There are two main conflicts in The Cay: Phillip and Timothy's survival when they are shipwrecked and marooned on an island, and Phillip's ability to overcome the racism he feels toward Timothy.
When Phillip and Timothy are marooned, they have only the few supplies from the lifeboat, and the island has no water source. In addition, they have little hope of escape, as Timothy reluctantly admits to Phillip that he knows the island's location is remote. Phillip is also blind as the result of an injury he sustained during the shipwreck. Timothy and Phillip work together to find food, water, shelter, and everything else they need to survive.
The second conflict is Phillip overcoming racism. His blindness comes on after he has seen Timothy and has had a chance to form an opinion of him. Then he is suddenly dependent on Timothy for everything and has no choice but to learn from him. Phillip selfishly thinks that Timothy is just lazy and doesn't want to do the work himself, but it later occurs to him that Timothy thinks he might not live long, and Phillip would be left alone. Timothy coaxes him into helping, and Phillip learns that he can rely on his other senses and gradually becomes self-sufficient. This is crucial, because Timothy dies and Phillip is left alone on the island. Without Timothy's help, Phillip would not have survived until rescue.
It is also relevant to note their ages. Phillip is a kid and Timothy an old man. Timothy is the natural leader, but he is black, and therefore Phillip considers himself superior.
My father had always taught me to address anyone I took to be an adult as "mister," but Timothy didn't seem to be a mister. Besides, he was black.
Timothy refers to Phillip as "young bahss" until Phillip asks him to call him by his first name. This symbolizes Phillip beginning to regard Timothy as an equal.
When Phillip returns home after being rescued, he spends time with Timothy's friends and is less interested in the friends he had before his ordeal. In short, he has grown up.
One of the conflicts in the book is Phillip's quest to overcome his racism and immaturity. At the beginning of the book, his mother instills racist values in him. After he leaves Curaçao and is marooned on the island with Timothy, a black man, Phillip has to overcome his inherent racism to appreciate that Timothy is not there merely to serve him. Phillip is overbearing and selfish, and he does not believe that he has to listen to Timothy. In addition, stunned by his sudden blindness, Phillip wants to become entirely dependent on Timothy.
Over time, however, Phillip overcomes the personality issues of his youth and begins to appreciate Timothy and treat him as a friend. In addition, with Timothy's help, Phillip begins to regain the mobility and independence he needs to survive, and he is forced to use these skills after Timothy dies on the island. The resolution of Phillip's conflict is that he gains the maturation and skills to be independent and more tolerant.
The central conflict is a man vs. nature conflict. Phillip and Timothy are stranded on a small island, and the two men must struggle to survive in the face of overwhelming odds. The struggle to survive is made even more difficult by the physical limitations that both Phillip and Timothy have. Phillip has been blinded and Timothy is aging and no longer 100% healthy. That conflict is only half resolved by the end of the book though. Timothy does not survive the island. Only Phillip eventually survives to be rescued from the island. He is reunited with his family and friends, but Phillip has changed so much that he feels distanced from his former friend Henrik. Phillip's eyesight is restored by an operation, and the story closes with Phillip desiring to find a way to get back to the tiny island.
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