Class 12 English Chapter 3 Deep Water

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Class 12 English Chapter 3 Deep Water

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Deep Water

PROSE SECTION

TEXTUAL QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Think as you read

1. What is the “misadventure ” that William Douglas speaks about?

Ans. The “misadventure” that Douglas speaks about is the incident of near drowning in the Y.M.C.A. pool. He had a fear of water since childhood but wanted to get over it. Thus, one day, he went to the pool in Yakima when no one was around. He was sitting by the side when a bully of a boy picked him up and tossed him into the deep end of the pool. This misadventure was a traumatic experience in his life.

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?

Ans. Douglas landed on the water in a sitting position swallowed a lot of water and went straight to the bottom. He was frightened but not out of his wits. He planned he would make a big jump as his feet touched the bottom and come to the surface. He would then lie flat and paddle to the edge of the pool.

3. How did this experience affect him?

Ans. This experience traumatized him for a long time. That day, he couldn’t sleep or eat and cried all night. Even the slightest exertion upset him. He never went to the pool and avoided water whenever he could.

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

Ans. This fear became a huge handicap for Douglas because he missed out on the fun of all aquatic activities. Wherever he went, the haunting fear of water followed him. It deprived him of the joys of boating, canoeing or swimming and ruined the excitement of the fishing trips.

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

Ans. Understanding Douglas’s condition, the instructor put a belt around him attached to a rope which went through a pulley. He was made to go back and forth the pool for one hour every five days of the week. The instructor also taught him to inhale and exhale while swimming. Gradually, Douglas was trained to put his head under water and kick with his legs. Thus, part by part, the instructor built a complete swimmer out of him.

6. How did Douglas make sure that he conquered the old terror?

Ans. Douglas wanted to make sure that even the last remnants of fear had left him. So, he went to Lake Wentworth and swam across the two miles to an island, There was a moments uneasiness when he saw the bottomless water in the middle of the lake but he brushed it aside. His final test was the Warm Lake where he dived, swam across and back and shouted with joy at his victory over fear.

Understanding the text

1. How does Douglas make clear to the reader the sense of panic that gripped him as he almost drowned? Describe the details that have made the description vivid.

Ans. Douglas did not panic initially because he thought he would make a jump upwards the moment his feet touched the bottom. He did just that, but could not make it to the surface. It was a slower rise than expected and there was nothing but water all around. He went down again. The nine feet deep pool seemed like ninety. Even the second and third try did not save him. He was terrified, paralyzed and suffocated. He tried to scream, to call for his mother but only the water heard him. His lungs ached and head throbbed. Finally, all his efforts ended as drowsiness came over him and he felt it was the end of his life.

2. How did Douglas overcome his fear of water?

Ans. The traumatic experience at the pool left in him a deep sense fear for water. Even proximity to a pool made him shudder. He felt deprived of all the joy of fishing, boating, swimming etc. but he made up his mind to overcome it.

Thus, he got an instructor who, learning about his condition, trained him up gradually. Having learnt the technique of inhaling above and exhaling under water, kicking with the legs and the different strokes, Douglas became a complete swimmer. Finally, he had to test his courage and, to do that, went to Lake Wentworth. He swam across two miles and knew that he got over the terror. His ultimate sense of triumph came from the swim up and down the Warm Lake.

3. 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. Douglas once had a horrifying experience at a pool in the Y.M.C.A. A big bully picked him up unaware and threw him into the pool. He had nearly drowned even after struggling tor a long. time. This incident created such a dread for water that he feared even going near it, He could not enjoy any activity related to water. Thus, determined to shed fear, he got an instructor to make him a swimmer.

Perseverance and sheer will power helped him in achieving his target. He even swam great lakes like the Wentworth and also the Warm Lake to prove to himself that he had actually conquered the fear. He recounts these incidents to show that fear should always be confronted and conquered. It is all in the mind and grows bigger if we do not curb it with determination. Roosevelt had rightly said that all we need to fear is fear itself.

