DEEP WATER

3
CHAPTER - (William Douglas)

INTRODUCTION

Mountains', an informal autobiography

taken from the book Of Men and
Water is
an excerpt Court Associate Justice. This chapter
who is a United States Supreme
Deep
by William
Douglas swimming pool. Here he
talks about
w r i t
en
t e n

William Douglas nearly

drowned in a
h o wa s a young boy overcame it. The chapter reveals
how o u r childhood
reveals

thereater, how he finally remain with

water and and how these experiences
e fear of
vital role in formation of our personality
oriences play a us.
a positive or negative impact
on
exp our life having
usthroughout
SUMMARRY
when he was just three or
His fear of water had started
had been scared of water.
As a boy Douglas with his father and stood in
the surf holding
He had to the beach in California
old. gone he was
four years him. Though there was nothing dangerous,
hand. A sudden w a v e swept over
his father's was ten or eleven years
old he
an aversion to
water since then. When he
terrified. He developed One day when he sat there on the
as it was very safe.
Y.M.C.A. pool to learn swimming
ioined the him up and threw him into the deep
end of
all alone a big bruiser of a boy picked
of the pool
side tried to hit bottom and make a big jump
bottom. He was frightened. He
He went at once to the were about
pool. Before he touched the bottom his lungs
But it seemed his way down was very long. was then
up.
a jump he came up slowly.
He went down for a second time. He
he made
to burst. Though as his feet
water. He
was paralyzed under jumped
terrible terror. He was streaking and
gripped by a water wings but nothing
made no difference. He looked for ropes, ladders,
touched the bottom but it nose didn't come out. As he
went
move. He came up, but his
arms and legs wouldn't
was there. His
effort stopped. He felt relaxed.
sucked for air and got water. Then all his
down for the third time he crossed
was nothing to be afraid of. He
was quiet and peaceful. There
He had a black out. Everything
him and rescued him. As he walked
to oblivion and the curtain
of life fell. At that time someone saw
water and avoided it
He never went back to the pool. He feared
home he was weak and trembling. his legs would
after a few years. Whenever he would see water
whenever he could. It continued even
He practiced
decided to get an instructor and learn swimming.
become paralyzed. One October, he
when his head went under water.
Bit by bit he shed a part of the panic that seized him
rigorously. him. When he
he was able to swim the length
of the pool on his own. But the fear didn't leave
Finally, he would go
return. But whenever the old fear haunted him
would swim tiny vestiges of fear would the
He visited various water bodies and finally conquered
for another round by challenging himself.

Flamingo: Prose Section 187

 fear ol water. Since he had
experienced
both the sensation of dying and the terror
that fo
produce, the will to live somehow grew in him with great intensity. This made him fear
asidtCan
and walk with brush
great confidence. e fear
EXTRACTS FOR COMPREHENSION
ead the
extracts and answer the questions that follow :

1. From the
nree
beginning.however, I had an aversion to the water when I was in it. This started when
or Jour years old and father took me to the heach in California. He and I stood
todether U
Sury.I hung on to
him, yet the waves knocked me down and swept in the
breath was
over me. I was
huried in
burie
water. M
gone. I was
frightened.
() Whom does 'T' refer to?
(a) William Douglas (b) A young boy in the story.
(c) William Douglas's father. (d) None of the above.
(11) Where did his aversion for water start ?
(a) At Y.M.C.A. swimming pool with one of the fellow boys.
(b) Ata beach in California.
() At Yakima River.
(a) At the swimming pool with his father.
(1) Why did the fear of water creep into the
young boy's mind?
(a) He was picked up and tossed into the
deep end of the pool.
(b) The big waves swallowed him
completely and he was buried into water.
C)The experience at the bottom of the
pool brought into fears that never died.
a) As a submissive child, he wasn't adventurous at all.
(iv) The word that the
(a) Startled
means same as
'frightened'?
(b) Spirited (c) Adventurous (d) Heroic
Ans. () (a), (i) (6), (ii) (b), (iv)
(a)
2. And then sheer, stark
terror seized me, terror that knows no
control, terror that no one can understand who understanding, terror that knows no
has not experienced it. I was
was
paralysed under water stiff. rigid with fear. Even the sereams
-
shrieking under water. I
in my throat
my heart, and the
pounding in my head, said that I was still alive.
were
frozen. Ony
(i) Why does the passage
begin with "and"?
(a) To set up a scene to grip the reader
with a feeling of fear.
(b) To accelerate the feeling of terror the
reader has been
(c) To unleash the suspense. experiencing.
(d) To attract the reader's attention towards
what.
(i) The extract is about.
(a) the apprehension of the
boy (b) the fears of the boy
(c) the weaknesses of the boy
(d) the strengths of the
(ii) Choose the correct statement. boy
(a) The boy was paralyzed.
(b) The boy was almost dead.
() The boy was gripped with extreme fear of
(d) The boy couldn't hear the getting drowned.
thumping of his own heart.
188 U-LIKE English (Core-XIl
 he narrator feel to be paralysed ?
tir) Whydid

