Ch. 3 Deep Water (William Douglas)
Main Points of the chapter:
When the writer was three or four years old, his father took him to the beach in California. The strong waves knocked him down.
When he saw the strong waves of water, his heart filled with horror.
When he was ten or eleven years old, he decided to learn to swim.
His mother warned him against the dangerous Yakima River.
So he chose the YMCA pool. It was a good place to learn swimming.
The pool was only two or three feet at the shallow end, while it was nine feet deep at the other end.
One day he went to the swimming pool. An eighteen year old muscular boy arrived there and playfully threw him into the deep side of the pool.
Douglas went straight to the bottom. He planned to make a big jump upon touching the bottom, rise to the surface, and paddle to the edge.
However, his three attempts failed, his lungs ached, his legs felt paralyzed, and he fainted.
He nearly drowned in the swimming pool and he thought that he was going to die.
Luckily, he was saved from drowning and brought out of the pool, and found himself vomiting beside the pool.
The incident left a permanent fear of water in his mind. He never went back to the pool. The fear of water remained with him.
It spoiled all his joy of fishing, boating and swimming.
It deprived him of the joy of canoeing, boating and swimming.
Finally, he decided to get an instructor and learn how to swim.
The instructor trained him systematically using a rope and pulley, teaching him how to inhale and exhale. Day by day, he made him a good swimmer.
Now he could swim miles across big rivers and lakes. To ensure he went to Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire and swam two miles.
The writer says, there is terror only in the fear of death; in death, there is peace. As President Roosevelt said, “All we have to fear is fear itself.
Very Short Type Q-Ans.
*Q. 1 Who is the writer of the story ‘Deep Water’?
Ans. William O Douglas
Q. 2 When the author was three years old, where did his father take him?*
Ans. To a beach in California
Q.3 Why did the author's mother warn him against the Yakima River?
Ans. Because the Yakima River was very treacherous and many people had drowned in it.
Q. 4 When the author was ten or eleven years old, what did he decide to learn?*
Ans. He decided to learn to swim
Q.5 What does YMCA stand for?*
Ans. For Young Men’s Christian Association
Q. 6 Why did Douglas think the YMCA pool was safe?
Ans. Because it was only two or three feet deep at the shallow end and nine feet deep at the other.
Q.7 What did the big boy do to the author?*
Ans. He picked him up and tossed him into the deep end of the pool
Q. 8 What did Douglas plan to do when his feet touched the bottom?
Ans. He planned to make a big jump, come to the surface, lie flat, and paddle to the edge.
Q. 9 What was the condition of his lungs and head during the drowning incident?
Ans. His lungs ached, his head throbbed, and his legs felt paralyzed like dead weights.
Q. 10 What revived unpleasant memories for the author?
Ans. His introduction to the Y.M.C.A. swimming pool.
Q. 11 How did the fear of water affect his personal life?
Ans. It ruined all his joy of fishing, canoeing, boating, and swimming.
Q. 12 Where did the author go to finally test that he had conquered his fear?
Ans. Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire.
*Q.13 Which river is mentioned in the story?*
Ans. Yakima river
Textual Questions
Q. 1 What is the ‘misadventure’ that William Douglas speaks about?
OR
What misadventure took place when Douglas was ten or eleven years 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 straight 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 the water, 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 did 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 of 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 the 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 a very dangerous river. The writer’s mother told him about the various drowning accidents 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 how to swim 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 touched the bottom, he would make a big jump, come to the surface, and lie flat on the surface. After that he would paddle to the edge of the pool
Q. 8 How did the instructor build Douglas into a swimmer?
Ans. The instructor adopted a methodical approach. He attached a rope to Douglas’s belt that ran through a pulley. He made him go back and forth across the pool for months, taught him to exhale under water and inhale above it, and trained him to kick his legs. Piece by piece, he built him a perfect swimmer.
Long-Answer
Q. 1 How did Douglas overcome his fear of 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. President Roosevelt said, “All we have to fear is fear itself.”
Q. 2 What is the theme of the lesson’ Deep 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 very 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.
*Important 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 – choking
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