The larger meaning of his conquest is that in the incident of near drowning, he had experienced the sensation of dying and the fear of death. But when he surpassed both, he had nothing more to fear in life. He was a free man.

S.L. No.	CONTENTS
	PROSE SECTION
1	The Last Lesson
2	Lost Spring
3	Deep Water
4	Indigo
5	Going Places
6	Memoirs Of A Chota Sahib
	POETRY SECTION
1	My Mother At Sixty-Six
2	Keeping Quiet
3	Notes A Thing Of Beauty
4	A Roadside Stand
	VISTAS
1	The Tiger King
2	The Enemy
3	On The Face Of It
4	Memories Of Childhood
5	Magh Bihu Or Maghar Domahi

Talking about the text

1. “All we have to fear is fear itself”. Have you ever had a fear that you have now overcome? Share your experience with your partner.

Ans. Great men make great speeches, and so did Roosevelt when he said that all we have to fear is nothing else but fear itself. Once we can overcome the fear in our mind, we become liberated and courageous.

My fear was similar to that of the author. It was the fear of getting into the water. I have had the experience of being knocked down by waves and at times I even felt it was the end of my life. It happened on several beach vacations I always thought I would drown if I got into a pool. But once it so happened that I was compelled foo enter a pool and keep myself alive. There were two other persons present who promised to save me if I drowned. After lot of coaxing, I dared to do as they said, and I survived!! I tried a few more times and came out of the water safe and sound. Then I realized the fun of swimming. I have never looked back It was just a feeling of fear that I had to overcome and I did it.

(Another very common fear is termed as ‘stage fright’. It’s the fear of being up on a stage and the entire audience watching you. There have been instances where people got tongue-tied or forgotten what they had prepared. Students may have many other stories of their own and much more interesting than what we have given.)

2. Find and narrate other stories about conquest of fear and what people have said about courage. For example, you can recall Nelson Mandela’s struggle for freedom, his perseverance to achieve his mission, to liberate the oppressed and the oppressor as depicted in his autobiography. The story We’re Not Afraid To Die, which you have read in Class XI, is an apt example of how courage and optimism helped a family survive under the direst stress.

Ans: Students Do yourself.

Thinking about language

If someone else had narrated Douglas’s experience, how would it have differed from this account? Write out a sample paragraph or paragraphs from this text from the point of view of a third person or observer to find out which style of narration would you consider to be more effective? Why?

Ans. Sample paragraphs Douglas had not been there long when came a big, bruiser of a boy, probably eighteen years old, He had thick hair on his chest and a beautiful physique with rippling muscles on arms and legs. He shouted at Douglas laughing, at his skinny frame, “Hi, Skinny! Howdy you like to be ducked?”

With that, the boy picked Douglas up and tossed him into the deep end. Douglas landed in a sitting position, swallowed water and went at once to the bottom of the pool. Though frightened, Douglas was not yet out of his wits. As he went down, he worked out the strategy of how to Cone up. He decided to make a big jump the moment his feet touched the bottom and then, lying flat on the surface, would paddle to the side of the pool.

Style of narration

A first person narrative always creates more impact than a third person account. Here, the autobiographical piece takes us closer to the writer and enables us to understand the exact nature of his feelings and emotions. It develops a direct communion between the two and hence has been adopted here.

Writing

1. 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 feat”.

Ans. At last I felt released – free to walk the trails and climb the peaks and to brush aside fear. I felt like a bird with no fear of falling or like a fish with no fear of drowning. It all happened last summer.

I have seen a car at home since I was born. Though we went to school by bus, yet, family trips would always be in the car. We would always go out with father whenever he took the car. Very religiously, on Sundays and holidays, I along with my sister would wash and polish it. The thought of learning to drive, however, never occurred to me. Until that day, when I realised how handicapped I was for not knowing to drive.

