Deep Water
Important Questions
Q1. How did Douglas develop an aversion towards water?
Ans. 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. He was almost buried under water, and got breathless. He was quite frightened and developed an aversion towards water.
Q2. What misadventure happened with Douglas at the YMCA pool?
Ans. 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. He almost lost his life in this incident.
Q3. Why was the Yakima river unsafe to learn swimming?
Ans. The river was quite deep and there were several cases of drowning reported about it.His mother too was scared for him and dissuaded him.
Q4. Which factors made Douglas to decide in favour of YMCA pool?
Ans. According to Douglas, the YMCA pool was safer compared to the Yakima River.As against the uncertain depth of the river, the pool was only two or three feet deep at the shallow end and about nine feet at the deeper end, and the drop was gradual.
Q5. What did Douglas experience when he went down to the bottom of the pool for the first time?
Ans. 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.
Q6. What were the series of emotions and fears that Douglas experienced when he was thrown into the pool?
Ans. When Douglas was thrown into the pool, he did not panic and planned to push himself up with all his force when he would touch the bottom of the pool. But his strategy did not work and terror gripped him. His lungs were ready to burst; he was breathless and instead of air, sucked water. he became stiff and paralyzed there was terror in his heart and it gripped his mind too. Twice, he tried to come to the surface but failed.
Q7. How did his swimming instructor ‘build a swimmer’ out of Douglas?
Ans. 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.
Q8. How did Douglas make sure that he conquered the old terror?
Ans. After the instructor had trained Douglas in the art of swimming, Douglas was still not sure of himself. 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.
Q9. Why was Douglas determined to get over his fear of water?
Ans. The misadventure of having a near-drowning experience left a deep mark on Douglas’ mind.The phobia of water hampered all his joys of enjoying different water sports like fishing,canoeing, boating and swimming. So he was determined to overcome his fear of water.
Q10. “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?
Ans. 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.
Q11. 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?
Ans. 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.
Q12. Desire, determination and diligence lead to success. Explain the value of these qualities in the light of Douglas’ experience in ‘Deep Water.’
Ans. 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.
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