DEEP WATER
- William Douglas
Think as you read (Page 27) -
1) What is the ''misadventure'' that William Douglas speaks about ?
Answer ) He speaks about the misadventure that he experiences at the Y.M.C.A pool. A big boy found him alone at the pool. He yelled,''Hi skinny ! Then he picked Douglas up and tossed him into the deep end of the pool. He was just saved from drawning.
2) 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 ) When he was thrown into the pool he experienced a series of emotions and fears. He was frightened but not still out of his wits. He planned to make a big jump from the bottom of the pool and to come to the surface of pool, lie flat on it and paddle to the edge of the pool.
3) How did this experience affect him ?
Answer ) This experience had a lasting effect on Douglas. It revived unpleasant memories and his fear of water. It ruined his fishing trips. It deprived him the joy of boating and swimming.
Think as you read (Page 29) -
1) Why was he determined to get over his fear Douglas ?
Answer ) The fear of water stayed with him as the years roled by. Whenever he tried to enter water, the fear seized him. He was mentally paralysed due to his fear. So he was determined to get over his fear.
2) How did the instructor ''build a swimmer'' out of Douglas ?
Answer ) The instructor made serious efforts to build a swimmer out of Douglas. He put a belt around him. A rope is attached to the belt went through the pulley. Then he was made to go back and forth across the pool. The he was taught how to exhale in water and inhale outside. He was taught to move his legs easily in water, by sitting in edge of pool and kicking the water with legs.
6) How did Douglas make sure that he conquered the old terror ?
Answer ) He conquered his terror by swimming alone in the pool. He wanted to make sure that he was free from that fear. So he went to the lake Wentworth and dived off a dock at Triggs Island. He swam for two miles. The terror fled and he swam on.
Understanding the text -
1) How does Douglas make clear to readers the scence of panic that gripped him as he almost drowned ? Describe the details that have made the discription vivid ?
Answer ) He could never imagine that he would face of so much trouble. He was tossed into the water by a muscular boy. He planned that how to come out of water but he was paralyzed and seized. He cried but no one listened. His legs stopped working, his lungs ached and heart throbbed.
2) How does Douglas overcome his fear of water ?
Answer ) He overcome his fear by learning swimming by an instructor. But after months of training he was not sure that he could swim alone. But one day he went to Wentworth Lake and swam two miles across the lake. Finally he was able to conquer his fear.
3) Why does Douglas as an adult recount of a childhood experience of terror and his conquering of it ? What larger meaning does he draw from this experience ?
Answer ) His experience can serve a useful lesson for others to succeed even in the most hostile circumstances.
For Douglas the experience had a deeper meaning . He had experienced both - the sensation of dying and the fear of it. Finally what matters is the will to live. As Roosevelt said,''All we have to fear is the fear itself.''
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