AMBER INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

ACADEMIC YEAR 2025-26

NOTES

GRADE: XII SUB: ENGLISH (FLAMINGO)

3. Deep Water
William O. Douglas

Summary
The story talks about how the terrifying memories of the childhood haunt even the
adult mind and the shadow of these frightening experiences continue to lurk in the
mind and rob one of all the confidences. It is imperative to make deliberate planned
efforts to get over that fear which otherwise can lead to a lifelong complex.

William O. Douglas had a desire to learn swimming since childhood. At the age of
three or four, he was knocked down and buried by a wave at a beach in California.
He developed a great aversion to water. At the age of ten or eleven he decided to
learn to swim with water wings at the Y.M.C.A pool since it was safe at the shallow
end.

A misadventure: - while sitting alone and waiting for others to come at the Y.M.C.A
pool, a big boy came and threw Douglas into deep end of the pool. Douglas
swallowed water and went straight down to the bottom of the pool. While going down
he planned to make a big jump upwards but came up slowly. Stark terror seized him.

Tried to shout but could not…… As he went down the pool for the second time, he
tried to jump upwards but it was sheer waste of energy. Terror held him deeper and
deeper. During the third trial, he sucked water instead of air.

Light was going out and there was no more panic. So, he ceased all efforts and he
became unconscious. He crossed to oblivion. When revived, he found himself
vomiting beside the pool. He was in the grip of fear of water and it deprived him of
the joys of canoeing, boating, swimming and fishing. Later, to overcome his phobia
for water, he hired an instructor to learn swimming.

The instructor taught him swimming piece by piece. He went to different lakes to
swim and found tiny vestiges of fear still gripped him. He challenged the fear and
swam. Swimming up and down the Warm Lake he finally overcame his fear of water.
 He realized that in death there is peace and there is terror only in fear of death. Will
to live is stronger than fear of death.

• William O. Douglas had a desire to learn swimming since childhood.

• At the age of three or four, he was knocked down and buried by a wave at a
beach in California.
• He developed a great aversion to water.
• At the age of ten or eleven he decided to learn to swim with water wings at the
Y.M.C.A pool since it was safe at the shallow end.
• A misadventure:- while sitting alone and waiting for others to come at the
Y.M.C.A pool, a big boy came and threw Douglas into deep end of the pool.
• Douglas swallowed water and went straight down to the bottom of the pool.
• While going down he planned to make a big jump upwards but came up slowly.
• Stark terror seized him.
• Tried to shout but could not……
• As he went down the pool second time, he tried to jump upwards but it was a
waste of energy.
• Terror held him deeper and deeper.
• During the third trial he sucked water instead of air.
• Light was going out and there was no more panic.
• So he ceased all efforts and he became unconscious.
• He crossed to oblivion.
• When revived he found himself vomiting beside the pool.
• He was in grip of fear of water and it deprived him of the joys of canoeing,
boating swimming and fishing.
• Hired an instructor to learn swimming.
• The instructor taught him swimming piece by piece.
• He went to different lakes to swim and found tiny vestiges of fear still gripped
him.
• He challenged the fear and swam.
• Swimming up and down the Warm Lake he finally overcame his fear of water.
• He realized that in death there is peace and there is terror only in fear of death.
• Will to live is stronger than fear of death.

I . EXTRACT BASED QUESTIONS

Then all effort ceased. I relaxed. Even my legs felt limp, and a blackness swept over my brain.
It wiped out fear; it wiped out terror. There was no more panic. It was quiet and peaceful.
Nothing to be afraid of. This is nice... to be drowsy... to go to sleep... no need to jump... too
tired to jump... it’s nice to be carried gently... to float along in space... tender arms around me...
tender arms like Mother’s... now I must go to sleep... I crossed to oblivion, and the curtain of
life fell.

i. Choose the correct option with reference to the two statements given below.
• Statement 1: The author tried his best to jump out of the water.
 • Statement 2: After a while, the author was not anxious in water.
a. If Statement 1 is the cause, Statement 2 is the effect.
b. If Statement 1 is the effect, Statement 2 is the cause.
c. Both statements are the effects of a common cause.
d. Both statements are the effects of independent causes.
Ans. Option (a)

ii. The ‘curtain (of life) fell’ corresponds to an aspect of

a. Geometry.
b. History.
c. Sports.
d. Drama.
Ans. Option (d)

iii. The purpose of using “…” in the above passage is to

a. show omission.
b. indicate pauses.
c. shorten a dialogue.
d. replace an idea.
Ans. Option (b)

iv. Which option indicates that the poet lost consciousness?

