Phillip Enright: An Eleven-Year-Old Boy In The Island

Six Questions:

Knowledge:
List the characters and describe them:
Phillip Enright is an eleven-year-old boy who lives in the island of Curaçao with his family during 1942. After a shipwreck in the boat SS Hato he is separated from his family and is washed ashore on a cay with Timothy, and Stew the cat. While he is in the rescue raft he becomes blind due to an incident. After being rescued from the cay and he returns to Curaçao, then Phillip spends a lot of time talking to the black people of the island because Timothy was his friend and he felt close to him so therefore he talks to the black people on the island.

Timothy is an old black man, his age is around the 70’s. He was raised in the town of Charlotte Amalie, he worked as a sailor

on the SS Hato, which was to give a ride to the people from Curaçao to Panama before it sank. Timothy was also washed ashore on a cay with Phillip.

Mrs.

Enright is the mother of Phillip Enright. She is against the blacks living with her family on Curaçao. She wanted to take the boat, SS Hato, instead of an airplane to get away from the Nazis because one of her fears is flying in a plane. She is then separated from his son when the SS Hato sank. After Phillip returned from the cay, she decided that she no longer wanted to leave Curaçao.

Mr. Enright is the of Phillip Enright. He moved his family from Virginia to Curaçao because of his job at the Royal Dutch Shell. After he finished working in Curaçao, he then flew away from the by plane because the island was being attacked by the Nazis and told his wife to do the same.

Stew Cat is the cat that belonged to the cook of the SS Hato. After a torpedo went through the boat, Stew Cat jumped on the raft that Timothy was on. While they were on the cay, Timothy believed Stew Cat was bad luck.

Henrik van Boven is Phillip’s best friend on the island of Curaçao. They both liked to play Pirates until the Nazis attacked the island in 1942. After Phillip returned from the cay, Henrik was believed to be very young, if they still had a friendship together, it wasn't going to be the same as before.

Comprehension:
2. What did the title have to do with the

book?
The title serves as an advertisement for the book and shows us to what to expect from it. A cay is a small island found in the ocean. From this, we might know that the book is probably an adventure story, and likely to involve ships. We also know that the cay is probably where the most important action and part in the book will take place.

Application:
3. What lesson did you learn from the story?

The most important lesson to be learned in this story is that you must try to endure and push yourself to keep going. At first, Philip was injured, scared, and unsure of the future. His wish to continue allowed him to make a new companion and survive on the island. During your life, there will come a time where you will need to persist and endure to move on. Even if it’s on a bumpy road with ups or downs or a straight, long and flat road.

Analysis:
4. Tell five ways the main character is like you

Philip and I share several similarities:
We are close in age.(I am 12 and Philip is 11)
I had to overcome being lost in Venezuela which is close to where the story takes place
He is a quick learner like me.
At the of the book, Phillip doesn’t have a problem with colored skin people and I don’t either
Phillip and I have a great relationship with our mothers.

Synthesis:
5. Write a poem about this book.

When I first saw Timothy
I boiled with anger
I did not want to be friends with a black man
I condemn him without words
He ignored my insults
Then… he exploded with anger
He slapped me,
I cried
I did not want Timothy to see me like this
I was afraid
Embarrassed
Then everything changed
We both became friends
I did not care what color skin he had
I looked beyond that
I knew that he was concerned about me
He wanted me to be safe

Evaluation:
6. Did you like the way the story ended? Why or why not?

I liked the ending but at the same time I kind of didn’t, Although one of the main characters, Timothy, dies at the end of the story, I didn’t like this part. Phillip meets up with his parents at long last. His mother apologizes to him. Phillip at the end gets his vision back, and that is good. When Phillip returns to Curaçao he is really matured. His friend Henrik seems to be much younger now, and he hangs with the black people instead because they remind him of Timothy. I think that when he became blind it was when Phillip actually got to know himself and realize that what matters is what’s in the inside and not in the outside. This memory would indeed be one for him to never forget.