THINK AS YOU READ

Q1. What is the “misadventure ” that William Douglas speaks

about?
Ans. William O. Douglas had just learnt swimming. 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.

Q2. 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?
Ans. 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.

Q3. How did this experience affect him?

Ans. 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.

THINK AS YOU READ

Q1. Why was Douglas determined to get over his fear of water?
Ans. 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.

Q2. How did the instructor “build a swimmer” out of Douglas?

Ans. 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 everytime. The instructor
taught Douglas to put his face under water 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.

Q3. How did Douglas overcome his fear of water?

Ans. When Douglas grew up, he took the help of an instructor to learn
swimming. His training went on from October to April. With the training and
determination, he overcame his fear of water.

Q3. 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?
Ans. The experience of terror was a handicap Douglas suffered from during
his childhood. His conquering of it shows his determination, will power 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.

MORE QUESTIONS SOLVED

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
Q1. When did Douglas decide to learn swimming? What options were
available to him to swim in? Which one did he choose and why?
Ans. 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.

Q2. Which factors led Douglas to decide in favour of the Y.M.C.A.

pool?
Ans. The Y.M.C.A. pool was safe. It was only two to three feet deep at the
shallow end. It was nine feet deep at the other. Moreover, the drop was
gradual. The Yakima River was treacherous and had drowned many. So, he
decided in favour of the Y.M.C.A. pool.

Q3. “I had an aversion to the water when I was in it?” says Douglas.
When did he start having this aversion and how?
Ans. 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.

Q4. How did Douglas initially feel when he went to the Y.M.C.A.
pool? What made him feel comfortable?
Ans. 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.

Q5. What two things did Douglas dislike to do? Which one did he
have to do and why?
Ans. 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.

Q6. Describe the boy who was responsible for the author’s
misadventure?
Ans. 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.

Q7. How did the “misadventure” happen with Douglas?

Ans. Douglas was sitting alone on the side of the pool, waiting for others. A
big, boxer boy of eighteen came there. Mocking him as ‘skinny’ he enquired
how he would like to be plunged in water. Saying so, he picked up Douglas
and tossed him into the nine feet deep end. Douglas struck the surface of
water, swallowed water and at once went to the bottom.

Q8. “I was frightened, but not yet frightened out of my wits,” says
Douglas. Which qualities of the speaker are highlighted here and
how?
Ans. Douglas was frightened when he went down into the pool and was
about to be drowned. He had an aversion to water and now he was filled with
terror. He had remarkable self¬control. He used his mind even in the crisis
and thought of a strategy to save himself from being drowned.

Q9. I crossed to oblivion, and the curtain of life fell.’ How did
Douglas experience the sensation of dying before he actually
crossed to oblivion?
Ans. As Douglas went down the pool the third time, he swallowed more
water. All his efforts to jump up ceased. His legs felt limp. A blackness swept
over his brain and it wiped out fear and terror. There was no more panic. It
was quiet and peaceful. He felt drowsy and wanted to go to sleep.
Q10. In what state did Douglas find himself on regaining
consciousness?
Ans. He found himself lying on his stomach near the pool. He was vomiting.
The fellow who had thrown him in the pool was saying that he was only
joking. Then someone remarked that the small boy had nearly died. He
hoped that he would be all right then. Then he was carried to the locker
room for change of clothes.

Q11. “This handicap stayed with me as the years rolled by.” How
did it affect his pursuits for pleasure?
Ans. 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
Oregon, 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.

Q12. What efforts did Douglas make to get over his fear of water
and why?
Ans. Fear of water was a handicap Douglas developed during his childhood.
It stayed with him as he grew older. It ruined his pursuits of pleasure such as
canoeing, boating, swimming and fishing. He used every method he knew to
overcome this fear. Finally, he determined to get an instructor and learn
swimming.

Q13. Comment on the appropriateness of the title ‘Deep Water’

OR
Do you think the title Deep Water’ is apt? Give reasons in support of
your answer.
Ans. The title ‘Deep Water’ is quite appropriate to this extract from ‘Of Men
and Mountains’ by William O. Douglas. The title is highly suggestive and at
once focuses our attention on the main theme—experiencing fear of death
under water and the efforts of the author to overcome it.
All the details in the essay are based on his personal experience and analysis
of fear. The psychological analysis of fear is presented from a child’s point of
view and centres round deep water and drowning.
The overpowering force of the waves at the California beach stir aversion for
water in Douglas. His mother warns him against swimming in the deep
waters of the treacherous Yakima River. The nine feet deep water of the
swimming pool appears more than ninety to Douglas. However, when he
conquers fear he can dive and swim in the deep waters of Lake Wentworth
and Warm Lake. :
Thus the title is apt and suggestive.
Q14. What impression do you form of William O. Douglas on the
basis of reading Deep Water?’
Ans. William Douglas leaves a very favourable impression on us. He appears
quite truthful and courageous. He gives a detailed account of his fears and
emotions as he struggles against deep water to save himself from being
drowned. Confessing one’s faults and shortcomings is not easy. It needs
courage, honesty and will power. Douglas has all these qualities.
His efforts to overpower the fear of water show his firm determination,
resolution and strong will power. He has an analytic mind which diagnoses
the malady and prompts him to search the cure. He is frightened of deep
water, but not yet frightened out of his wits.
In his heroic struggle against fear, terror and panic, he rises to heroic
stature. He becomes an idol, a living image of bravery and persistent efforts.
He typifies the will not to surrender or yield. His indefatigable zeal is a source
of inspiration for all and specially for the youth.
In short, William Douglas impresses us as a frank, truthful, honest and
determined person.