The Cay by Theodore Taylor
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In late October, author Theodore Taylor passed away. He had written over 50 books for both children and adults, but the book that I, and many other children, know him best for was The Cay. I have asked a seventh-grade writing student of mine if I could post her essay on the book, and she agreed. So here it is.
This book is about a boy, Phillip, who lives in the Dutch Islands and the place goes to war. The boy’s father makes Phillip and his mother leave and travel to a safer place. The ship was torpedoed and few survivors were left. A man named Timothy got an emergency boat and pulled up all the people or animals nearby. Timothy rescued two living things. A boy named Phillip, and the cook’s cat, Stewcat. They boat to an island at last and settle there.
What would you do stranded on an island with someone you barely even know and a cat and the fact that you're blind from looking into the sun? If I were Phillip I’d try to find a way to survive and get off that island. But should you trust that old African-American man, Timothy? What would you do? Well, if I were Phillip, or in other words the blind boy stranded on the island, I would trust him. Surely he wouldn’t want his only human companion dead.
This is an award winning book and I think it’s because it teaches one that no matter what the color of your skin is, it’s what’s inside that matters. In this book, Timothy, an old black man, is a very nice and generous person. He helped the blind white boy gather food and created a shelter even after the boy slapped him and belittled him because he is black. This book shows that everybody is the same on the inside and that all should be treated equally. It is very surprising that a little boy would look down at a grown-up.
This is a great book but I didn’t like Phillip at first. I thought he was rude, selfish and stupid. He never treated Timothy well until the end a while before Timothy died of a fever. My favorite character is Timothy. He is very generous and has a great character. He is nice and was always very polite. Although he couldn’t read or write, he had taught survival skills to Phillip. If Timothy didn’t teach Phillip those skills, he probably wouldn’t have ever left the island or lived more than a day.
In the end, an airplane found Phillip and brought him and Stewcat to Phillip’s parents. His parents sent him to a doctor to fix his eyes and he ended up being able to see, although he had to wear glasses. The war was also over so they lived happily ever after.
-Elly, 7th grade
The Cay by Theodore Taylor
Special Guest Blogger!In late October, author Theodore Taylor passed away. He had written over 50 books for both children and adults, but the book that I, and many other children, know him best for was The Cay. I have asked a seventh-grade writing student of mine if I could post her essay on the book, and she agreed. So here it is.
This book is about a boy, Phillip, who lives in the Dutch Islands and the place goes to war. The boy’s father makes Phillip and his mother leave and travel to a safer place. The ship was torpedoed and few survivors were left. A man named Timothy got an emergency boat and pulled up all the people or animals nearby. Timothy rescued two living things. A boy named Phillip, and the cook’s cat, Stewcat. They boat to an island at last and settle there.
What would you do stranded on an island with someone you barely even know and a cat and the fact that you're blind from looking into the sun? If I were Phillip I’d try to find a way to survive and get off that island. But should you trust that old African-American man, Timothy? What would you do? Well, if I were Phillip, or in other words the blind boy stranded on the island, I would trust him. Surely he wouldn’t want his only human companion dead.
This is an award winning book and I think it’s because it teaches one that no matter what the color of your skin is, it’s what’s inside that matters. In this book, Timothy, an old black man, is a very nice and generous person. He helped the blind white boy gather food and created a shelter even after the boy slapped him and belittled him because he is black. This book shows that everybody is the same on the inside and that all should be treated equally. It is very surprising that a little boy would look down at a grown-up.
This is a great book but I didn’t like Phillip at first. I thought he was rude, selfish and stupid. He never treated Timothy well until the end a while before Timothy died of a fever. My favorite character is Timothy. He is very generous and has a great character. He is nice and was always very polite. Although he couldn’t read or write, he had taught survival skills to Phillip. If Timothy didn’t teach Phillip those skills, he probably wouldn’t have ever left the island or lived more than a day.
In the end, an airplane found Phillip and brought him and Stewcat to Phillip’s parents. His parents sent him to a doctor to fix his eyes and he ended up being able to see, although he had to wear glasses. The war was also over so they lived happily ever after.
-Elly, 7th grade
The Cay by Theodore Taylor
posted by Renee at 12:29 PM
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1 Comments:
What a lovely review, Elly! I think my daughter read this in junior high. I'll have to see if she still has her copy so I can borrow it. I hope to see more of your reviews here on Renee's blog.
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