Deep Water by William Douglas

SUMMARY OF THE STORY

Values raised: - Determination, optimism, perseverance, diligence, openness & willingness to embrace challenges, courage, persistence, endurance, resilience etc.

The experience: - The story left a deep meaning. It was a unique experience. It left a deep imprint on the narrator’s mind. He had experienced the feelings, the sensation of dying and the terror that fear can produce. His terror of water and his conquest of it gave him an insight into the meaning of life and death. He felt there is peace in death. So, he lived more intensely. He enjoyed life.                                                                                                                                                    

Knocked down by a wave:- Douglas was about four years old. He visited a beach with his father. They stood in the surf. A powerful wave swept over him and knocked him down. He was buried in water. He was terrified. He avoided water after that.

                                                                                                                                                                                  

Decided to Learn to Swim:- The narrator decided to learn to swim. Swimming in the Yakima River was quite dangerous. Quite a few people had been drowned in it. His mother had warned against it. There was a pool at Y.M.C.A It offered him a good opportunity. But the Y.M.C.A. Pool was safe for swimming. It was 2 to 3 feet deep at the shallow end. At the deep end it was nine feet. The slope/drop was gradual. Douglas decided to learn swimming there. William Douglas had an aversion to the water from the beginning. He was frightened. The Y.M.C.A. Pool revived those fears.                                                                                                                                                                    

The Misadventure at Y.M.C.A pool:- He brought a pair of water wings and went to the pool. He paddled with water wings. He imitated others. Once the narrator was alone at the pool. He didn't dare to go inside the water alone. Then, came a big bully of a boy. He cried “Hi Skinny!” Then he picked the narrator up and tossed him into the deep end. Douglas hit the water surface in a sitting position and began to sink to the bottom slowly. He was frightened but not out of his wits. He decided to spring from the bottom of the pool as soon as his toes touched it. He hoped he would bob like a cork to the surface. Then he would lie flat and paddle to the edge of the pool.

He grew panicky but accumulated his wits                                                                                                                                     

1. First attempt to save himself:- Those nine feet were more likely ninety. His lungs were ready to burst. But when he hit the bottom, he gathered all his strength. As soon as his toes touched the tiled floor of the pool, Douglas bounced with all his strength. But he came up slowly. He opened his eyes. He could see only water. He was panicked and suffocating. He tried to call for help but no sound came out. Finally, his eyes and nose came out of the water. He beat his arms. He tried to raise his legs. But they hung like dead weights. He felt something was pulling him downward again.

2. Second attempt:-He moved downward. He had spent up all his energy. His lungs ached and his head throbbed. He was dizzy. But fortunately he could remember his strategy. Once again he sprang from the bottom of the pool. He was paralyzed, stiff and rigid. When he jumped he could see only water around him. Then suddenly he reached the surface. His eyes and nose came out of the water. But he began to go down once again.

3. Third attempt:- Then all his efforts ceased. He crossed to oblivion. He was relaxed and felt like sleeping. There was no fear. There was no panic. It was all quiet and peaceful. He felt as if he was floating in space. He grew unconscious.

4. Douglas was saved:-When Douglas regained his consciousness, he realized he had been saved. He was lying on his stomach. He was vomiting. He heard voices. Someone said he had  nearly died. The young man who had thrown him into the pool said that he had done it out of fun.

Fear haunts him: - After some time Douglas went home. The icy horror of pool incident grabbed his heart. He was weak and trembling. A few years later he went to the waters of the Cascades. He wished to wade into them. The terror seized him again. His legs were paralyzed. Whenever and wherever he went fishing, canoeing, bathing and swimming, he was seized with terror.                                                                                                                                                            

Got an Instructor and learnt Swimming:- Finally, Douglas decided to get an instructor to help him overcome his fear of water.  He practiced five days a week. The instructor put a belt around Douglas and attached the belt to a rope. He held the end of the rope as they moved up and down the pool. It was three months before the tension began to disappear. He made Douglas put his face under water and exhale and  taught the narrator how to raise his nose and inhale. He held Douglas on the side of the pool, and made him kick with his legs. He was with Douglas for about six months. When he felt that Douglas was able to swim alone, his work was done.       