We were on a weekend vacation in Shillong. After two days of good fun we were ready to come back home but suddenly my father fell il. We had to reach back that day because father had some urgent piece of work. But he could not even sit up straight. We panicked, as neither my mother, nor I and nor my sister knew driving. Moreover, it was the winding hilly road. 

I, along with my sister, went looking for someone who could drive us back to Guwahati. Everyone was a stranger, but then, we had to trust someone to bring us home. That was the most difficult part, of hiring an unknown person as a driver even without knowing how he drives, and the passengers being my younger sister, my mother, father who was very unwell, and I.

That was the day I firmed up my mind that I had to learn driving. Though the very thought brought jitters, and my confidence level went down to the negative, I had to do it. I would often visualize myself driving and losing control and hitting somebody, but then again would look at the numerous drivers all around and think, If they could do it, why can’t l ?” “I am educated, I can read the driver’s manual, I can understand traffic rules and signals, then why won’t I be able to learn driving? 

Thus, taking inspiration from so many people around, I ventured to master the skill of driving a car. My trainer was also very inspiring. She would always tell me that I was on four wheels, so I will never fall off!! And she warned me to be always on the safe side, never to over speed, and never to violate traffic rules. With these golden rules in mind, I picked up driving much sooner than anybody had expected. I had finally overcome the fear and was able to take my parents to the Shillong Peak all on my own.

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

Ans.

Date 16 February 2011

Dear Rashmi,

I write this to you in great excitement and a sense of achievement. I have finally learnt swimming. You have always known my dread for the pool. And even though I liked to go to a beach on holidays but the waves somehow scared me off. Many a times, I had even thought I would drown in the sea. But I hated myself for being so scared of water when I saw others having all the fun in the pool or at the sea. Once or twice I did step in the swimming pool but did not dare to let my hands off the sides.

Last October, I firmed up my mind when I got an opportunity to use a relative’s private pool. In seven day’s time I could swim from one end to the other and also learnt to exhale under water. Now, at least whenever we are on a holiday, I don’t have to sit by the pool and watch others swim though I am yet not good enough by professional standards.

I am elated at my own achievement and wish to tell you that if you are actually determined to shed of the fear, there’s nothing to stop you. I am sure you will understand what this means to me and that’s exactly why you are the he person I wanted to share this with.

Do convey my regards to all in your family.

With love and best wishes,

Things to do

Are there any water sports in India? Find out about the areas or places which are known for water sports.

Ans: Yes, water sports is one of the most adventurous sports in India. 

Some of the popular water sports include:

(i) White water rafting

(ii) Water skiing

(iii) Canoeing and Kayaking

(iv) Scuba diving

(v) Snorkeling

(vi) Angling and Fishing

Students shall do themselves.

Water sport is an exciting experience in the island destination of Andaman and Nicobar in the Bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea. Goa is the best mainland choice for water adventure while Ganga and its tributaries in the north are mostly preferred for river rafting. In Assam, the Bhoroli river is the perfect spot for angling and rafting.

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS

Short answer type questions

1. What made Douglas feel safe about the Y.M.C.A. pool?

Ans. Douglas felt quite safe about the Y.M.C.A. pool because the shallow end was only two to three feet deep, and while the deep end was nine feet, the drop was gradual. It was also white and clean as a bath tub.

2. Why was there an aversion to water since his childhood?

Ans. A minor incident at a beach in California created his aversion to water. When he was three or tour years old, his father took him to a beach. Though he was clinging to his father, a wave knocked him down and buried him under water. He was breathless and terrified.

3. Why was Douglas sitting by the pool when no one was around?

Ans. Though Douglas arrived at the pool before anyone else, he was hesitant to enter the water all alone. So he sat by the pool and waited for others to come.

4. Who was it that caused the traumatic incident in his life?

Ans. It was a well built boy of around eighteen who tossed him into the pool. This bully of a boy, without any reason or provocation, threw Douglas into the deep end of the pool just to have some fun.

