Follow TV Tropes

Following

History Literature / TheCay

Go To

OR

Added: 243

Changed: 40

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


!Tropes associated with ''The Cay'':

to:

!Tropes ----
!!Tropes
associated with ''The Cay'':


Added DiffLines:

* ShipwreckStart: The story is kicked off when the ship that Philip and his mother are onboard is torpedoed, stranding him on an island in the Caribbean with [[CoolOldGuy Timothy]] and [[TeamPet Stew Cat]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


** Philip begins to warm to Timothy when Timothy says he was born in Charlotte Amalie, and Philip realises that that makes Timothy a U.S. citizen.

to:

** Philip begins to warm to Timothy when Timothy says he was born in Charlotte Amalie, Amalie (in Saint Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands), and Philip realises that that makes Timothy a U.S. citizen.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

** Philip begins to warm to Timothy when Timothy says he was born in Charlotte Amalie, and Philip realises that that makes Timothy a U.S. citizen.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* ParentalSubstitute: Tante Hannah took in Timothy when he was baby, as mentioned in ''The Cay''. From what we can see, they were quite close and Timothy thinks of her fondly, as, when he was out to sea for four years, he wanted to bring her back clothes, and, some time after she passed away, he renames his boat, the ''Tessie Crab'', to ''Hanna Gumbs'', after her. When required to put down a last name, he chooses Gumbs and uses it for the rest of this life.

to:

* ParentalSubstitute: Tante Hannah took in Timothy when he was baby, as mentioned in ''The Cay''. From what we can see, they were quite close and Timothy thinks of her fondly, as, when he was out to sea for four years, he wanted to bring her back clothes, and, some time after she passed away, he renames his boat, the ''Tessie Crab'', to ''Hanna Gumbs'', after her. Although Timothy and Hannah were not blood relations, he called her 'Tante' (aunt). When required to put down a last name, he chooses Gumbs and uses it for the rest of this life.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:


A MadeForTVMovie adaptation was released in 1974, starring Creator/JamesEarlJones as Timothy and Alfred Lutter III as Philip.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None



to:

* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Philip's mother Grace is afraid of flying, which is why they take a ship to the mainland... which gets torpedoed.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* ArtisticLicenseBiology: Deliberately under-consuming water to make your supply last longer is actually a ''terrible'' survival strategy. As any survival expert will tell you: water is a person's single most pressing need, as the human body ''needs'' a certain amount of water to function properly; consuming less than that amount can cause a plethora of health complications, which makes it far less likely that a person will survive long enough to make it back to civilization. If you're thirsty, it's a sign that you ''need'' water.



* InnocentBigot: Philip had some prejudices towards black people, like Timothy. He, at first, thinks black people are more different than him when he sees Timothy eat a raw fish (seeing that freaks him out), assumes Timothy (and all black people) must be from Africa, is initially disgusted with interacted with Timothy, and calls Timothy " ugly and stupid" at one point. Of course, considering his mother's interactions with people of color and his own lack of interactions with them, it's not hard to see why he has those views.

to:

* InnocentBigot: Philip had some prejudices towards black people, like Timothy. He, at first, thinks black people are more different than him when he sees Timothy eat a raw fish (seeing that freaks him out), assumes Timothy (and all black people) must be from Africa, is initially disgusted with interacted with Timothy, and calls Timothy " ugly "ugly and stupid" at one point. Of course, considering his mother's interactions with people of color and his own lack of interactions with them, it's not hard to see why he has those views.



* VagueAge: We don't know exactly how Timothy is (and he doesn't know either) but he's called "old". In ''Timothy of the Cay'', he does a lot of guessing as to how old he exactly he is. This plays into his advantage when it comes to getting jobs.

to:

* VagueAge: We don't know exactly how old Timothy is (and he doesn't know either) but he's called "old". In ''Timothy of the Cay'', he does a lot of guessing as to how old he exactly he is. This plays into his advantage when it comes to getting jobs.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* ParentalSubstitute: Tante Hannah took in Timothy when he was baby, as mentioned in ''The Cay''. From what we can see, they were quite close and Timothy thinks of her fondly, as, when he was out to sea for four years, he wanted to bring her back clothes, and, some time after she passed away, he renames his boat, the ''Tessie Crab'', to ''Hanna Gumbs'', after her.

to:

* ParentalSubstitute: Tante Hannah took in Timothy when he was baby, as mentioned in ''The Cay''. From what we can see, they were quite close and Timothy thinks of her fondly, as, when he was out to sea for four years, he wanted to bring her back clothes, and, some time after she passed away, he renames his boat, the ''Tessie Crab'', to ''Hanna Gumbs'', after her. When required to put down a last name, he chooses Gumbs and uses it for the rest of this life.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