                                                 

At last he conquered his fear:- Though Douglas was able to swim the length of the pool up and down, he was not sure that the old fear had left him completely. So, he went to Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire. He dived off a dock at Triggs Island. He swam two miles across the lake to Stamp Act Island. He used all the strokes he knew. Only once the terror returned. But Douglas was able to overcome it at once.                                                                                         

The lesson we learnt:-                                         

1. Fear of water ( Hydrophobia) 

2. The emotional , mental and physical struggle and paralyzing fear of drowning  

3.“All we have to fear is fear itself” Roosevelt. 

4.To be conquered by fear is a failure and to win over fear is success. 

5. Fear of mind which restricts once actions and denies his success.

PERSISTENCE :- 

1.The path of success is bitter but its fruits are sweet. 

2. The fact of continuing in an opinion or course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition. 

3. The desire to achieve a goal leads to an empowering will. 

4. To be in the water of death and to come out into life by swimming. 

5. He reverted sarcastically to the tiny vestiges of fear that would grip him time and again until all of it vanished away. 

6.He realized that fear was merely a crop of the mind.                                                                                                                                       

QUESTION-ANSWER

1. Which other exercise did the Instructor prescribe for Douglas to make him shed the panic caused by water?

He taught Douglas to put his face under water and exhale. Then he was to raise his nose and inhale. He repeated this exercise hundreds of time. Bit by bit he shed part of the panic that seized him when his head went under water.

2.Which exercise helped Douglas to loosen his stiff legs and make them work as he desired?

The Instructor held Douglas at the side of the swimming pool. Then he made Douglas kick lift his legs. He did just that for weeks .At first his legs refused to work. But gradually they relaxed. Finally, he was able to control them.

3.Why does Douglas say: ‘The Instructor was finished. But I was not finished?’                                                                                         

How did he overpower tiny vestiges of the old terror?

The Instructor’s work was over when he built a swimmer out of Douglas bit by bit and then put them together into an integrated whole. However, Douglas was not satisfied as the remnants of the old fear would return when he swam alone in the pool. He would frown on terror go for another length of the pool. He wanted to overcome the last bit of fear from his mind.

4. Why did Douglas go to Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire? How did he make his terror flee ?

Douglas was not sure whether all the terror had left even after the training from October to April and practice till July. So, he went to Lake Wentworth and swam two miles. Terror returned only once when he was in the middle of the lake. He had put his face under and saw nothing but bottomless water. The old sensation returned once. But he laughed and swam on.

5. What was the first piece of exercise the Instructor gave Douglas? How long did it take to yield the desired result?

The instructor made him go across the pool an hour a day for five days with the help of a rope attached to his belt. The rope went through a pulley that ran on an overhead cable. The instructor held on to the end of the rope. They went back and forth across the pool. A bit of panic seized him every time. Moreover, the old fear returned and his legs froze when the instructor loosened his grip on the rope and Douglas went under water. It was after three months that the tension began to decrease.

6. How did Douglas react to the frightening experience (i) that day and (ii) later when he came to know the waters of the Cascades?

(i) He walked home after several hours. He was weak and trembling. He shook and cried when he lay on his bed. He couldn’t eat that night. A haunting fear was there in his heart. The slightest exertion upset him. He felt sick to his stomach.                                                                                                                                                                                                         

(ii) Whenever he waded the Tieton or Bumping River or bathed in Warm Lake of Goat Rocks, the fear that had seized him in the pool would come back. This terror would take possession of him completely. His legs would become paralysed.Icy horror would grab his heart.

7.“This handicap stayed with me as the years rolled by.” How did it affect his pursuits for pleasure?

The haunting fear of water followed Douglas everywhere. He rowed in canoes on Maine lakes fishing for landlocked salmon. He went for bass fishing in New Hampshire, trout fishing on the Deschutes and Metolius in Orjegon, fishing for salmon on the Columbia, at Bumping Lake in the Cascades. Fear ruined his fishing trips. It deprived him of the joy of canoeing, boating, and swimming.

8. I crossed to oblivion, and the curtain of life fell.’ How did Douglas experience the sensation of dying before he actually crossed to oblivion? (OR) Douglas presents before us the true experience of dying which is not frightening but peaceful. Explain.