(a) He
ble to push himself back to the surface.
limbs stopped working.
His
af mmere water all around
of and the
The sight endless depth made him feel
was no one
to rescue him. so.
There
(d)
(m) (), (io>) (c)
i) (),
o t),.
A n s

in the middle of the lake, I put my face under and saw

he middr

durned in niniature. I laughed and said, "Well, Mr nothing

/uas
but hottomless water.
3 W h e n

The
o l ds e n s a

Terror, what do think you

and I swam on. you can

do 10 me
" l Jled
sensation returned ?
Which
(a) The
sensation of losing confidence
(b)
censation that arose at the time of
getting wiped away by
(The sensation of being pushed into the poo
overpowering force of waves.
The sensation that took place while water surfing for the first time.
Why is the sensation referred to as miniature ?
(i)
(a) Sensation is many a times bigger.

(b) It's not the real sensation.

c The sensation has the same impact as it had before.
The sernsation is not as frightening as it was before.

(G) Why
did he laugh ?
(a) Because he wanted to get over his fear of water.
(6) As he wanted to keep a brave face.
(C) As he found the situation funny.
d) As he was trying to distract himself away of the fear of
(io) Why did the terror flee?
getting drowned.
(a) He had practiceda lot to conquer his fear.
(b) He had overcome the fear of water.
c) He was trying to lighten the situation by saying so.
(d) None of the above.

Ans. () (b), (in) (d), (i) (a), (io) (b)

4. The experience had a deep meaning for me, as only those who have knouwn stark terror and conquered
it can appreciate. In death there is peace. There is terror only in the fear of death."

() Which experience is Douglas talking about ?

(a) Overcoming the inferiority complex of being skinny.
(b) Proving himself as a swimmer
(c) Conquering his fear of water.
(d) Making the' big bruiser feel guilty about his act.
() The extract brings in a mood of,
(a) despair and disgust (b) cheerfulness and contentment
(C) arrogance and apathy (d) self-dependence and self-appreciation
(i) The word closest to meaning with 'stark' in the extract
(a) mild (b) absolute (c)flexible (d) horrible

Flamingo: Prose Section| 189

 (rr)
Explain "In death
there is
(a) Once peat
one comes
(h) 1f in terms with loss of life, all fears
one is
dead, then there's
disappear
(Death ends no room for any kind of fear
d) Death brings
all
in
miseries of life.
Ans. (i)
(). (i) (b), (iin hope against all odds of life
(b), (iv) (a)
5.
Mu breath uas
gone. I
orerpouering force of thewas frightened. s
Father laughed. but there was terr
orror in
mu
Mu uares. heart
introduction to the Y.M.C
M.CA. suimming
at
the
Jears. But in a
little while I
pool reited unpleasant memories and
other hovs and trving eathered confidence. I paddled with my neu uater stirred ch
to learn wings,
Just
beginning to feel at ease in hutheaping them. I did this rwo or three times on
on different.
different days the
water when the
) Choose
misadrenture happened. and to
the corect
option with reference to the two statements
Statement 1:The author's father given below:
Statement 2
laughed to mock
his son's inability to swim.
The author wanted to swim just to
(a) Statement 1 is true but prove to his tather that he can
Statement 2 is false. swim.
(6) Statement 1 is
false but Statement 2 is true.
(c) Both
Statement 1 and Statement 2 cannot be
(d) Both inferred.
Statement 1 and Statement 2 can be
(17)My introduction inferred.
childish fears."
to the Y.M.C.A. Swimming pool revived
It can be
inferred that this was a clear case ot
unpleasant
memories and stimaad
(a) suppression
( ) The
(b) oppression (c) depression
misadventure that took place (d) repression
(a) the author right after the author felt comfortable
slipped and fell into the swimming pool. was that
(b) a bully tossed him
into the pool for the sake of fun.
(c) his coach
forgot to teach him how to handle
deep water.
(d) his father couldn't
(io) Choose the
help him from drowning into the water.
option that describes the
equipment used by the author while
learning to swim.

