The Cay Friendship Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #4

Something happened to me that day on the cay. I'm not quite sure what it was even now, but I had begun to change.

I said to Timothy, "I want to be your friend."

He said softly, "Young bahss, you'ave always been my friend."

I said, "Can you call me Phillip instead of young boss?"
"Phill-eep," he said warmly. (9.27-31)

Phillip eventually accepts Timothy as a friend and asks him to be his friend in return. Timothy says he's been Phillip's friend all along. What has changed in Phillip, and why? Why does Phillip ask Timothy to call him by his first name? What does this symbolize?

Quote #5

We talked for a long time when the rain began to slack off. Timothy asked me about my mother and father. I told him all about them and about how we live in Scharloo, getting very lonesome and homesick while I was telling him. He kept saying, "Ah, dat be true?" (10.7)

Timothy and Phillip become closer friends by sharing their stories. Hearing about each other's lives before their time on the island leads to a greater intimacy between the two.

Quote #6

I trusted Timothy, and kept telling myself that he wouldn't harm me, but it was the whole mysterious jumbi thing that was frightening. (11.51)

Though they are friends, there are still parts of Timothy's culture and background that are scary or confusing for Phillip. For example, he starts to briefly fear Timothy when the old man becomes convinced that Stew Cat is to blame for their bad luck on the island.