a. ‘It was quiet and peaceful.’
b. ‘I crossed to oblivion.’
c. ‘Tender arms like Mother’s.’
d. ‘It wiped out fear.’
Ans. Option (b)

QUESTIONS TO BE SOLVED BY THE STUDENTS

1. The experience had a deep meaning for me, as only those who have known stark
terror and conquered it can appreciate. In death there is peace. There is terror only
in the fear of death, as Roosevelt knew when he said, “All we have to fear is fear
itself.” Because I had experienced both the sensation of dying and the terror that
fear of it can produce, the will to live somehow grew in intensity.
At last I felt released free to walk the trails and climb the peaks and to brush aside
fear.

Questions :
(a) What place that experience had in Douglas’s life ?
(b) What did Roosevelt say ?
(c) What type of experience did Douglas have ?
(d) When did the writer feel released ?
 II. SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

1. How and when did Douglas develop an aversion to water?

Ans. His aversion to water began when he was three or four years old. He
went with his father to a beach where the waves knocked him down and
overpowered him. This created the phobia in his mind and left him in a state of fear.

2. 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.

3. How did this experience affect him?

Ans. The near death experience of drowning had a very strong impact on
his psychology. He was deeply perturbed and shaken by the whole
experience. A haunting fear of water took control of his physical
strength and emotional balance for many years. As he couldn’t bear
being surrounded by water, he was deprived of enjoying any water-
related activity.
4. How did the instructor “build a swimmer” out of Douglas?

Ans. The instructor gradually built a swimmer out of Douglas by making him
practice five days a week, an hour each day. He taught him the techniques
with the help of a cable and also taught him to breathe underwater.

QUESTIONS TO BE SOLVED BY THE STUDENTS

5. 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?

6. How did Douglas make sure that he conquered the old terror?
 II. LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS

2. 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. As an adult, Douglas recalls a childhood experience of water terror because he wantsto
analyse the root cause of fear. When he was three or four years old, his father had taken him to the
beach in California. Although he hung on to his father on the surfboard, yet the waves knocked
him down and he was buried under water. His breath was gone. This developed a strong fear in his
heart at the overpowering force of the waves. Thus, from the beginning, Douglas had an aversion
to the water when he was in it and it grew even stronger when he was thrown into the YMCA pool
by abully. It continued to haunt him till later in his life. The significance of Douglas's recount of
his childhood experience is that it was this experience because of which he made his firm mind to
overcome this fear. He did so by mastering the art of swimming with the help of an instructor. The
larger meaning drawn from this
experience is that terror is only in the fear of death. All one has to fear is the fear itself. William
Douglas had experienced both the sensation of dying and the terror
that the fear of it can produce. But his will to live and firm decision made him free

3. How did Douglas overcome his fear of water?

Ans : At first, he tried to overcome his fear of water on his own. But when this
failed, he got an instructor for himself who worked on Douglas’s fear very
methodically. With his help, Douglas began by learning to be at ease in the water.
After this, he practised exhaling-inhaling in water to eliminate the fear of putting
his head inside the water. Then, he moved on to master individual steps of
swimming which were, finally, integrated into a complete experience of
swimming, by his instructor. After about six months, Douglas could not only
swim well but was, also, free of his fear to a great extent.
At this stage, Douglas’ journey of truly overcoming his fear of its tiniest vestiges
began. He swam alone in the pool. He went to Lake Wentworth to dive. He tried
every possible stroke he learned. Finally, in his diving expedition, in the Warm
Lake, he conquered his fear completely.

QUESTIONS TO BE SOLVED BY THE STUDENTS

4. The story “Deep Water” has made you realize that with determination
and perseverance one can accomplish the impossible. Write a paragraph in
about 100 words on how a positive attitude and courage will aid you to
achieve success in life.
5. Doing well in any activity, for example, a sport, music, dance or painting, riding a
motorcycle or a car, involves a great deal of struggle. Most of us are very nervous,
to begin with until gradually we overcome our fears and perform well.
Write an essay of about five paragraphs recounting such an experience. Try to
recollect minute details of what caused the fear, your feelings, the encouragement
you got from others, or the criticism.
You could begin with the last sentence of the essay you have just read - “At last, I
felt released – free to walk the trails and climb the peaks and to brush aside fear.”

OR

Write a short letter to someone you know about your having learned to do
something new.