Character Change In Theodore Taylor's The Cay

691 Words2 Pages

Have you ever had a terrible day that positively changed you in some way? Theodore Taylor’s The Cay demonstrates how Phillip Enright, the main character, changed positively throughout the book. In The Cay, Phillip’s character reveals that he develops independence, maturity, and kindness to other races through many conflicts. Phillip demonstrated independence after experiencing blindness, as evidenced in the novel, when he has to survive on the cay by himself after Timothy dies. At the beginning of the novel, Philip hits his head and becomes blind, causing him to rely on Timothy. Phillip states, “I heard Timothy shout, ‘I see an islan’, true.’ In wild excitement, I stumbled up and fell overboard. I went under the water, yelling for him, then came up,
Jus’ ovah and under…’ Becoming angry with him, I said, ’I tell you, I can’t see (Taylor 71).’” Philip later manages to make the mats after realizing what Timothy has done for him. In the end, Philip has become self reliant. After Timothy’s death, Phillip rebuilds the torn-down shelter, and makes new ropes, catches his own food, and even builds the fire again. “I accomplished a lot in three days, even putting a new edge on Timothy’s knife by honing in on coral (Taylor 119).” Philip started out as a helpless and dependent boy, but by surviving alone on the little cay, Phillip becomes independent. Phillip shows maturity after experiencing the survival on the cay, demonstrating it when he is rescued and is back at home, looking at things in a different perspective. At the beginning of the novel, he is playful and doesn’t know about the serious dangers of war. Even though his mother tells him not to, because he could be attacked, Phillip goes outside to play around the boats with his friend Henrik. Throughout the novel, when Philip is on the cay with Timothy, he begins to work more and talks with Timothy about things he does not understand, like why his mother does not like black people (Taylor

Open Document