It's WWII and Philip Enright and his mom, Grace, are going back home to Virginia. Philip didn't want to go but with German submarines around Curaçao, his mom insisted. When they're on their way back to the US, the S.S. ''Hato'' gets torpedoed and a blinded Philip gets stranded with an elderly guy named Timothy and, a cat named Stew Cat. They make their way to an island in the Devil's Mouth region of the Caribbean.

to:

It's WWII and Philip Enright and his mom, Grace, are going back home to Virginia. Philip didn't want to go but with German submarines around Curaçao, his mom insisted. When they're on their way back to the US, the S.S. ''Hato'' gets torpedoed and a blinded Philip gets stranded with an elderly guy named Timothy and, and a cat named Stew Cat. They make their way to an island in the Devil's Mouth region of the Caribbean.



* CharacterDevelopment: Philip really goes through so much in the story between being caught in a shipwreck where he doesn't even know if his mother survived to having his life change completely after going blind. He's prickly and rude to Timothy at first but in time, they form a strong bond. [[spoiler:When Timothy dies, Philip must use what he learned from him to eventually survive and soon be able to get rescued, reunited with his parents, and get his sight back.]]



* EmpathyPet: Stew Cat plays this role. When Philip starts to cry, Stew Cat comes

to:

* EmpathyPet: Stew Cat plays this role. When Philip starts to cry, Stew Cat comes comes.


Added DiffLines:

* MoralityPet: Wanting to keep Stew Cat around rather than throw him off the raft like Timothy wanted (he believed the cat was bad luck) is one of our earliest hints that Philip is a good kid rather than a hateful bigot.

Added: 276

Changed: 17

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


''The Cay'' is a 1969 novel by Theodore Taylor




* AnimalMotif: Briefly, Philip the German submarines' arrival to hungry sharks.

to:

* AnimalMotif: Briefly, Philip compares the German submarines' arrival to hungry sharks.



* InnocentBigot: Philip had some prejudices towards black people, like Timothy. He, at first, thinks black people are more different than him when he sees Timothy eat a raw fish (seeing that freaks him out), assumes Timothy (and all black people) must be from Africa, is initially disgusted with interacted with Timothy, and calls Timothy " ugly and stupid" at one point. Of course, considering his mother's interactions with people of color and his own lack of interactions them, it's not hard to see why he has those views.

to:

* InnocentBigot: Philip had some prejudices towards black people, like Timothy. He, at first, thinks black people are more different than him when he sees Timothy eat a raw fish (seeing that freaks him out), assumes Timothy (and all black people) must be from Africa, is initially disgusted with interacted with Timothy, and calls Timothy " ugly and stupid" at one point. Of course, considering his mother's interactions with people of color and his own lack of interactions with them, it's not hard to see why he has those views.views.
* IntergenerationalFriendship: Philip eventually sheds his bigotry and truly enjoys Timothy's company. [[spoiler:Even after his rescue, he prefers to spend time with people who had also known Timothy, as he feels closer to them.]]



* NiceGuy: As Philip does learn, Timothy a pretty good guy and, while he's stern, he's certainly patient with Philip's initial bigotry.

to:

* NiceGuy: As Philip does learn, Timothy Timothy's a pretty good guy and, while he's stern, he's certainly patient with Philip's initial bigotry.



* VagueAge:We don't know exactly how Timothy is (and he doesn't know either) but he's called "old". In ''Timothy of the Cay'', he does a lot of guessing as to how old he exactly he is. This plays into his advantage when it comes to getting jobs.

to:

* VagueAge:We VagueAge: We don't know exactly how Timothy is (and he doesn't know either) but he's called "old". In ''Timothy of the Cay'', he does a lot of guessing as to how old he exactly he is. This plays into his advantage when it comes to getting jobs.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Dewicked trope


* AdultFear: Grace was trying to avoid this trope by taking Philip back to Virginia because she felt unsafe with the German submarines around Curaçao, however, she ends up running into it, with the ''Hato'' being torpedoed and being separated from Philip, on top of not knowing what happened to him for months.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


--->'''Timothy''': "She started dis terrible whar, eh, young bahss?"

to:

--->'''Timothy''': -->'''Timothy''': "She started dis terrible whar, eh, young bahss?"