(1)
(2) (3)
(a) Option (1) (b) Option (2) (4)
(c) Option (3)
Ans. (i) (c), (ii) (d), (ii) (b), (iv) (d) Option (4)
(d)
6. Then all
effort ceased. I relaxed. Even my legs
our fear: it felt limp; and a blackness
wiped out terror. There was no more swept over my brain. It
panic. It was wiped
of. This is nice... to be quiet and peaceful. Nothing
drowsy.. go to sleep.. no need to
to to be afiraid
carried gently... to float jump... too tired to jump... it's nice to be
along space.. tender arms around me...
in
must go to
sleep.. tender arms like Mother'...
now I
I crossed to oblivion, and the curtain of
190 U-LIKE
life fell.
English (Core-XI ICBSE Question Bankl
 the
corevt ption with reference to the bwo statements
option
given below
se
The author tried his best to jump out of water
Statement7
After
Statemen 2: A t a while. the author was not anvious in water
Statemernt
1 is the cause. Statement 2 is the effect
Ir
shement 1 is the ettect. Statement 2 is the cause
hthe statements are the effects ofa common cause
statementsare the effects of independent causes
Roth the

(n) The
sin (ot life) fell' corTesponds to an aspect of
( ) o m e
()history
t n
(c) sports drama
is t
The purpose ot usin
the above passagp
(h) indiuate pauses
(a)showomissiom
()shortena dialog1u (d) replace an idea
Which o p t i o n indicates that the author lost consciousness ?
()Tcrossed to oblivion.
(a) Tt
was quiet and pearul
arms like
()Tender
Mother s Tt wiped out fear
(). (m) (A). (r)()
()(a). (im
Ans
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

the lesson
What is theme
the of
master the art swimming. of
(a) To
encounter something
ternible.
()To
bulliei by superiors
()To get
fear and to conquer it with all possible might.
T o experience
called?
is the tear of water
() What
(a) Claustrophobia ()Acrophobia () Aquaphobia ) Nyctophobia
the author's fear vanish
()How did
and perseverance. (b) With utmost care
a)With ourage, guidance
advise. ()With guidance of the coach.
(c) With his parents'
Y.M.C.A. stand for?
(i)Whatdoes
Christian Authority () Young Men's Christian Association
(a) Young Men's
(c) Young Men's Christian Army () Young Men's Christian Academy

()The narrator is by haunted

(a) dreadful experience the beach

at () ghosts' images
resolute words () a push he received by a young boy
)his mother's
recommend that he should learn swimming at the Y. M.C.A. swimming
() Why did Douglas' mother
pool
(b) Because it was well maintained.
(a) Because it was local.
Because it shallow and safe.
(c)Because the coach over there was efficient. (d)
was

for the title of the chapter 'Deep Water' is that

(ci) The most appropriate justification
ICBSE Question Bankl

(a) it's about the dangerous depth of the swimming pool.

6) it reveals the author's lack of surety about overcoming his fear of swimming.

it underlines the author's fear of water

and how he overcomes it.
(c)
(d) it includes the methods of the s coach to overcome the fear of deep water.

Flamin e Section 191

 (vii) Choose the quote that does not
res onate with the central idea of the chapter.
CBSE Question
THE ONLY Banh
WE MUST UNDERSTAND PERSON THE
Never trust
THAT SADNESS IS N
OCEAN, AND
sOMETIMES WE
your fears. INEED TO
COMPARE
GREATEST
PLEASURE
IN LIFE s
they don't know
DROWWHIEOTHER MYSELF TO DOING WHAT
DAYS WE ARE ROReED your strength." PEOPLE
TO SWIM 1S MY SAY

