Deep Water (William Douglas)

Short Answer Type Questions (2marks)

1. Why did mother warn Douglas against River Yakima?

Or
Why was the Yakima river dangerous?
Mother warned Douglas against River Yakima, as it was treacherous. Very deceptive to look
at, this apparently harmless river had claimed several lives. Mother didn’t want her eleven
year old son to go anywhere near it. So she warned him against the river.

2. In what way was the YMCA pool safe for those who wished to learn swimming?
The pool at YMCA was safe for the learners. It was just 2 or 3 feet deep at the shallow end
and nine feet deep at the other end. The slope was gradual. Thus, it was not risky for the
learner.
3. Why did Douglas have an initial aversion for water?
Or
What fear did Douglas develop in his childhood?
Or
What impact did the incident at California beach have on little Douglas?
At the age of 3 or 4 years, Douglas was once knocked down by the waves at California beach.
The waves swept over him and he was buried under them. The overpowering force of water
terrorized him and he developed a long lasting aversion for water which resurfaced once again
at the YMCA pool.

4. What is the misadventure that William Douglas speaks about?

Or
Which misadventure took place at the YMCA pool?
At the age of eleven Douglas began to learn swimming in Y.M.C.A. Swimming pool. One
morning he was sitting on the edge of the pool. He was alone at that time. A strong young man
approached to Douglas, picked up and threw him in the deepest part of the swimming pool.
He was almost drowned. He speaks about this misadventure.

5. What were the series of emotions and fears that Douglas experienced when he was
thrown into the pool? What plans did he make to come to the surface?
Or
When Douglas was sinking, how did he plan to save himself?
A strong young man threw Douglas into the water of YMCA Swimming pool just out of fun.
Douglas started going down gradually into the water. He was terrified. He decided to jump as
soon as his feet touched the bottom of the pool. However, as he jumped, he did not spring
upwards. Rather he went down. There was water all around. Only his nose was out of water.
He started his downwards journey once again. An irresistible force brought him down. He felt
afraid and was paralyzed with fear. Terror seized him. He called for rescue but no one came.
Then blackness swept over him. He lost fear. There was no panic. He felt relaxed.

[Link] did the misadventure at YMCA pool affect Douglas?

Or
How did the haunting fear of water ruin his fishing trips, canoeing and swimming?
Or
What happened to Douglas, once he was rescued?
Or
How did Douglas feel after being rescued?
At the age of eleven William Douglas started learning swimming. One day as he sat alone on
the edge of YMCA pool, a young man for fun threw Douglas into the deep end of the pool.
Douglas was almost drowned. On regaining consciousness after being rescued, Douglas found
himself lying on his stomach and vomiting. The experience left him weak and trembling. He
shook and cried when he lay on his bed. He couldn’t eat that night and was haunted by fear for
days. The slightest exertion upset him making him wobble in the knees and sick to his
stomach. He developed an aversion to the pool. It took him years and persistent efforts and
training to overcome the fear.

7. Why was Douglas determined to get over his fear of water?

Or
What joys did his fear of water deprive him of?
The fear, Douglas had experienced in the YMCA pool, haunted him for years. As he got near
the water, terror seized him. It deprived him of the joy of canoeing, boating, fishing and
swimming. Thus, he decided to overcome his fear of water.

[Link] did the instructor build a swimmer out of Douglas?

Or
How did Douglas shed his fear of water bit by bit?
The instructor put a belt around Douglas. A rope was attached to the belt through a pulley.
The instructor held the end of the rope. It helped Douglas to feel secure as he went forth and
back in the pool. However, when the instructor let go the rope, Douglas felt afraid. Then the
instructor held him on the side of the pool, and made him kick with his legs. He taught
Douglas to put his face under the water and, how to exhale. Thus, the instructor built a
swimmer out of Douglas piece by piece till each piece was perfected.

9. How did Douglas make sure that he conquered the old terror?
Or
How did Douglas try and overcome his lingering fear?
Or
How has terror been personified by Douglas?
Or
 “Well, Mr. Terror, what do you think you can do to me?” When does Douglas make this
statement?
Having been trained for six months, Douglas was still not sure that he had overcome his terror
of water. Feeling of fear seized him every time when he dived into the water. So to clear his
doubt he moved to Lake Wentworth and then to warm Lake. Once he was terrified but he
laughed at fear and remarked, “Well, Mr. Terror, what do you think you can do to me?” The
fear fled away and he swam on. Then, he felt satisfied.