--->'''Philip''': "I'm sorry, guy, I have to work."

to:

--->'''Philip''': -->'''Philip''': "I'm sorry, guy, I have to work."
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


At first, Philip and Timothy don't really get along, as Philip doesn't really have the best view of black people like
Timothy.

to:

At first, Philip and Timothy don't really get along, as Philip doesn't really have the best view of black people like
like Timothy.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* ParentalSubstitute: Tante Hannah took in Timothy when he was baby, as mentioned in ''The Cay''. From what we can see, they were quite close, as Timothy thinks of her fondly, as, when he was out to sea for four years, he wanted to bring her back clothes, and, some time after she passed away, he renames his boat, the ''Tessie Crab'', to ''Hanna Gumbs'', after her.

to:

* ParentalSubstitute: Tante Hannah took in Timothy when he was baby, as mentioned in ''The Cay''. From what we can see, they were quite close, as close and Timothy thinks of her fondly, as, when he was out to sea for four years, he wanted to bring her back clothes, and, some time after she passed away, he renames his boat, the ''Tessie Crab'', to ''Hanna Gumbs'', after her.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

It's WWII and Philip Enright and his mom, Grace, are going back home to Virginia. Philip didn't want to go but with German submarines around Curaçao, his mom insisted. When they're on their way back to the US, the S.S. ''Hato'' gets torpedoed and a blinded Philip gets stranded with an elderly guy named Timothy and, a cat named Stew Cat. They make their way to an island in the Devil's Mouth region of the Caribbean.

At first, Philip and Timothy don't really get along, as Philip doesn't really have the best view of black people like
Timothy.

In 1993, Theodore Taylor released ''Timothy of the Cay'', a {{prequel}} centered around Timothy.
!Tropes associated with ''The Cay'':
*AdultFear: Grace was trying to avoid this trope by taking Philip back to Virginia because she felt unsafe with the German submarines around Curaçao, however, she ends up running into it, with the ''Hato'' being torpedoed and being separated from Philip, on top of not knowing what happened to him for months.
*AnimalMotif: Briefly, Philip the German submarines' arrival to hungry sharks.
*BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Philip (with Stew Cat) is rescued from the Devil's Mouth, eventually, but it's after Timothy succumbed to his injuries from the hurricane and he's left to survive without him. Later, he has surgeries and gets his sight back.]]
*BookDumb: Timothy is pretty knowledgeable with fishing, shelter building, and surviving without the usual comforts but he's really fascinated with Philip's knowledge about islands. However, this plays into why he's superstitious, as he never went to school.
*DisabledMeansHelpless: A blinded Philip relies on Timothy to survive.
*EmpathyPet: Stew Cat plays this role. When Philip starts to cry, Stew Cat comes
*FlatCharacter: Philip's parents don't have a lot of characterization to them, besides that Philip Sr. works a lot and Grace is racist, homesick, and overprotective.
*FunetikAksent: Timothy's accent is written as this. Example:
--->'''Timothy''': "She started dis terrible whar, eh, young bahss?"
*InnocentBigot: Philip had some prejudices towards black people, like Timothy. He, at first, thinks black people are more different than him when he sees Timothy eat a raw fish (seeing that freaks him out), assumes Timothy (and all black people) must be from Africa, is initially disgusted with interacted with Timothy, and calls Timothy " ugly and stupid" at one point. Of course, considering his mother's interactions with people of color and his own lack of interactions them, it's not hard to see why he has those views.
*MyBelovedSmother: Grace, in comparison to Henrik's mother, is rather overprotective.
--> My mother was always afraid I'd fall off the sea wall, or tumble out of a tree, or cut myself with a pocketknife. Henrik's mother wasn't that way. She laughed a lot. She said, "Boys, boys, boys."
*NiceGuy: As Philip does learn, Timothy a pretty good guy and, while he's stern, he's certainly patient with Philip's initial bigotry.
*ParentalAbandonment: Timothy doesn't remember his parents, just a woman called "Hannah Gumbs". We learn in ''Timothy of the Cay'' that he was abandoned as a baby.
*WhenYouComingHomeDad: Philip used to spend a lot of time with his dad, Philip Sr, but, WWII in full swing, the latter is always busy, even on Sunday.
--->'''Philip''': "I'm sorry, guy, I have to work."
*VagueAge:We don't know exactly how Timothy is (and he doesn't know either) but he's called "old". In ''Timothy of the Cay'', he does a lot of guessing as to how old he exactly he is. This plays into his advantage when it comes to getting jobs.

!!Tropes specific to ''Timothy of the Cay'':
*OnlyOneName: Though he would later go by "Timothy Gumbs" on license, Timothy still thinks of himself as just "Timothy" as he's never had a last name.
*ParentalSubstitute: Tante Hannah took in Timothy when he was baby, as mentioned in ''The Cay''. From what we can see, they were quite close, as Timothy thinks of her fondly, as, when he was out to sea for four years, he wanted to bring her back clothes, and, some time after she passed away, he renames his boat, the ''Tessie Crab'', to ''Hanna Gumbs'', after her.
*{{Prequel}}: The first half centers entirely around Timothy and what he was doing before he met Philip.
*SurvivorGuilt: Timothy, when the rest of the crew and passengers of the ''Hettie Redd'' drowned despite his best efforts to save them. He even wished he drowned in the storm.

Top