YESTERDAY YOU
CANNOT Do.
SELF
(1) (2) (3)
(4)
(a) Option (1) (b) Option (2) (c) Option (3) (d) Option (4)
is scared and can't overcome it.
(2) Samuel has a phobia of heights but
Choose the option that displays an advice. ICBSE Question Bank
(1) Go to the swimming pool and jump in it from the highest diving board that vou co ank
(2) If I were you, l'd begin small. Like spending 10 mins.
there.
looking down from my balconu
each
day, for a week.
(3) Unbelievable! What's the problem? I've done bungee jumping! It's a piece of cake.
4) Fear is a major issue if you let it control you. I think it will take a firm grip on you if vou dou
on't
address it soon.
(a) Option(1) (b) Option (2) (c) Option (3) (d) Option (4)
() The chap that threw me in was saying, "But I was only fooling."
Choose the option mentioning the personality traits of this 'chap' ICBSE Question Bank]
(1) Persuasive (2) Irresponsible (3) Domineering (4) Manipulative
(5) Callous
(a) 1,2, 4 (b) 2,4,5 (c) 2,3,5 (d) 1,3,5
Ans. () (d), (i) (o), (ii) (a), (io) (d), (e) (a), (ei) (d), (vin (c), (vin (b), (ix) (b), (x) (C)

TEXTBOOK QUESTIONS
THINK AS YOU READ

Q.1. What is the 'misadventure' that William

Douglas speaks about ?
Ans. The 'misadventure' refers
the incident when he was thrown into the
to
pool by a big bruiser boy and he had almost drowned before he was
deep end of the swimming
Q.2. What were the series of emotions and fears that
pulled out of the water.
the pool ? What plans did he make
Douglas experienced when he was thrown into
to come
to the surface?
Ans. When he was thrown into the water he was
frightened but not yet frightened
out of wits. On the
way down, he
planned
that he would make a
big jump when his feet touched the
plan failed. He grew panicky. He was sutfocating. He tried bottom. But his
to yell but no
all efforts ceased and he felt relaxed. He then lost sound came out. Finally,
his consciousness.
Q.3. How did this experience affect him ?
Ans The terrible experience lett haunting
a tear
of water in
his heart. He
He avoided being in water whenever he could.
whenever he tried to
never went back
to the pool.
had seized him in the pool would come bacK. His enter
water, the terror that
legs would become
would grab his heart. paralysed and an icy horror
192 U-LIKE English (Core-XIl
 aglas determined
get over his fear of water ?to
Whyw a s
o f .ater
wvat remained
with him as the
years rolled by. Wherever he went, the
tiis fear ed him.
f e a r

1 1 s

It .ruined his
him. Ilollowed

fishing trips and haunting fe.

An.

ofwater
swimming. To enable himself to
To enable
him of the joy of deprived canoeing, boating
all enjoy these activities, he decided
and was
determined
a n d

of water.
his
fear
to
over
get
.de instructor
instthe "build swinmmer a
out of
did
Douglas ?
O.5
How

instructor
1put
tbelt around him. A rope attached
bel aa
to the belt
went
A n s
The
overhead cable. The instructor held on to the end of the through a pulley that ran on
rope. Thus
day, week after week. It tookthey
hourafter hou
our, day after went back and
ross
the p0ol forth,
slack.
i o n slack.
t e n sion Then the instructor taught him to his
Douglas three months to
his put face under water and
inhale. He
and inhale.
s e e

raise his
n oise
se and He repeated the exercise
,

hundred times. exhale, and

to
shed the panic that seized
sei him when his head went under water. Slowly, Douglas managed
to
of the pool and had him kick
Next, the instructor held him
the side with his legs. For weeks he
at
work. But the
did just that. At first his
refusedto hey gradually relaxed and finally, he could
command them. Thus, bit
legs
the instructor built a swimmer out of Douglas. by bit
did
Q.6. Howdid Douglas make sure that he conquered the old terror ?
owly was builtiinto a swimmer by the instructor. But
Dou /hen he was alone in the pool, he was not
tiny vestiges of the old terror would completely
An5.
sure of
hat all the terror had left. So he went to Lake Wentworth in
sure
return. He was not
New
Triges 1sland, and swam two miles across the lake to Stamp Act Island.Hampshire, dived offa dock
Thus, he Soon the terror fled and
he Swam on. conquered his long standing fear of water.

UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT

aw does Douglas make clear to the reader the
sense of
rOwned ? Describe the details that have made the panic that gripped him as he almost
, A Sense of panic gripped him as he almost
description vivid.
An drowned. He had planned to reach
iump, but the way down seemed the bottom and
very long and his lungs were about to burst. He
came up
and opened
his to clutch the eyes
rope. He was slowly
and tried to suffocating
yell but no sound came out.
His legs were paralyzed and dead. This began his
journey back to the bottom
all his strength. His
lungs ached and his head throbbed. None of his again. He had lost
terror seized him. He was shrieking under water strategies worked and a stark
and paralyzed. Even the
screams in his throat
were frozen. His heart was
pounding in his head. Finally, someone pulled him out of the water. He
had a narrow escape.
0.2. How did Douglas overcome his fear of water?
Ans. Douglas had experienced
the fear of water twice- once at
the age of three or four
then at the age of eleven years and
years. This lurking fear deprived him of
canoeing, swimming, etc. So, he tried different ways to conquer thisenjoying for water boating,
activities like

helped him much. Finally, he engaged an instructor to teach him howphobia

but nothing
to swim. He went to the
and practiced for five pool
days a week, an hour each day. After three months of practice, his tension
decreased. Then the instructor
taught him to put his face under water and exhale and to raise his
nose and inhale. Bit
by bit, Douglas shed part of the panic that seized him when his head went
under water. In the seventh
month, he could swim, dive, crawl stroke. But Douglas was still not
completely sure of himself. So, he went to Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire, dived off a dock
at
Iriggs Island, and swam two miles across the lake to Stamp Act Island. Soorn, the terror fled and
he swam on. Thus, he
finally conquered his fear of water.

Flamingo : Prose Section 193

 childhood experience of terror nd his
and
O.3. Why does Douglas a s an adult recount a his
quering
5. Desca

from this experience ?

it ? Whal larger meaning does he draw oft had
Ans. Douglas as an adult recounts a childhood experience of terror and his conquerine.
of it because Ans. The
it was a great learning experience through which he gained confidence in life. It en
this lesson that it is
led him to
the fear of death
n a r r a

conquer the inherent fear within. We learn through nat gives jump
to past fears can only spoil our
our t
rise to
anxiety and terror in o u r minds. Clinging present. vain

we must of man. ItHence

make efforts to shake these fears off. In life fear is the greatest enemy of ma wate

him back from taking initiatives in life. It is true that life's situations are risky but one. holds
nust have agai

is the larger meaning that

thecourage to face them boldly to rise in life. This Douglas too wants to
hea

Som
draw from his experience.
cur

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS Q.6. Wh

Ans. Hde

hac
to 50 words.
Answer
thefollowing questions in 40 the
of life.' Comment o
actually the greatest learnings
wins are thi
Q.1. "Seemingly small everyday
"Deep Water". ICBSE Question Bank
statement with reference to the chapter a professional heln
his fear of water by hiring who Q.7. W
Ans. learnt swimming after overcoming
Douglas childhoodfa
tried all ways to overcome his
how to swim. He too fears Ans. WV
guided him properly to learn a bit of panic
seized him on each trip across
the instructor, the
of water and while learning with thia
due to his early experiences with water. Inthis
that all obstacles were N
pool. Gradually, he realised as he understood
that all o n e had to fear,
ar
efforts he conquered his fears was
way, with his
constant

the fear itself. Q.8.

be ?
the chapter a newtitle, what would it Ans.
Q.2. If you could give Water". ICBSE Question Bank]
answer with reference to the chapter "Deep
Support your
title for the lesson other
than its original title
Ans. "Conquer your Fears"
s e e m s to be a n appropriate
for each one of us to get
Q.9
o v e r c o m e s his
fears and it's possible
Ans.
The story is about how Douglas and perseverance, nothing is
weaknesses with consistent efforts. With right guidance
rid of o u r but it will be there at the end
that victory will be challenging Q.10.
to achieve. It is probable
impossible
efforts are sincere.
of the road provided the with reference to the chapter "Deep
difficult task. Elucidate Ans.
rid of fear is a n extremely ICBSE Question Bank]
Q.3. Getting
Water". their in it. Their
weak and paralyse beyond a life without
us to look
presence
Q.11.
Ans. Our fears make us
from achieving n e w e r heights as w e fail to identify
that w e are pulled back Ans.
grip is s o suffocating of getting rid of his fears in the lesson is quite long
and
o u r strengths.
The narrator's journey that his
mental and physical training to accept
and he had to undergo rigorous of his life
challenging encounter with water at a n early stage
overshadowhis weaknesses. His
strengths could to be an adult to understand that the biggest fright was to
the brunt until he grew
made him bear
fear the fear.
of the references to the natural world in the chapter "Deep Water". Q.12.
Discuss the significance ICBSE Question Bank)
O.4.
Ans.
weaknesses.
and powerful insight into humans' strengths and
and it has the
Ans. Nature is prudent have the ability to fight back with the power of
the
creation ot n a t u r e
who are another
Humans o v e r s h a d o w them proving itself to be superior. In
the lesson,
which may try to
natural world With i r
waterm will, The water
determination and strone
his fears ot
the narrator
wins over Q.13
which may prove numans to be mere
puppets in front of it. Douglas
natural force Ans
has immense the fear itself and finally he restored his confidence in
m e his fear
of water by challenging
his own self.

