Deep Water

Contents:

Justification of the title

Theme

Important Questions with Answers

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Title

‘Deep Water’ is an autobiographical incident which narrates the ordeal of the author when he was plunged into the deep side of the YMCA pool. But even before this incident, he had an aversion to water when as a child he was swept over by waves at the beach in California. The same fear gripped him once he went down deep into the water. The author describes his panic-stricken moments, his anxiety, his fear and uncertainty as he struggled to reach the surface of the water. If taken idiomatically also, the author was in deep water as there was no one around to listen to his screams and help him. After this incident, it took him many years to overcome his fear. To be sure that he was actually free from that childhood fear, he challenged himself to swim in some of the dangerous deep waters and was able to conquer his fear. Thus, the title is justified.

Theme

‘Fear not the fear, conquer it’, this rightly describes the theme of ‘Deep Water’ by William O. Douglas. A fear of something can haunt you forever and obstruct your way to live your life to the fullest if not tackled. Douglas had some deep wounds of misadventures with water, one as a child and the other when he was 10 years old. He had almost died in the YMCA pool when he was pushed by a bully into it. Though he was saved, the fear gripped him for many years. His is a story of determination, perseverance and endurance to overcome his deep rooted fear. The incident had a deep impact on Douglas even after he had overcome his fear. He realized that that there is terror only in the fear of death which sums up the essence of the story.

Important questions

1. How has Douglas described his sense of panic that gripped him as he almost drowned?

Douglas paints a very realistic picture of what he went through when he almost drowned in the pool. He landed in the pool in a sitting position, swallowed water and went at once to the bottom. Though he was panic-stricken while going down, he planned that when his feet would touch the bottom, he would push himself up by jumping with all his might and come to the surface. But since this did not happen, he started suffocating. He tried to yell but no sound came out. He swallowed water and choked. His legs had become paralyzed and rigid. He felt as if some force was pulling him down. He again started going down. His lungs ached and head throbbed. He was getting dizzy. As he was going down again, stark terror seized him. He was shrieking under water but even his screams were frozen. He decided to apply the same strategy again but the jump made no difference and stark terror took an even deeper hold on him,

2. How did Douglas overcome his fear of water?

Douglas had developed an aversion to water and thus deprived himself of the joy of fishing, boating, swimming etc. therefore he hired an instructor to help him get rid of this fear and learn swimming. To begin with, the instructor put a belt around him. A rope attached to the belt went through a pulley that ran on an overhead cable. He held on to the end of the rope, and they went back and forth, back and forth across the pool, hour after hour, day after day, week after week. On each trip across the pool a bit of the panic seized Douglas. Each time the instructor relaxed his hold on the rope and Douglas went under, some of the old terror returned and his legs froze.

After three months of this, when Douglas had started feeling a little relaxed, the instructor taught him to put his face under water and exhale, and to raise his nose and inhale. He practiced it hundreds of times and bit by bit he was shedding his fear. Next was the turn to build the strength of his legs. For this, the instructor held him at the side of the pool and asked him to kick with his legs. He did this for weeks together. At first his legs refused but then gradually he could command them.

Thus, the instructor tackled his fear one by one and made him ready to swim after almost six months of training.

3. Why did Douglas as an adult recount a childhood experience of terror and his conquering of it? What larger meaning did he draw from this experience?

Douglas lived in fear of water for many years and could not enjoy water sports as his friends did. He felt something was missing in his life. Even after many years of the incident, he was not able to come out of that fear. Thus, he decided to take professional help and learn swimming. It took him about six months to overcome his fear and once he was able to do it, it was a moment of ecstasy for him. It was a new beginning for him. He realized that it was the fear of death that was holding him back. In death, there is peace but till you are alive, you must fight your fear. As Roosevelt said, “ “All we have to fear is fear itself.”

Later, Douglas recounted his childhood experience of terror as an adult, to encourage others to fight their fears and not live with them. It also served as a reinforcement for him whenever he came across such a similar situation. The author also felt that those who had known stark fear and conquered it could appreciate it. So, it was a learning experience for him.

4. Why did the author choose the Y.M.C.A. pool to learn to swim?

Douglas was terrorized at the overpowering force of the waves after the incident when he was knocked down by sea waves while he was surfing with his father. He was just three or four years old at that time. When he was ten or eleven years old, he decided to learn to swim. He picked up the Y.M.C.A. pool because the Yakima river was treacherous and his mother had warned him against it. She kept on telling him about the drownings that happened in the river. On the other hand the pool water was calm and safe. It was only two or three feet deep at the shallow end; and while it was nine feet deep at the other, the drop was gradual. Because of this, he decided to go for the Y.M.C.A. pool.

5. What did the author’s mother warn him about?

When the author decided to learn swimming at the age of ten or eleven, his mother warned him against choosing the Yakima river because it was treacherous. She kept on reminding him of all the drownings that had happened in it as a cautionary measure so as to prevent the author from choosing it.

