The Cay is a novel by Theodore Taylor. The plot of the book revolves around a twelve-year-old boy, Phillip, who, although born in the United States, lives on the Caribbean island of Curaçao due to his father's job at an oil company. However, World War II rages on and Phillip leaves the island on a steamboat with his mother. The steamer is torpedoed by a Nazi German submarine and Phillip is rescued by an old West Indian named Timothy, who pulls him aboard a life raft. The two float to a deserted bay, on which they struggle to survive, even more so after Phillip becomes blind from head trauma suffered when the ship sank. A major and vital element in any adventure novel is the inclusion of a hero or hero. heroin. In The Cay, Phillip is the hero. This twelve-year-old boy is the main character of the story, and his struggle for survival is depicted as the main problem of the book. Phillip is "transformed" by author Taylor into a character that a seventh grader at Deer Creek, or any other American middle school student, can relate to. The easiest aspect of Phillip to relate to ...