U-LIKE
English (Core)-XI
194
 oohysical
the and emotional
impacts that the misadventure
both at
the Y.M.C.A. poo
ering ot O.5.
D e s c r i b e

on
had Y.M.C.A.
the
n a r r a t o r .

pool xperience reviv

ICBSE Question Barnkl
unpleasant memories and stirred childhood fears for the

because
him to
Ans. The

narrator.

ds
n
soon
he author was tossed into the deep end of the pool, fear gripped him. He tried to
aas he hit the bottom of the pool hoping to rise to the surface of the water,
but in
at gives jump
up ized him as he realised that he was engulted in water as what he could see w a
Vain. P'ar st

Hence,
It holds
water all

gain but sheer

und. His limbs felt paralysed, his lungs ached and head throbbed. He wentdown
around.

eheer terror seized him. The screams in his throat were frozen and pounding of the
st have realise that he was alive. Tried to think rationally,he made another attempt and
heart madehim
ants to managed to
somehow managed to reach the surface. He had a rendezvous with death and it seemed that the

curtain
of life fell.
the idea of getting into water ?
william Douglas dislike
Why did Will

disliked the ing into water because when Douglas was 4 years old and his father
idea of getti
Ans. He knocked down by the waves while standing in
4aken him to the beach in California, he was
breath gone and he frightened. On account of
Douglas was buried in water, his
was was
thesuurf,
on the there was always a terror in his heart at the overpowering force of the waves and
experience
this
Bank a hatred at the idea of getting into water.

p who What was Douglas's being thrown into the pool ?

initial reaction on

d fears a7

when Douglas
was thrown into the deep water by
a
big boy he was frightened, but not yet
oss the On the way down to the end of the pool, he planned that when his feet
In this frightened out of his its.
he would make a big jump, come to the surface, lie flat on it, and paddle to
ar was would hit the bottom,
the edge of the pool.
did he plan to save himself?
Douglas realised that he was sinking, how
08. When
bottom of the pool he realised that he was sinking so he planned to make a big
When he hit the
Bank Ans.

jump after hitting

the bottom, come to surface, lie flat on it and paddle to the edge of the pool.
al title. as he went down to the bottom of the pool for the first
time ?
to get 09. What did Douglas experience
terror as he didn't know swimming and was afraid of water from the beginning.
ning is Ans. He experienced
He felt utterly helpless and his mind nearly went blank. He grew panicky and started suffocating.
ne end ? How could
terror seized Douglas as he went down the water with a yellow glow
0.10. What sort of
he feel that he was still alive?
Deep seized him, a terror that
Bank] Ans. He panicky. His lungs ached, his head throbbed and a sheer terror
grew
knows no control. He knew that he was alive as he shook and trembled with fright.
Their
entify Q.11. Why Douglas keen to overcome his fear of water?
was