[Link] lesson do you learn from the story?

Or
‘All we have to fear is fear itself.’ Explain.
Or
What deep meaning did the conquering of fear have?
The lesson conveys the message that it is not death but the fear of death that instills terror
and anxiety in our minds. Moreover, clinging to the past fears can spoil one’s present. We
should make endless efforts to overcome the fear. Facing challenges and overcoming them is
very important, for only those people are victorious who are brave. Roosevelt’s remark is
quite apt, “All we have to fear is fear itself.”

Long Answer Type Questions (6 marks)

What is the “misadventure” that William Douglas speaks about?

Or
The incident at the YMCA pool managed to compound the situation further. What was the
incident and what was the situation that was compounded?
Or
What were the series of emotions and fears that Douglas experienced when he was thrown
into the pool? What plans did he make to come to the surface? How did this experience affect
him?
Or
What did Douglas mean by saying, “I was frightened, but not yet frightened out of my wits”?
William Douglas had unpleasant memories about overpowering force of water waves at
California beach when he was three or four years old. He was knocked down by a powerful
wave while he was with his father. In spite of this unpleasant experience of childhood, he was
determined to learn swimming to get rid of the terror in his heart. When he was about eleven,
he dared enter the YMCA pool because it was considered safe.

One day he went to the pool when no one else was there. He was timid about going in alone.
So he sat on the side of the pool and waited for others to come. Then a big boy of about
eighteen, who had sparkling muscles, picked him up and tossed him into the deep water. He
landed in a sitting position, swallowed water and went at once to the bottom. He was
frightened and a sense of panic gripped him. Before he touched the bottom, his lungs were
ready to burst. But when his feet hit the bottom, he summoned all his strength and made a
great spring upwards. He imagined that he would jump up to the surface like cork. Instead he
came up slowly. He opened his eyes and saw nothing but water. He grew panicky and was
suffocating.

He flailed at the surface of the water, swallowed and choked. He tried to bring his legs up, but
they hung as dead weights, paralyzed and rigid. A great force was pulling him under water. He
had started on the long journey back to the bottom of the swimming pool. He was almost
drowned. Then a blackness swept over him. Now there was no panic, no terror. He felt sleepy,
flying in space with mother’s like arms around him.

When he regained consciousness, he found himself lying on his stomach and vomiting. After
this misadventure, he never went back to the pool. He feared water and avoided it whenever
he could. The haunting fear deprived him of the joy of canoeing, boating and swimming.

Why was Douglas determined to learn swimming? What did he do to conquer the fear of
water?
Or
How did Douglas overcome his fear of water?
Or
How did instructor build a swimmer out of Douglas?
Or
Why did Douglas want to learn swimming inspite of the unpleasant memories and an
aversion to water? What did he do to fight his fear of water?
Or
How did Douglas make sure that he conquered the old terror?
Or
‘All we have to fear is fear itself.’ Explain.
Douglas had unpleasant memories about overpowering force of water. The haunting fear of
water deprived him of the joy of canoeing, boating and swimming. But he had an element of
fighting spirit over the hurdles, obstacles and fears checking his progress in life. So, in order to
overcome his fear of water, he engaged an instructor to learn how to swim. The instructor put
a belt around Douglas. A rope was attached to the belt through a pulley. The instructor held
the end of the rope. It helped Douglas to feel secure as he went forth and back in the pool.
However, when the instructor let go the rope, Douglas felt afraid. Whenever he went under
water, some of the old terror returned and his legs froze. It was three months before the
tension began to slack. Then the instructor taught him to put his face under water and exhale
and to raise his nose to inhale. He repeated this exercise hundreds of times. Gradually, he shed
a part of the panic.

Next he held him at the side of the pool and had him kick with his legs. For weeks he had just
that. In the beginning his legs did not work but finally he could command them. Gradually, he
became a swimmer. When he swam the length up and down, tiny vestiges of the old terror
would return. But he had gained confidence and could frown and say to the terror “Trying to
scare me, eh? Well, here’s to you! Look!” And off he would go for another length of the pool.

Still he was not satisfied. So he went to Lake Wentworth and swam two miles across the lake
to Stamp Act Island. Once the terror did return. But he laughed and said, “Well, Mr. Terror,
what do you think you can do to me?” It fled and he swam on.

Yet he had residual doubts. He dived into the Warm Lake and swam across to the other shore
and back. Then he shouted with joy as he had conquered his fear of water.