Deep Water

Short Answer Type Questions (2 Marks, 30-40 words)

Question.1. Which two incidents in Douglas’ early life made him scared of water?
Answer. When Douglas was three or four years old, his father took him to a beach in California.
There he was knocked down by strong waves, was almost buried under water, and got
breathless. Though he hung on to his father, he was quite frightened. Secondly, when Douglas
was ten or eleven, a big bully of a boy tossed him into the deep end of the YMCA pool. He could
not come to the surface, in spite of all his efforts, and became panicky. These two incidents
made Douglas scared of water.

Question.2.Why did Douglas prefer to go to YMCA swimming pool to learn swimming?

or
Which factors made Douglas to decide in favour of YMCA pool?
Answer. According to Douglas, the YMCA pool was safer compared to the Yakima River. The
river was quite deep and there were several cases of drowning reported about it. As against the
uncertain depth of the river, the pool was only two or three feet deep at the shallow end. Though
its depth was about nine feet at the deeper end, yet the drop was gradual, and Douglas could
rely on it.

Question.3.What did Douglas feel and do when he was pushed into the swimming pool?

or
What were the series of emotions and fears that Douglas experienced when he was
thrown into the pool? (Foreign 2011)
Answer. When Douglas was thrown into the pool, he did not lose heart and planned to push
himself up with all his force. He thought that once he came to the surface, he would paddle to
the edge of the pool. Thrice, he tried to come to the surface, but unfortunately his strategy did
not work and terror gripped him. His lungs were ready to burst; he was breathless and instead
of air, sucked water.

Question.4.How did his swimming instructor ‘build a swimmer’ out of Douglas?)

Answer. The instructor adopted a systematic method to turn Douglas into a swimmer. He first
made Douglas shed his initial fear of water by making him cross a pool suspended by a rope
attached to a pulley. The instructor held the other end of the rope and relaxed and tightened it
from time to time. Then he taught the narrator to breathe while swimming, and finally the leg
movements and other strokes.

Question.5. How did Douglas make sure that he conquered the old terror?
Answer. After the instructor had trained Douglas in the art of swimming, Douglas was still not
sure of himself. He felt tiny vestiges of the fear now and then. So, he went to Lake Wentworth
and swam. Once when terror returned, he challenged it and did not let it overcome him. Finally,
Douglas went to the Warm Lake. There he swam and the fear didn’t return to haunt him again.
Question.6. What efforts did Douglas make to get over his fear of water?
Answer. After several individual attempts to overcome his fear, Douglas finally engaged an
instructor. The instructor built a swimmer out of him. But Douglas was not sure. To confirm that
the terror would not strike him when he was swimming alone, Douglas decided to go to Lake
Wentworth in New Hampshire. At last, he made his terror fly away by swimming across the
Warm Lake.

Question.7. What did Douglas experience when he went down to the bottom of the pool
for the first time?
Answer. When the author was going down to the bottom of the pool for the first time, those nine
feet felt almost like ninety feet. His lungs were ready to burst, but somehow he summoned all
his strength and sprang upwards, hoping to reach the surface, but he didn’t pop up to the
surface like a cork, as he had imagined. When he opened his eyes he saw nothing but water,
his hands too grabbed only water.

Question.8. What sort of terror seized Douglas as he went down the water with a yellow
glow?
How could he feel that he was still alive ?
Answer. When Douglas found himself deep down into the water with a yellow glow, stark terror
gripped him. The terror ripped him apart and he had no control over it. He felt paralysed, stiff
and rigid with fear. Even the screams in his throat were frozen. It was only his throbbing heart
that made him realise that he was still alive.

Long Answer Type Questions (6 Marks, 120-150 words)

Question.1. “I crossed to oblivion, and the curtain of life fell.” What was the incident
which nearly killed Douglas and developed in him a strong aversion to water?
Answer. The incident which nearly killed Douglas occurred when he was ten or eleven years
old. He had decided to learn swimming at the YMCA pool, and thus get rid of his fear of water.
One . morning, when he was alone at the pool, waiting for others, a big bully of a boy tossed
him into the deep end of the pool. Though he had planned a strategy to save himself as he went
down, his plan did not work. He went down to the bottom and became panicky. Thrice he
struggled hard to come to the surface, but failed each time. He was almost drowned in the pool.
He lost his consciousness and felt that he would die. Though he was ultimately saved, this
misadventure developed in him a strong aversion to water.

Question.2. Douglas fully realised the truth of Roosevelt’s statement, “All we have to fear
is fear
itself.” How did this realisation help him brush aside his fear and become an expert
swimmer?
Answer. Douglas had experienced both the sensation of dying and the terror that the fear of
death can cause. Strong will, hard determination, courage and toil as well as honest labour won
over all his terrors and fears. The will to live brushed aside all his fears.
In reality all our fears are only psychological, and can be easily won over, if we can control our
mind. This realisation makes Douglas resolve to learn swimming by engaging an instructor. This
instructor, piece by piece, built Douglas into a swimmer. However, his first step was to drive
away Douglas’ fear of water, before training him in swimming techniques. When Douglas tried
and swam the length of the pool up and down, small traces of his old terror of water would
return. So, he went to Lake Wentworth, dived at Triggs Island and swam two miles across the
lake to Stamp Act Island. Finally, he was certain that he had conquered his fear of water.

Question.3. Desire, determination and diligence lead to success. Explain the value of
these
qualities in the light of Douglas’ experience in ‘Deep Water.’
Answer. The terror of water followed Douglas wherever he went. To get rid of it, he made a
strong determination. He decided to overcome his fear through his “will.” He engaged an
instructor who would perfect him in swimming. The instructor first helped him drive away his
fear, and then gave him many exercises besides teaching him to exhale and inhale in water.
The practice went on for months together, during which his fear came back to haunt him, but his
desire and firm will made him persist in his- efforts. It was only through sheer determination and
diligence that Douglas could not only counter his terror, but also become an expert swimmer.
He swam across and back lakes to ensure that his fear of water did not return. He had now
completely lost his fear. His desire, determination and diligence succeeded in banishing his fear
of water.