Douglas’ experience of dying in the YMCA pool taught him an untold mystery about death. As Douglas went down the pool the third time, he swallowed more water. All his efforts to rescue himself ceased. One is left with no other choice than dying, a sort of peace wraps him. A blackness swept over his brain and it wiped out fear and terror. There was no more panic. It was quiet and peaceful. He says it is a peaceful experience to die. People generally think of death as a frightening experience. But Douglas says nothing to be afraid of. One feels it nice, to be drowsy, to go to sleep. It is a feeling of being carried gently, to float along in space, tender arms around us, tender arms like Mother’s.

9. ‘In the midst of the terror came a touch of reason.’ How did the two forces work in opposite direction and how did Douglas fare?

Reason told him to jump when he hit the bottom as he felt the tiles under him, he jumped with every trick and courage he had. But the jump made no difference. A mass of yellow water held him. Stark terror took an even deeper hold on him. He shook and trembled with fright. His arms and legs wouldn’t move. He tried to call for help, but nothing happened.

10.What sort of terror seized Douglas as he went down the ‘water with a yellow glow?’How could he feel he was still alive?

An absolute, rigid terror seized Douglas. It was a terror that knew no understanding or control and was beyond comprehension of anyone who had not experienced it. He was paralyzed under water---stiff and rigid with fear. His SOS call was frozen. The beating of his heart and throbbing of mind made him feel that he was still alive.

11. How did Douglas initially feel when he went to the Y.M.C.A. pool? What made him feel comfortable?

Unpleasant memories of the past were revived and childish fears were stirred. In a little while he gathered confidence. He paddled with his new water wings. He watched the other boys and tried to imitate them. He did so two or three times on different days. He began to feel comfortable.

12. “On the way down I planned,” remarks Douglas. What plan had he devised and how far did it succeed?

While going down to the bottom, he made a plan to save himself from being drowned. He decided to make a big jump as his feet hit the bottom. He hoped to move up to the surface of water like a cork. Then he would lie flat on it, and paddle to the edge of the pool. The plan was only partly successful. He rose to surface twice. But each time he swallowed water and went down.

13. What two things did Douglas dislike to do? Which one did he have to do and why?

Douglas hated to walk naked, into the pool and show his very thin legs. Secondly, he was fearful about going in alone. So, he sat on the side of the pool to wait for others. But he had to go into water as one cannot learn swimming without going into water.

14. In what connection does Douglas mention “a big bruiser of a boy ?”

Douglas mentions him for his misadventure in the Y.M.C.A. swimming pool in which he had nearly died. It was this boxer boy who had picked up Douglas and tossed him into the deep end. Later on, when Douglas was rescued, the boy said, “I was only fooling.”

15.Describe the boy who was responsible for the author’s misadventure?

He was a big boy, a bruiser. He was probably eighteen year old. He had thick hair on his chest. He was a beautiful  specimen. His legs and arms had rippling muscles. He was a fun loving fellow and enjoyed teasing the younger and weaker boys.

16. “I had an aversion to the water when I was in it?” says Douglas. When did he start having this aversion and how?

The aversion started when Douglas was three or four years old. His father had taken him to the beach in California. They were standing together in the surf. He had held his father tightly, even then the waves knocked him down and swept over him. He was buried in water. His breath was gone. He was frightened. There was terror in his heart about the overpowering force of the waves.

17.When did Douglas decide to learn swimming?      (Or) What options were available to him to swim in?Which one did he choose and why?                                                         

Douglas was ten or eleven years old when he decided to learn swimming. He could swim in the Yakima River or the Y.M.C.A. pool at Yakima. The Yakima River was dangerous. Many persons had drowned in it. So, he chose the Y.M.C.A. pool. It was considered safe.

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

After his misadventure into the pool, Douglas wanted to get into the waters of the cascades but the old fear overpowered him. Douglas was determined to get rid of this fear as he could not enjoy any of the sports that he had enjoyed earlier. His fear of water not only kept him away from the pool, but also from activities like canoeing, boating, and fishing.

19.What did Roosevelt mean when he said, ‘All we have to fear is fear itself?’ How did Douglas realize this in his own life?(0R) What thought of Roosevelt deeply impacted Douglas? How did he apply the thought to his life?