over till the age of eleven. Once when he was

and Ans. Douglas had experienced the fear of water twice
him up and threw him
at his three four years old and then at Y.M.C.A. pool where a huge boy picked
or
into the deep end. He was some how saved. But this fear of water remained with him as the years
is life
rolled by. Wherever he went, the haunting fear of water followed him. It ruined his fishing trips
vas to
and him of the joy of canoeing, boating and swimming.
To enable himself to enjoy all
deprived
. these activities, he decided and was determined to get over his fear of water.
life ?
Bank] Q.12. How did the incident at the Y.M.C.A. pool affect William Douglas later in his
killed the confidence of William Douglas. He suffered from
esses. Ans. The incident at the Y.M.C.A. pool
the old terror that
f the avoided water. Whenever he tried to enter water,
hydrophobia and he always would become paralysed and an icy horror
come back. His legs
sson, had seized him in the pool would and swimming.
of the pleasures of water like canoeing, boating
water would grab his heart. It denied him ?
encounter after his experience in the Y.M.C.A. pool
uglas Q.13. What handicap did William Douglas
suffered from hydrophobia. He was
ce in Y.M.C.A. pool William Douglas
Ans. After his experience in the and he couldn't
avoided it. This tear killed his confidence
afraid of going into water and always
water like canoeing,
boating, and swimming.
enjoy the pleasures of
Flamingo : Prose Section 195
 lerror" ?
"the old Fle s t i l l w a s not
sur

hat
labkes a all the
o v e r c o m e
instructor.

by the
did Douglas
w

slowly was
built into a
confidently
swimmer

him in
continued

n cconquering
onquerin his f
to swim in various
and riversteunH
rroy
uglas He helped ear.
he didn't give up. will to live
But The
a d lefl. old fear. water ?
rid of the of
he had
h e w a s s u r e he got the fear
rid of but nothing helped him much.
finally get hydrophobia

O.15. How did Douglas his

to
overcome
slowly was built into
Douglas Finall
Douglas tried different waysteach him h o w to swim.
er by
of himself When he was alon
Ans.
to n e
he engaged an instructo Pont, iny
sure

terror had led

completely

the instructor. But

not
glas
was
was not sure that all the left. So, he
return. He
Iriggs Island, and swam went
vestiges of the old
terror
dived
would
offa
dock at
Thus, he.
miles tn
he
Lake Wentworth in New
Hampshire,
the t e r r o r
Act Island.
Soon
fled and he swam on.
conquered his lono
the lake to Stamp ? What did he do thou.
ere?
standing fear of water. Lake Wentworth in New
Hampshire

to But not surethaa the

he was
Q.16. Why did Douglas go into a
s w i m m e r by
built
the instructor.
old fear of
New Hampshire, dived off a dockk at Triggs
was in Nev
Ans. Douglas slowly went to Lake
Wentworth

him. So, he Stamp Act

Island. Soon the terror
fled and he
water had left the lake to
two miles
across

fear of water.
felt
Island, and
swam
his long standing
Thus, he conquered
confident.

LONG ANsWER QUESTIONS

in 120 to 150 words.

Answer the following questions
into the pool, reads this chapter and real:..
that the bully who threw Douglas is
Q.1. Imagine
mistake.
down your response
to Douglas' perseveranca.
and
As the bully, write a diary entry penning (CBSE Question Bank)
and regret.
your own feelings of guilt
Ans. Date: June 5, 2 0 .

Day: Monday
Time: 9.30 p.m.
Dear Diary
Sometimes your actions make you feel pettier of yourself. In an impulse you end up doing somethino
which seems to be insensitive and worthless later. As a teenager, I committed an act which makes
me feel ashamed of myself. I met a boy who seemed to be meek at the Y.M.C.A. swimming pool.
had a great physique and just to make that boy feel weak and helpless, I pushed him into the pool
not knowing that he was fearful of water. This action was thoughtless and insane but I couldn't
understand why I committed such an act, how I could be so crazy. The boy was struggling in the
water due to my unkind action and I didn't even dive into the pool to save him. Amazed to see the
effort to save himself, Douglas tried hard to get back to the surface of water. His fight with his fear
was amazing which gave me a feeling of guilt and repentance. It was in his third attempt that he
reached at the surface. I pulled him out and tried to stroke his back to save him. I'm guilty and feel
humiliated of my behaviour. I hope I get to met him someday and apologise for my cruel act.
Ihave shared my feelings with you as I feel trouble deep inside having a conflict with my conscience
everyday. Help me, dear diary!
0.2. Douglas' mother writes to the Y.M.C.A. authorities holding them accountable for the mishap as
well as demanding that the authorities employ a teamof guards near the pool for supervision of
the children.

As the mother, write a letter to the authoriies with

reference to the case of vour son.

