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   bullgatortail Teacher
   High School - 12th Grade

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       Phillip's blindness contributed greatly to his fear of solitude whenever Timothy left him by himself in the Theodore Taylor novel, The Cay. Phillip ordered Timothy to never leave him alone at one point, but he later realized the folly of this request as well as the necessity for Timothy to work and fish without him. However, Phillip's fear nearly overwhelmed him in Chapter 11 when it appeared that Timothy was going to put Stew Cat to death. Timothy was certain he was a jinx.

       I knew he was looking at Stew Cat when he said, "Mebbe dat outrageous cat is d'jumbi."

   Soon, Timothy and Stew Cat--and the raft--had disappeared. Phillip walked the entire island in search of the cat, but it was not until later that Timothy dropped the feline in his lap. Phillip had removed the cat from the island, all right: He had put the cat on the raft until he had finished

   ... carving a wooden cat, a Stew Cat. The nails in it were supposed to kill the evil jumbi. 

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   Posted by bullgatortail on Monday November 9, 2009 at 7:25 PM