President Roosevelt believed that it is fear all we have to fear. People are afraid of fear. Even when the mind wills to do certain acts, fear stops us from doing that. In the case of Douglas, too, he never feared water but his experience with water was fearful. He had great attachment to water. He experienced both the sensation of dying and the terror of the fear of death. But later he brushed aside his fear by challenging it by the strong will power & firm determination, and finally succeeded to overcome the fear.

20.Only once did the terror return. When did the terror return?”

When William Douglas was just three or four years, his father took him to a beach in California. While playing in the surf/waves, Douglas was knocked down by a huge wave. Though his father laughed at it,  a fear of water gripped little Douglas. When he was a teenager, he tried to learn swimming in the YMCA Pool, where he was thrown into the pool and he was almost drowned dead. But he was but not ready to accept his defeat. With the help of an instructor he learnt swimming and finally kept his fears aside.

Practice Questions

MCQs

                                                  

1. How old was Douglas when the misadventure took place?                                                                                               

a. Three to four years old    

b. Ten to eleven years    

c.  Eleven to twelve years  

d. Twelve to thirteen years                             

2. Name the treacherous river mentioned in the chapter ‘Deep Water’.                                                                                       

a. Bumping river                  

b. Thames river              

c.  Yakima river                   

d.  Tieton river                                        

3. Which word is used to describe the eighteen year old boy who bullied the author at the pool side?      a. Treacherous                       

b. Bruiser                         

c.  Shallow                           

d.  Skinny                                                 

4. How old was the boy who pushed Douglas into the pool?                                                                                              

a. 16 years                              

b. 17 years                       

c. 18 years                          

d. 19 years                                                   

5. The famous quote on fear by Roosevelt is:

a. All we have to fear is fear itself

b. All we have to fear is death itself

c.  All we have to fear is failure itself 

d.  All we have to fear is dangers itself

                                                      

6. How did Douglas develop extreme fear of water?                                                                                                  a.Misadventure at Lake Wentworth                        

b.Misadventure at Meade Glacier                            

c.Misadventure at the Yakima River                        

d.Misadventure at YMCA pool

                                                         

7. “This handicap stayed with me as the years rolled by.” What handicap is being referred to in the above sentence?                                                                                                                                                             

a. Fear of dark                 

b. Fear of water        

c. Fear of the bully

d. Fear of fishing

                                          

8. How long did it take for Douglas to perfect the art of swimming?                                                                            

a. October to April  

b.  October to March

c.  October to February

d.  October to December

    

9. What do you infer from the line “The instructor was finished”?                                                                                    

a. He was exhausted

b. He stopped midway 

c. He gave up

d. His task was complete    

10. How does the author describe going beneath the water the final time?                                                                        

a.His head throbbed                                  

b. He was paralyzed with fear                             

c. His legs felt limp and blackness swept over his brain

d. His lungs ached

                                                                           

11. Which proverb most aptly describes the theme of the story ‘Deep water’?                                                       

a. Slow and steady wins the race        

b. Time and tide wait for none

c.  A bad workman blames his tools                   

d. Where there is a will, there is a way                                  

12. How did Douglas’ will to live grow in intensity over the years?                                                                                 
a. He had experienced both – the sensation of dying and the fear it produces

                                            

b. He had experienced the courage to overcome his innermost fears.

c. He had experienced the fear of drowning and the terror it produced.

d. He had experienced the terror of dying and the will to overcome it.

                                                                            

13. When did Douglas finally conquer his fear?

a.When his instructor gave his approval.

b.When he tried swimming alone at different places.

c.When he was able to put his face under the water.

d. When he tried different strokes on his own in the pool.

14. Which statement rightly explains the phrase “At last I felt released”?

                                                         

a. A student who gets the expected results

b. A student who is preparing for his examination 

c. A student who failed in an examination               

d. A student who is awaiting his result                                     

15. Which statement aptly conveys the message of the story “Deep Water”?                                                                       

a. Fears are dangerous

b. Old fears return

c. Most fears are baseless

d. Fear confines and limits one’s scope

Short Question-Answer:-                                                                                                                                  

1. What was the author’s early childhood fear of the water? How did it affect him in the rest of his life? (OR) What was Douglas’ first misadventure in water? What was its impact on him? (OR) What had happened when Douglas was three or four years old?                                                                                                                                                  

2.Why was Douglas’ mother particular that he should not go to the Yakima river? How did she manage to keep the son away?                                                                                                                                                                                

3.What made the YMCA pool a safe / ideal place to learn swimming? (OR) What does the mother of Douglas say about the Y.M.C.A pool? (OR) Which factors led Douglas to decide in favour of the Y.M.C.A. pool?

