Question

1. Think about the themes that are developed and emerge through the characters and events in the novel. Is The Cay a story that is mostly about relationships or survival? Decide which theme the story is mostly about. Support your position using specific examples and evidence from the story
In his famous speech at the March on Washington in 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “I
have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be
judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
Theodore Taylor published The Cay six years later, in 1969. The dedication to the novel read:
“To Dr. King’s dream, which can only come true if the very young know and understand.”
What does Taylor want young people to “know and understand”? How will this help Dr.
King’s dream come true? Explain what the dedication means and how the message of the book
is connected to Dr. King’s dream. Use at least two details from the novel to support your
answer




This question asks about your work in your reading character role. You may use your reading
selection to help you answer the question.
What impact did the novel have on you as a reader? Would you recommend the novel to a
friend? Why or why not? Support your response with at least two pieces of evidence from the
novel.

Answer 1

1. The Cay is mostly about relationships, it teach us how leaving apart differences and prejudices can lead to mutual cooperation and friendship. This is shown when Philip becomes blind and stops discriminating Timothy for being black, realizing that what matters is not the skin color, but the heart, thoughts and ideas of a person.

2. Taylor wants young people to understand that, what makes different a person from another is not their skin color or their appearance, it is what's in their mind, their ideas and thoughts. If the young understand this, then people will stop considering being black as a difference, and will learn to see further and judge only by the content of the character of a person.

The examples are when Philip stops discriminating Timothy for being black, because due to his blindness this is not a remarkable characteristic anymore, and when he realizes how good is Timothy and how wrong he as for making unfair judgements.

3. This novel has opened my mind to a new way of thinking, which is giving people the opportunity to show themselves as they are before making any judgment by their appearance.

I would recommend this novel to any friend that shows a racist or even xenophobic behaviour, to teach them to be tolerant. For example, at the beginning Philip was racist but his mind completely changed when he realizes that we are all the same and the skin color doesn't represent a difference.