The Tragic Hero In The Cay By Theodore Taylor

In the novel The Cay about WWII, there are many hard things to deal with, one of which is a lost boy who experiences changes through obstacles bigger than most people will ever face. The war scares Phillip’s mother bringing him onto a ship on the way to Maryland, but as the trip enters day one, the ship is sunk, and Phillip is stranded with Timothy. Phillip and Timothy find an island that helps them survive. In the beginning of The Cay, Phillip is innocent, but through obstacles in the book he becomes afraid, and in the end he grows independent.

Courage is shown by doing something selfless. Andrew received a draft form the union army, and instead of going to fight the war like a man he chickened out.

In The Cay, Phillip’s character reveals that through many conflict he developed independence, coexistence, and bravery.

Two books can seem completely different from each other when judged by characteristics such as genre, plot, and theme. However, if people were to look at the books together and as a whole, they might notice one striking similarity between the two. That striking similarity is known as the hero’s journey. First observed and documented by Joseph Campbell, the hero’s journey is a concept in which heroes, or people who commit actions for the greater good, follow a three-step cycle known as departure, fulfillment, and return. At the first stage of the hero’s journey, the hero receives a call to an adventure that takes him from the comforts of his home. Next, at the most important stage of the hero’s journey, the hero begins to experience life

Sporting a fedora, suit and a cigarette in hand, leaning against a wall, the captivating anti-hero stands double crossed in the stereotypical L.A. noir genre. Right in the heat of World War II noir started to rise to the top and become a popular source of entertainment and instant distraction from reality. Many people were drawn to the anti-hero; they were drawn to the flawed characters who were the “heroes” despite their flaws. A hero embodies what people want to be, most consider noir anti-hero’s the same. You can idolize them in a story, but they all have specific characteristics that make the “hero,” themselves, just as vulnerable as everyone else. An anti-hero needs to be layered, complicated, and flawed that pushes the boundaries of what is right and what is wrong. They need an illustrated struggle that builds through growth so as the audience reads they can keep showing optimism for the anti-hero as they try to seek redemption. A novel by James M. Cain, Double Indemnity’s anti-hero Walter Neff has many flaws; flaws that are egotistical and murderous, but also manipulative and powerful. Just like Walter Neff, a recent character that is the epitome of an anti-hero is, Frank Underwood in the show House of Cards. Frank started at the bottom and with his anti-hero characteristics powered his way to presidency putting many morals aside and doing what he thought was the only option to achieve what he wanted. With complex motives, a driven mindset, and no boundaries, the

Odysseus is the hero of The Odyssey. He completes a long and difficult journey with one goal in mind- to return to Ithaca. The journey of Odysseus reflects The Hero's Journey, as written by Joseph Campbell in The Hero with a Thousand Faces.

Phillip demonstrates independence after experiencing the hurricane and death of Timothy as evidenced in the novel when he was able to survive by himself on the cay after Timothy’s death. At the beginning, Phillip is obviously dependent and needy as shown when he is left alone on the island by Timothy for the first time. On chapter 8, pages 65-66, Phillip has been left alone and he is scared of all the noises on the island. He wonders if Timothy checked for scorpions, and screams for Timothy. This shows that Phillip was reliant on Timothy to keep him safe, and therefore, he was not independent. His independence does not just surface suddenly, though. This trait takes time to develop. This is evidenced in chapter 13, when Timothy teaches Phillip to fish and Phillip tells us that,”Every day after that I did all the fishing.

In the text, it says, “Louie saw a discarded apple box nearby. Remembering his boy scout training, he pried a slat from it, fit a stick into a hole in the slat, wound a bootlace around the stick, and began alternately pulling the ends, turning the stick until it began to smoke… The mat whooshed into flames. The men gathered to warm themselves” (173). This statement shows that Louie is a resourceful person, because of how he used what he already knew and made a small fire for not only him, but also the other prisoners to warm themselves with.

In the book “The Cay” by Theodore Taylor, the main character Philip is undergoing many changes throughout the novel. In the cay Philip's character reveals that throughout many conflicts he developed, independence, maturity, and relief.

When Graham loses his wife in a tragic accident he starts questioning his faith, since god

Philip demonstrates bravery after experiencing a shortness of food as evidence in the novel when he climbed the tree for coconuts to eat. In the beginning Philip was very fearful of the island and was all on it. “It was of course not being able to see that made all the sounds so frightening.”(pg. 65-66) The quote explains how Philip felt about the island and how it scared him. Towards the middle Phillip becomes very curious about what all actually is on the island and how he's going to survive. “ I don't know how we'll get it all done.” (pg. 116) Philip is on the island fixing everything and is curious how to do it and get it done. By the end Philip has become very brave with the island and is doing things he would never do. “I think it was the fifth afternoon of this week that I blurted out to

When you want to understand ancient culture you don’t only need to understand what they did, their activities, or what they ate, you need to understand the myths and stories from those ancient cultures. Joseph Campbell wrote that even if most myths are different and have different heroes, they all follow the same path of The Hero’s Journey. In the myth of Atalanta, the Heroine from the Myth of Atalanta, Atalanta, does indeed follow all the three stages of The Hero’s Journey by Joseph Campbell: Departure, Decisive Victory, and The Return.

Courage or the act of being courageous is something that can depict if a person is being weak. This act ties into the classic tale when identifying the strength it took Sundiata to walk. Sundiata was at an age where other young boys were gathering objects for their mothers and he simply could not, due to the fact that he was unable to walk. However, “In a great effort he straightened up and was on his feet at one go, but the great bar of iron was twisted and had taken the form of a bow.” (Page 21) A boy who once couldn't walk was now walking. He who once had to depend on his mother can now be the one his mother depends on. Thus, “ When Sogolon saw her son standing she stood dumb for a moment, then suddenly she sang these words of thanks to god who had given her son the use of his legs”. (Page 21) Sogolon was so discouraged to the point where the sight of her son’s slow development became an embarrassment. She soon became joyful of the courage

Since its initial distribution, The Wounded Storyteller by Arthur W. Frank, has utilized an exclusive place within the body of work on the disease. This book has reached an outsized and diverse audience or readers, including the sick, health professionals and scholars of literary theories of sickness. Both the collective portrait which was known as the “remission society” of those who experience some type of disease or disability and a compelling analysis of their stories within a larger framework of the narrative theory. This book presents sick people as wounded storytellers.

Philip has a lot to blame for the outcome in the novel. He was a distraction during the Star-Spangled Banner. In the beginning of class he didn't like Miss Narwin and wanted out of her classes. Philip would constantly hum during the National Anthem, he doesn't stop when Miss Narwin told him to stop. Miss Narwin said, “Is that you Philip?” Philip told her that he was just humming, Miss narwin then asked, “Please stop it,” (Wortis 43) . Philip also lied to his parents about not trying out for track. Philip would not share with his parents about his bad grade in