Summary
Chapter Five: Critical Analysis

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raja Sharma
• Release date: Oct 2, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311174062

Raja Sharma

Raja Sharma is a retired college lecturer.He has taught English Literature to University students for more than two decades.His students are scattered all over the world, and it is noticeable that he is in contact with more than ninety thousand of his students.

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Ready Reference Treatise: The Cay

Copyright

Ready Reference Treatise: The Cay

Raja Sharma

Copyright@2015 Raja Sharma

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Chapter One: Introduction

The Cay by Theodore Taylor was first published in 1969. It is a children’s novel. According to the author, Taylor had taken only three weeks to complete this novel.

The central character of the boy has been inspired by a real life incident. This character is based on a child who was onboard the Hato, when it was torpedoed. The boy fortunately drifted out to sea in a lifeboat.

Theodore Taylor dedicated this novel to Martin Luther King, Jr. The book has received about a dozen different literary awards since the time of its publication. Since its publication, the book has remained the part of the course of study at elementary and middle school classrooms.

It is not only an action packed fast-paced story, but also a coming-of-age story. The novel is obviously written for the children, but it addresses several serious issues such as race relationships.

A young white American boy is the protagonist of the novel. He happens to have learned prejudice from his family back on Curacao. He comes across a black West Indian man and they become friends.

That black West Indian man becomes that white boy’s only human companion on the island where the boy reaches after his ship had been torpedoed.

The situation compels the boy to confront his own prejudices. Philip, the young white boy, begins to like and love Timothy, the black West Indian man.

Philip gradually goes through personal transformation. His love for Timothy begins to grow. Their relationship is the heart of the present story.

The author was initially criticized by several critics because they concluded that the character of Timothy, the West Indian Man, can be interpreted as a racist caricature.

They generally point to the dialogue spoken by Timothy in the novel and suggest that it is racist. However, as the time progressed, the literary critics and scholars began to realize the literary significance of the novel.

It is noticeable that Taylor had started writing for newspapers when he was only thirteen years old. His later fiction is very rich with journalistic details.

During the Second World War, the author had also served in the Pacific. In the later part of his life he became a Hollywood writer and started writing for the movies.

Besides writing the