Updated on 18/07/2021
Ch. 3 Deep Water
Topic- Main Points of Ch. Deep Water
Main Points of the
chapter:
Ø When the writer was three or four
years old, his father took him to the beach in California.
Ø When he saw the strong waves of
water, his heart filled with horror.
Ø When he was ten or eleven years old,
he decided to learn to swim.
Ø There was a pool at the YMCA in
Yakima; it was good place to learn swimming.
Ø The pool was only two or three feet
at the shallow end, while it was nine feet deep at the other end.
Ø One day he went to a swimming pool. A
boy of eighteen came here, he threw him into the deep side of the pool.
Ø He was nearly drowned in the swimming
pool and he thought that he was going to die.
Ø Luckily, he was saved from drowning
and brought out of the pool.
Ø He never back to the pool. The fear
of water remained with him.
Ø It spoiled all his joy of fishing,
boating and swimming.
Ø Finally, he decided to get an
instructor and learn to swim.
Ø The instructor made him a good
swimmer. Now he could swim miles across big rivers and lakes.
Ø The writer says, there is terror only
in the fear of death, in death, there is peace.
*3. Deep Water (William O Douglas)*
Very Short Type Q-Ans.
*Q. 1 What does YMCA stand for?*
Ans. For Young Men’s Christian Association
*2 Which river is mentioned in the story?*
Ans. Yakima river
*Q. 3 When the author was three years old, where did his father take him?*
Ans. The beach in California
*Q. 4 When the author was ten or eleven years old, what did he decide to learn?*
Ans. To swim
*Q. 5 What was the condition of his legs?*
Ans. They seemed paralyzed
*Q. 6 Where did the author go in order to overcome his fear of water?*
Ans. Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire
*Q. 7 Who is the writer of the story ‘Deep Water’?*
Ans. William O Douglas
*Q. 8 What revived unpleasant memories to the author?*
Ans. His introduction to the Y.M.C.A. swimming pool
*Q. 9 What was his condition when he was going down in the water?*
Ans. His lungs ached, his head throbbed and he was
getting dizzy
*Q. 10 What did the big boy to do the author?*
Ans. He picked him up and tossed him into the deep end of the pool
Q. 1 What is the ‘misadventure’ that William Douglas speak about?
OR
What misadventure took place when Douglas was ten or eleven year old?
Ans. William Douglas speaks about the ‘misadventure’ that he experienced at the YMCA swimming pool. Once there came a big boy on the pool when he was alone there. The boy picked up the author and threw him into the deep end of the pool. Douglas went once to the bottom, he feared to be drowned. However,, some people saved him. This is the misadventure, he speaks about.
Q. 2 Why was Douglas determined to get over his fear of water?
Ans. The fear of water hunted Douglas for many years. Whenever he tried to enter water, the fear seized him. It ruined all his joy of boating, fishing and swimming. That is why he was determined to get over his fear of water.
Q. 3 How Douglas make sure that he conquered the old terror?
Ans. Douglas learnt how to swim. But whenever he was alone in the pool, the signs of the old terror would return. He wanted to get rid from that fear. So he went to Lake Wentworth. He swam there for two miles. Thus, he conquered his fear of water.
Q. 4 What did the author’s mother tell him about Yakima river?
Ans. When he was ten or eleven years old, he decided to learn swimming. The Yakima River flowing through the writer’s state where he could learn swimming. But it was very dangerous river. The writer’s mother told him about the various drowning accident in it.
Q. 5 How did Douglas finally overcome his fear of water?
Ans. The instructor had done his job. He made Douglas a perfect swimmer. However, Douglas was not sure of himself. So he went to Lake Wentworth. He swam for two hours across the Lake. Only once did the terror return. But it soon fled and he swam on. At last, he had overcome his fear of water.
Q. 6 Why did Douglas think that the YMCA pool was safe?
Ans. Douglas wanted to learn swimming. He decided to learn swimming in the YMCA pool. He felt that the YMCA pool was safe. Because it was only two or three feet deep in the beginning. And It was only nine feet deep at the other end.
Q. 7 What did Douglas plan to do when the big boy threw him into the pool?
Ans. When the big boy threw him into the pool then he made a plan that when his feet touch the bottom, he would make a big jump, come to the surface, he flat on the surface. After that he would paddle to the edge of the pool
Topic- Essay Type Question-Answers of Chapter ‘Deep Water’
Ans. Douglas had experienced a misadventure at the YMCA swimming pool. It left a deep impression on his mind. The fear of water stayed with him for many years. When he was ten or eleven years old, he decided to learn swimming. So he got an instructor to teach him how to swim. He went to a pool. He practiced there swimming five days a week, an hour a day. The instructor was an experienced person. He put a belt round him. A rope was attached to the belt. The rope went through a pulley. Douglas was made to go back and forth across the pool. Then he taught Douglas how to exhale and inhale while in water. Thus, by slow step, the instructor made him a perfect swimmer. However, Douglas was not sure that his terror of water had left him. So he went to Lake Wentworth. He swam two miles across the lake. Only once he had the sensation of his old fear. At last he conquered his fear of water.
Ans. Douglas recounts his childhood ‘misadventure.’ He describes how he was tossed into the pool by a big boy. He was nearly drowned in the pool. He was much frightened. This fear of water remained with him for years. But later, he decided to be a perfect swimmer. He employed an instructor to learn to swim. The instructor transformed Douglas into a perfect swimmer. Even after that, he continued practicing swimming. Finally, he was able to overcome his fear of water.
‘Deep water’ is not just a childhood experience of terror and conquering of that terror. It has a deeper and larger meaning. Douglas wants to convey a message through it. It is the message of hope, struggle and determinism. The psychology of fear is very complex. In death there is peace. There is terror only in the fear of death. Roosevelt has rightly said’ All we have to fear is fear itself’ Douglas experienced both the sensation of dying and the terror of it.
*Ch. 3 Deep Water (William Douglas)*
*Important Spellings & Word-meanings*
*Spellings*
American
Experience
Swimming
Terrifying
Treacherous
Misadventure
Opportunity
California
Introduction
Unpleasant
Confidence
Beginning
Suffocating
Paralysed
Electricity
Columbia
Instructor
*Word-meanings*
Excerpt – part
Shallow – not deep
Treacherous – dangerous
Bruiser – muscular man
Suffocating – chocking
Paralyzed – unable to move
Exhale – breathe out
Inhale – breathe in
Misadventure – bad incident
Rippling – waving
Nightmare – bad dream
Ache – pain
Stark – complete
Drowsy – sleepy
Opportunity – chance
Tinge – colour
Stripped – took off clothes