THE CAY
BY:
THEODORE
TAYLOR
Dr. Betty Powers Francis
READING RIGHT
© 2005, 1989
THE CAY
SYNOPSIS
This historical fiction novel takes place during World War II.
Phillip and his family have been living in Aruba where his father is working. Phillip and
his mother are returning to the United States for their own safety when the boat
they are traveling on is sunk. Phillip and Timothy make it to an island where they have
to learn to trust each other and work together.
This is hard for Phillip at first as he has not had any personal encounters with a black
person and his mother had encouraged him to stay away from them. Timothy teaches
Phillip how to survive on the cay in case there would come a time that he (Timothy)
would no longer be there to help. Phillip’s opinion changes about Timothy and people
in general as he learns to trust Timothy and his wealth of knowledge.
THE CAY
Lesson 1
Chapters 1-2
1.
This story takes place during what time period?
A. Civil War
B. World War I
C. World War II
2.
The main character of the story, Phillip, is from what country?
D. America
E. Germany
F. Holland
3.
After the German attack, the ships stopped coming in and out of the island.
Phillip’s family is starting to run out of:
G. Water and fresh vegetables
H. Fresh vegetables and paper goods
I. Water and milk
4.
What are blackout curtains?
5.
Put the following events in the correct order.
_________Phillip’s father books passage for him to America
_________The Empire Tern is blown up
_________The island of Aruba is attacked
6.
Why was Phillip’s father working on the Dutch island located off the coast
of Venezuela?
7.
Explain how Phillip feels about leaving his father and friends to return to
America.
THE CAY
Lesson 2
Chapters 3-6
1. Phillip and his mother are preparing to leave the ship. Why is that?
A.
They decided to stay on in Panama.
B.
A larger American ship has come to pick them up.
C.
Their ship had been torpedoed and it was sinking.
2. Write the simile the author uses comparing Timothy’s voice and words.
3. What does Phillip’s mother think about the West Indian black people?
4. Timothy keeps calling Phillip “bahss”. To what word is he referring?
D.
Boy
E.
Boss
F.
Bob
5. Put a check by the event that happened last.
___________ Phillip going blind
___________ The aircraft searching in the distance
___________ The flying fish landing on the raft
6. Why isn’t Phillip’s mother on the raft?
7. Do you think the Navy had planes and ships out looking for Phillip? Explain
your answer.
8. Underline the characteristics Phillip thinks Timothy has at the beginning of
their relationship.
Caring
Stubborn
Dumb
Intelligent
THE CAY
Lesson 3
Chapters 7-11
1.
How old is Timothy?
A. Over seventy
B. Between sixty and seventy
C. Between fifty and sixty
2.
To what does Timothy compare the different colors of people’s skin?
3.
Timothy does what to get rid of their bad luck?
4.
What is a cay?
5.
Timothy is helping Phillips to become more independent. Why is that?
6.
How has Phillip’s opinion concerning Timothy changed?
7.
Does Timothy really think Phillip will get his eyesight back? Explain your
answer.
THE CAY
Lesson 4
Chapters 12-15
1.
Where did Timothy go when he was feverish and wild with malaria?
2.
Why does Timothy think it is so important for Phillip to know how to fish?
A. He thinks all young boys should be able to have fun and fish.
B. Timothy doesn’t like to fish so he wants Phillip to do it for him.
C. So he can feed himself if Timothy gets sick again.
3.
What made the sound of a rifle being shot?
D. A rifle
E. The ocean
F. Coconuts banging
4.
What does the word “gusted,” mean?
5.
Write the simile the author uses in this section to describe how the rain
felt. What two things are compared?
6.
Do you think that Timothy came down to the reef and watched Phillip when
he was first learning to fish? Explain your answer.
7.
Explain how you would feel if you were in Phillip’s place when Timothy died.
THE CAY
Lesson 5
Chapters 16-19
1. Why had the birds attacked Phillip?
A. He was near their nesting grounds.
B. They were hunting birds and they thought he was prey.
C. His unusual smell attracted the birds.
2. What made Phillip decide not to go diving for langosta in the fishing hole
anymore?
3. Why didn’t the captain believe Phillip’s story about having been on the HATO
before it was sunk?
4. What is does “legacy” mean?
5. How many months had Phillip been living on the cay?
D. April – June
E. April – July
F. April – August
6. Tell one thing Phillip learned while he was on the cay.
7. Tell something you learned or thought was interesting as you read this story.
THE CAY
Answer Key
Lesson 1
1.
C
2.
A
3.
A
4.
Blackout curtains are a thick dark material used over windows so no light
from the house can be seen from outside.
5.
The correct order is: 2, 3, and 1.
6.
Phillip’s father was working for an oil company trying to increase
production of aviation gas to send to the European countries fighting
against Germany.
7.
Answers will vary. They might include the idea that Phillip does not want to
leave his father and friends and feels sad to go. He is also frustrated
because his father is forcing him to go.
Lesson 2
1.
C
2.
The author says that Timothy’s voice is, “…a rich calypso soft and musical.”
And his words, “…the words rubbing off like velvet.”
3.
Phillip’s mother doesn’t like the West Indian black people. She said they
were different and he should stay away from them.
4.
B
5.
The event that happened last is number two, the aircraft searching off in
the distance.
6.
Phillip’s mother is not on the raft because when their small lifeboat tipped
over they became separated.
7.
It is unlikely that the Navy would be sending out search planes for a single
boy and man with the war going on. They might have sent one or two out
briefly after the accident but they would not have had the manpower to
spend much time on it.
8.
The words that should have been underlined are: stubborn and dumb.
Lesson 3
1.
A
2.
Timothy compares the different colors of people’s skin to the different
colors of the flowers.
3.
Timothy carves a wooden statue of the cat and then gets rid of the cat
statue. He believes that will chase away the spirits that are causing their
bad luck.
4.
A cay is a small island.
This is a good place to discuss what a coral reef is and why the large boats can’t
get past the reefs to rescue them.
5.
Timothy wants Phillip to become more independent in case he gets sick
again or something else happens that would cause Phillip to be on his own.
6.
Phillip’s opinion of Timothy has changed. He used to think Timothy was
stubborn and dumb. Now he realizes even though his skin is different that
he is a kind and caring person.
7.
Answers will vary.
Lesson 4
1.
When Timothy was wild with the fever he ran to the ocean to cool off.
2.
C
3.
B
4.
A gust is a violent rush of wind.
5.
The author describes the rain by saying, “The rain was hitting my back like
thousands of hard berries blown from air guns.” It compares rain to hard
berries blown from air guns.
6.
Answers will vary.
7.
Answers will vary.
Lesson 5
1.
A
2.
Phillip didn’t want to go diving anymore because a strong fish, perhaps a
moray eel, had grabbed hold of his hand and sunk its teeth into him.
3.
The captain didn’t believe Phillip’s story at first because it had been four
months since the HATO had sunk and he didn’t think Phillip could have
survived that long.
4.
Legacy means something handed down from one generation to another.
5.
C
6.
Answers may vary. Some of the things he learned were: how to know
roughly what time it was, how to lay out a fire, how to get along with a black
person and how to find his way around the island.
7.
Answers will vary.