5. Did Douglas panic the moment he fell into the pool? Why?

Ans. Douglas did not panic initially. He landed in a sitting position, swallowed a lot of water but was not out of his wits. As he went down, he kept thinking of the strategy he would adopt to come back to the surface.

6. When did all his efforts cease?

Ans. All his efforts ceased when he failed to come up to the surface again and again. He was exhausted and his legs went limp. He had no more strength or any other strategies to work on. Finally, he gave up.

7. What happened when all his efforts ceased?

Ans. When Douglas gave up trying, he was relieved of the fear or terror. There was no panic; he was rather calm. and peaceful. His consciousness gradually failed and very gently his senses faded into oblivion.

8. Why did he feel handicapped after the pool incident?

Ans. The near drowning incident at the pool traumatized him so much that he would feel terrified by any water activity even after years. The idea of swimming or bathing in the lakes gripped his heart with icy horror. This handicap ruined his fishing trips, and deprived him of the joys of boating, swimming or canoeing.

9. Which feat of Douglas satisfied the instructor that his job was over?

Ans. When Douglas could dive and swim the entire length of the pool and crawl stroke, the instructor knew his job was done. He could now let Douglas swim on his own.

10. Where did Douglas go for his final conquest of fear?

Ans. At first Douglas went to Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire and swam two miles across to Stamp Island. Thereafter, as a final test, he swam across Warm Lake and proved to himself that he had conquered fear itself.

Long answer type questions

1. Why did Douglas have an aversion to water from the beginning?

Ans. Douglas’s aversion to water began when he was merely three or four years old. He was with his father at a beach in California. They stood together in the surf. Though he was clinging on to his father, the waves knocked him down and swept over him. Buried under water, he felt suffocated and frightened. His father thought it was an enjoyable experience, but Douglas was terrified by the overpowering force of the waves. Since that day, he had always felt an aversion to water.

2. How did Douglas land at the bottom of the pool?

Ans. Douglas had mustered enough courage to lean swimming at the Y.M.C.A. pool because it was quite safe. One day, he went to the pool when no one was around. He could not brave himself to enter the water alone, so he sat beside the pool and waited for others to arrive. In the meantime, a big bully of a well-built boy came and challenged Douglas to be ducked in the water. Before Douglas could say anything, the boy picked him up and threw him into the deep end. Douglas landed in the sitting position, swallowed a lot of water and gradually landed at the bottom of the pool.

3. Did the fear of water haunt Douglas after the incident?

Ans. The incident at the swimming pool haunted Douglas for many years to come. Several hours after he was rescued, he walked back home, weak and trembling. He couldn’t eat anything and cried all night. For days, fear gripped his heart and even the slightest exertion upset him. He never went back to the pool and avoided water whenever he could. The haunting fear of water followed him even years later and ruined his fishing trips and also deprived him of the joys of swimming, boating or canoeing.

4. How did the instructor build a swimmer out of Douglas?

Ans. Douglas finally got a trainer to teach him swimming. The instructor knew of his fear for water and thus, put a belt around him attached to a rope which went through a pulley that ran on an overhead cable. Relentless effort and perseverance enabled him to be easy in water after three long months. Slowly, the panic of putting his head under water was also gone and the instructor taught him to inhale outside and exhale under water. Having perfected the kicking of water with his legs, he was built into a compete swimmer.

5. Describe Douglas’s final test of courage and confidence under water.

Ans. Though trained under an instructor, Douglas still needed to test his confidence in being able to swim alone and be sure that he had shed the last traces of fear So he went to Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire, dived off the dock and swam two miles across to Stamp Island. Once, in the middle of the lake when he put his face under and saw the bottomless water, he felt slight fear but soon brushed it aside. His ultimate confidence came when he dived into the Warm Lake, swam across to the other shore and back. He shouted with joy at his conquest over fear once and for all.

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