I did enjoy reading this book, although I did have to withhold my distaste for the narrator, who begins as racist and spoiled and only moves away from those views shallowly, still holding onto another kind of racism. The Cay, a book with a cover that always interested me in middle school, just never enough for me to pick it up, is about an American boy living in Curaçao during World War II. His mother hates the island and wants to go back to Virginia, due partially to the German submarines that surround the island and also to the fact that she doesn’t like black people. When Philip and his mother finally attempt to leave, the boat that they are on is torpedoed, and Phil is separated from his mother, waking up blind on a raft with Timothy, an old black man. The story of survival takes them to an island, where Philip learns to deal with his new blindness.
The voice is well-crafted. Timothy, who is over 70, speaks with a heavy West Indian accent (something that I’ve read has been criticized). Philip’s voice changes throughout the novel. At the beginning, Philip is the most obnoxious protagonist I’ve ever read. His mother’s racism comes out against Timothy, even though Philip frequently comments that he doesn’t understand why his mother feels that way. Apart from the initial racism, he is flat-out spoiled. However, his character is clearly designed this way to make his transformation all the more powerful.
There are a few problems I see with his transformation. Obviously, Taylor is not encouraging Philip’s racist comments, as his movement away from them is one of the main themes of the novel. However, the vehicle that Taylor uses may be misguided. Philip’s blindness is used as a catalyst for a change of viewpoints. At one point, as he becomes closer with his new friend, Philip comments that he’s not sure if Timothy is black or white anymore. He also consciously states that he’s not sure he would have changed his thoughts about Timothy if he hadn’t been blind. This hints at endorsing a policy of colorblindness that may have been considered accepting in 1969, but won’t fly today.
Anyway, The Cay does have teachable elements. If you set the racism elements aside, there are definitely interesting themes. The setting is really well done, especially taking Philip’s blindness into account. Also, the beginning is a really interesting take on the times of World War II. WWII for me always conjures images of Germany, Russia, America and the like in the dead of winter, with snow falling and freezing soldiers. The Cay starts out in a completely peaceful village whose calm is disrupted by the German submarines. Philip could be used to teach voice.
The issue of conflict is definitely what I would pick out as the main theme to teach. At least on some level, Philip struggles with himself, questioning the validity of both his mother’s prejudices and his own assumptions about Timothy. Steering away from that issue, however, the conflict of man versus nature is very powerful. After all, The Cay is a survival story. The dramatic climax pits the two against nature’s fury, and there are many Hatchet-type moments that explain in great detail the survival tips Timothy and Philip employ to stay alive. I feel like those are the moments that a lot of students pick out and enjoy.
If I were to teach this book, the race issue would definitely be taught – I wouldn’t let things go unsaid about it. I would share the information with the class that in 1970, the book won the Jane Addams Peace award, and that in 1975, the association asked Taylor to return the award in light of the mounting criticism of the work. The greatest value this book may pose is as a primary source document in that debate.
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