196 U-LIKE English (Core-XII

 begin like this:
t h :

Iike

begin

m a y

1 o u

Negligence on P'renises

sir
reference to
to tthe incident of near fatal drowning of my son, William on your premises.
is
w i l h

ICBSE Question Bank

This
Wewere,

Premises

Negligence on
ct: incident
the inc of fatal drowning of
my son, William on your premises.
near
r e t e r e
c e to
n c e

with luatt the security measures being taken for the safety of the children coming there
is
1 h i sW e r e s u r e a b o u i

swimming. ButIn
must say that our experience is really disappointing as my son
o masterth rt of
ictim of bullying nearly drowned due to the negligence of the authorities. First of
cho evane to bring it your attention that on June 2, 20..at 5 p.m. my son had a swimming
alone at the pool side as the instructor was yet to arrive. Meanwhile, a teenager boy
a l l I w o u l d

He wasalone
clas with the motive of bullying him. He pushed my son into water and saw him going deep
came
there with

the ool. So here I want to raise a question why the children were unattended at
of the
surface

to
the ? No lifeguard was there to save my son. The poor child trying hard to reach onto the
e p o o l s i d e

terrorized to the extent that his limbs stopped working. Had he failed to reach
af water got
would have lost my son. I want to give my feedback about this negligence at the
surface

the to alert everyone against such incidents to happen with any one of them.
dalso request you to hire a team of guards to supervise the children over there and ensure no
nlays any trick on other children. Stern action is required against the guard who was assigned
iuty of being there that day. A positive response is awaited from your side!
vith the duty
with

Thanking you

Marie Douglas
william Douglas had nearly drowned in the Y.M.C.A. pool due to the misadventure of a bruiser
Q.3.
hav but it was a learning lesson too. What did the author gain from the incident ?
William Douglas had nearly drowned due to the misadventure of a bruiser boy but it was a
leaning lesson for him. It taught him the mortal struggle for existernce in a grave manner. It is
true that had it not been for the rescuer he would have perished in the water. After the incident he
was mortally sacred of water. But gradually he learnt the art of swimming and also with his own
efforts managed to get out of this fear. According to him, the experience taught him the lesson
that all that we have to fear is fear itself. By overcoming the fear of water he was able to face even
graver challenges in life and come out very successfully. He became a United States Supreme
Court Associate Justice and as of 2007, with a term lasting thirty-six years and seven months, he
remains the longest-serving justice in the history of the Court. He had learnt the first lesson of
survival in the pool where he nearly drowned.
04. But I was not finished. Describe how Douglas built up his confidence as a swimmer after the
instructor had left him.
Ans. The instructor built a swimmer out of him, but Douglas was still scared of waters. When he was
alone in the pool he swam the length up and down. Tiny vestiges of old terror would return. But
now he could challenge the fear and would go for another length of the pool. This went on until
July and still he was not satisfied. He was not sure that all the terror had left. So he went to lake
Wentworth in New Hampshire, dived off a dock at Triggs Island, and swam two miles across the
lake to Stamp Act Island. Only once did the terror return. He smiled and asked challengingly what
it could do to him. The terror fled and he swam on. Yet, the residual of doubts lingered on. He
hurried to the west dived into Warm Lake. He shouted with joy and thus he had conquered his fear
of water.

Flamingo Prose Section 197

 Q.5. What was
Douglas's fear ? How did he overcome
that fear ?
Ans. Douglas experienced the fear of water twice in his life.
his father took him to the beach in Once when he was
California. Both three or fo
together in the surf.our
of them stood
to his father,
yet the waves knocked him down and Hrs old
swept over him. Second
pool a big bruiser of a boy picked him
saved but the
up and threw him into the
deep
time, at #h.
end.
end. He w
the hung on
Y.M.C.A.
haunting fear of water followed him
for long whenever he was
overcome fear of water,
months of
Douglas engaged an instructor to
had to
teach him how to
ente
enter somehow
practice, his tension
decreased. Then the instructor swim. Ade. To
water and exhale and to raise
his nose and inhale. Bit taught him to put hie er under
three
had seized him, but not all by bit, Douglas shed part of face
over. Later he visited the n-
swimming, diving, and performing
various rivers and lakes and
crawl stroke until he was sure that the jumped panic
inthat
old terror had lam
ft
him

198 U-LIKE English (Core)-XII