The+Cay

[|Profile of Theodore Taylor] [|From his family and friends...] [|The Cay] [|Central America map] [|Central America map]



[|definition/pronunciation]

A **cay** (also spelled **key** or **quay**; pronounced as "key" IPA: /kiː/) is a small, low-elevation, sandy island formed on the surface of [|coral reefs]. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the [|Pacific], [|Atlantic] and [|Indian Oceans] (including in the Caribbean and on the [|Great Barrier Reef] and [|Belize Barrier Reef]), where they provide habitable and agricultural land for hundreds of thousands of people. Their surrounding reef ecosystems also provide food and building materials for island inhabitants.

//__**Setting**__// //The Cay// opens in February 1942 on the island of Curacao, then part of the Dutch West Indies. When Phillip is ship- wrecked, the setting shifts to an unnamed cay deep in the Devil's Mouth, long U-shaped coral banks in the Caribbean. Most of the action takes place between April and August of 1942, although the narrative actually concludes in April of 1943 and the entire book is written from the perspective of an adult Phillip recalling his childhood adventure.

[|Pics of Houses on Willemstad] [|Queen Emma Pontoon Bridge]

[|Battleship]

[] rafts []

[|Flying Fish] [|Resources]