                                                

4.What was the misadventure that happened while William Douglas was making his attempt to learn swimming in the YMCA pool?                                                                                                                                                                                                              

5. I was frightened, but not yet frightened out of my wits. What does this mean?What were Douglas’ plans when he went down the water the first time?                                                                                                                                                

6. Love for water could never die in Douglas. How did this statement come true to Douglas in the years that followed?                                                                                                                                                                                                            

7.How did Douglas decide / make sure to overcome his fear of water? (0R) How did Douglas finally    overcome his fear of water?                                                                                                                                                                                      

8. 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?                                                                                                                         

9.‘This fear created a haunting fear in Douglas.’’ Explain. (OR) How did the drowning experience affect Douglas? (0R) How did this experience affect him?                                                                                                                                 

10. What did Douglas experience as he went down to the bottom of the pool for the first time ? (OR) What was the result of the ‘great spring upwards’ that Douglas made on hitting the bottom of the pool for the first time?                                                                                                                                                                                         

11. How did Douglas struggle before hitting the bottom of the pool for the second time? What was the outcome of his struggle?                                                                                                                                                                                    

12. In what state did Douglas find himself on regaining consciousness?     

                                                                             

13. How was the instructor successful in making Douglas a perfect swimmer?

Long question –answer:-                                                                                                                                                                

1. Give an account of the fears and emotions of Douglas as he made efforts to save himself from being drowned in the YMCA swimming pool.                                                                                                                                                                            

2. How did Douglas overcome his fear of water?                                                                                                   

3. Why does Douglas as an adult recount a childhood experience of terror and his conquering of it? What larger meaning does he draw from this experience?

4. People say that failures are the stepping stones. They are the best teachers.  (OR) People say that failures are the stepping stones. They are the best teachers. Discuss the aphorism taking ideas from the following lines:

“I feared water. I avoided it whenever I could. A few years later when I came to know the waters of Cascades, I wanted to get into them. And whenever I did … the terror that had seized me in the pool would come back… I decided to get an instructor and learn to swim.” (OR) Strong will power, firm determination and perseverance ensure success in your life. Douglas wanted to learn swimming but he was afraid of water. He did not give up and finally mastered swimming. He proved that where there is a will, there is a way and positive attitude and courage will aid you to achieve success in life. Comment. (OR) Desire, determination and diligence lead to success. Explain the value of these qualities in the light of Douglas’ experience in “Deep Water”.                                                                                                                                                

5.There was terror in my heart at the overpowering force of the waves.” When did Douglas start fearing water? Which experience had further strengthened its hold on his mind and personality?                                                                           

6.“All we have to fear is fear itself.” Describe Douglas’s experiences which led to the making of this statement. (OR) ‘The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.’ Write an article on this topic. You may take ideas from the given lines: “I used every way I knew to overcome this fear, but it held me firmly in its grip”.                                                                                                                                                                

7. We always admire those as heroes who face challenges bravely in different phases of life and emerge successfully. Elaborate on this statement with reference to William Douglas.                                                                                   

8. It is often said that ‘No Pains, No Gains’. One cannot get anything if one does not work hard. Write an article on the ‘topic, mentioned above. You can take ideas from the following lines:

“I went to a pool and practiced five days a week, an hour each day. A rope attached to the belt went through a pulley that fan on an overhead cable. He held on to the end of the rope, and we went back and forth, back and forth across the pool, hour after hour, day after day, week after week.”                                                                                    

9.The significance of training cannot be underestimated. Saint Cyprian said, “The helmsman is recognised in the tempest; the soldier is proven in warfare’. Substantiate the words quoted above in your own words. You may take ideas from the given lines: “I decided to get an instructor and learn to swim… he taught me to put my face under water and exhale, and to raise my nose and inhale… Bit by bit I shed part of the panic that seized me when my head went under water.”                                                                                                                                                            

10. Give character sketch of William Douglas.                                                                                                                          

11. Bullying is inhumane. Discuss the problem of bullying with reference to the story ,”Deep Water”.