Deep Water
Ques: What is the “misadventure ” that William Douglas speaks about?
Answer: William O. Douglas had just learned to swim. One day, an eighteen-year-
old big bruiser picked him up and tossed him into the nine feet deep end of the
Y.M.C.A. pool. He hit the water surface in a sitting position. He swallowed water
and went at once to the bottom. He nearly died in this misadventure.
Ques: 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?
Answer: Douglas was frightened when he was thrown into the pool. However, he
was not frightened out of his wits. While sinking down he made a plan. He would
make a big jump when his feet hit the bottom. He would come to the surface like
a cork, lie flat on it, and paddle to the edge of the pool.
Ques: How did this experience affect him?
Answer: This experience revived his aversion to water. He shook and cried when
he lay on his bed. He couldn’t eat that night. For many days, there was a haunting
fear in his heart. The slightest exertion upset him, making him wobbly in the
knees and sick to his stomach. He never went back to the pool. He feared water
and avoided it whenever he could.
Ques: Why was Douglas determined to get over his fear of water?
Answer: His fear of water ruined his fishing trips. It deprived him of the joy of
canoeing, boating, and swimming. Douglas used every way he knew to overcome
this fear he had developed ’since childhood. Even as an adult, it held him firmly in
its grip. He determined to get an instructor and learn swimming to get over this
fear of water.
Ques: How did the instructor “build a swimmer” out of Douglas?
Answer: The instructor built a swimmer out of Douglas piece by piece. For three
months he held him high on a rope attached to his belt. He went back and forth
across the pool. Panic seized the author every time. The instructor taught
Douglas to put his face underwater and exhale and to raise his nose and inhale.
Then Douglas had to kick with his legs for many weeks till these relaxed. After
seven months the instructor told him to swim the length of the pool.
Ques: 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?
Answer: The experience of terror was a handicap Douglas suffered from during
his childhood. His conquering of it shows his determination, willpower, and
development of his personality.
He drew a larger meaning from this experience. “In death there is peace.” “There
is terror only in the fear of death.” He had experienced both the sensation of
dying and the terror that fear of it can produce. So, the will to live somehow grew
in intensity. He felt released- free to walk the mountain paths, climb the peaks,
and brush aside fear.
Assignment 2
Question 1
Is it possible for Mukesh to realize his dream? Justify your answer?
Question 2.
Do you think Saheb was happy to work at the tea stall? Answer giving reasons.
Question 3
What does the title, ‘Lost Spring’ convey?
Question 4
Why does the author say that the bangle makers are caught in a vicious web?
Question 5.
Who is Mukesh? What is his dream?
