Simile(s) from The Cay
“Like silent, hungry sharks that swim in the darkness of the sea, the German submarines arrived in the
middle of the night.” p. 9(pg. 5)
“I thought they (submarines) might be like schools of fish.” (pg. 10)
“The grains of sand felt very fine, almost like powder.” (pg. 43)
“The rain sounded like bullets hitting on the dried palm frond roof. “ (pg. 56)
“It was shaped like a melon, or a turtle,…” (pg. 61)
“The sea, he told me, was smooth as green jelly.” (pg. 78)
“The rain was hitting my back like thousands of hard berries blown from air guns.” (pg. 82)
“I could feel the rain, which was now jabbing into me like the punches of a nail.” (pg. 83)
Personification from The Cay
“I guess I was waiting for the U-boats to send a shell toward Willemstad.” (pg. 12)
“It was a German submarine, surfaced now to watch the ship die.” (pg. 16)
“The S.S. Hato took her first bite of open sea and began to pitch gently.” (pg. 18)
“Dat debil, d’fever,” (That devil, the fever) (pg. 70)
“My heart began to pound.” (pg. 36)
“Listening to the still angry sea as it tumbled around the damp cay…” (pg. 88)
Figurative Language Assignment
The Cay by Theodore Taylor
Choose one! Draw the literal meaning. Explain fully
the author’s intended meaning. Detail is key to success
on this assignment! Think deep!
Imagery from The Cay
“A wall of red flames and black smoke was beginning to boil into the sky” p. 24(pg. 15)
“Suddenly, I felt hollow inside” p. 25 (pg. 17)
“He was almost crowing over his lobster.” p. 69 (pg. 50)
“My hair felt ropy.” p. 81 (pg. 59)
“Timothy had been cut to ribbons by the wind, which drove the rain and tiny grains before it.” p.
116 (pg. 85)
“The wind was reaching a steady howl.” p. 112 (pg. 82)
Metaphor(s) from The Cay
“His chest was thick and his neck was the size of a small tree trunk…The skin was alligatored…” p.
33 (pg. 23)
“His back was a great wall of black flesh…” p. 35 (pg. 25)
“There was steel in his voice when he answered…” p. 58 (pg. 42)