6. The childhood incident of the author was deeply rooted in his mind. What was the incident?

When Douglas was three to four years old, he went surfing with his father to the beach in California. He hung on to his father in the surf but still the waves knocked him down and swept over him. He was buried in water. His breath was gone and he was frightened. His father knew there wasn’t much to worry about so he laughed the incident out. But for an innocent child of three or four it wasn’t something to be taken lightly. There was terror in his heart at the overpowering force of the waves after this incident.

7. What happened to the author when he was sitting alone beside the pool?

Or

Describe the bully who approached Douglas at the pool? What did he do?

One day the author reached the pool when no one else was there. Since he was timid and had had a bad experience with water, he sat beside the pool to wait for others. After sometime there came a big bruiser of a boy, probably eighteen years old. He had thick hair on his chest. He was a beautiful physical specimen, with legs and arms that showed rippling muscles. He approached Douglas and yelled if he would like to take a plunge in the water. Within an instant he picked Douglas up and tossed him into the deep side of the pool.

8. What revived the childhood fear of the author?

Or

The author’s decision to learn to swim in the Y.M.C.A. pool proved to be a nightmare for him. Discuss.

Douglas was terrorized at the overpowering force of the waves after the incident when he was knocked down by sea waves while he was surfing with his father. He was just three or four years old at that time. Douglas decided to learn to swim in the Y.M.C.A. pool. At the pool his unpleasant memories were revived and it stirred his childish fears. But within a few days he gathered confidence and paddled with his new water wings. He watched the other boys and tried to learn by aping them. He had started to feel at ease with water and would have forgotten about that childhood incident if that big bruiser of a boy had not plunged him into the pool.

But after he was thrown into the pool by the bully, the nightmare started. Frightened, he went straight down but on his way down planned to push himself up with his feet when they touched the bottom. He thought that like this he would bob up like a cork and would come to the surface of the water. However, after jumping from the bottom, he moved up very slowly and couldn’t make it to the surface. His eyes and nose came out but mouth was still inside the water. He swallowed some water and choked. He was feeling suffocated. Panic gripped him as he again started going down. He again tried the same thing but nothing happened. He tried to shout but even his throat seemed frozen. Stark terror took an even deeper hold on him. He trembled with fright and neither his arms nor his legs moved. He was getting dizzy. His legs seemed to be paralyzed under water. He tried to call his mother for help. But nothing happened. He started going down for the third time. He again sucked water and all effort ceased. He relaxed. His legs felt limp. Blackness swept over his brain and his fear wiped out. There was no terror, no panic at that time. It was quiet and peaceful. He was becoming unconscious and felt as if he was being carried gently, floating in the space with the tender arms of his mother around him. He entered the unknown but then the next thing he remembered was when he was on his stomach beside the pool, vomiting. Thus, he was saved but it was a nightmare for him.

9. How did Douglas’ life change after the incident at Y.M.C.A. pool?

Douglas felt terrorized after the incident. He became hydrophobic. For days the fear haunted him and he couldn’t eat or sleep. The slightest exertion upset him, making him wobbly in the knees and sick to his stomach. He never went back to the pool and avoided water whenever he could. Because of this he couldn’t go and enjoy fishing, boating, swimming etc. with his friends. If he tried, the terror that had seized him in the pool came back and his legs would become paralyzed & icy horror would grab his heart. This handicap stayed with him for years till he decided to learn to swim.

10. Why did the author go to Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire?

Once the author had overcome his fear, he wanted to test himself. He wasn’t sure whether all the terror had left or not. 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. He swam the crawl, breaststroke, side stroke, and backstroke. Only once did the terror return. When he was in the middle of the lake, he put his face under and saw nothing but bottomless water. At this point the old sensation returned in miniature but he laughed and said, “Well, Mr Terror, what do you think you can do to me?” The terror vanished and he swam on.

11. How do you think Douglas was rescued when he was about to be drowned?

On that unfortunate day Douglas had reached the pool a little early and was waiting for others to come when the misadventure happened. The other boys must have come to the pool to swim. Seeing Douglas drowning, they must have saved him. There are chances that the bully must have returned to check whether Douglas was able to come out of the pool or not. And realizing that Douglas was drowning, he must have rescued him.

12. Why did Douglas decide to overcome his fear of water?

Because of his fear of water, Douglas was missing out on so many opportunities to enjoy water activities. Whenever he went near water, his legs would become paralysed and icy horror would grab his heart. The terror that had seized him in the pool would come back. Therefore, he decided to overcome his fear of water.

13. What sort of terror seized Douglas as he went down the water with a yellow glow? How could he feel that he was still alive? (the second time)

When he started going down the second time, he was already exhausted. His lungs ached and head throbbed. He was getting dizzy. But he remembered the strategy to push hard against the bottom of the pool with his feet to come up like a cork. As he went down he saw nothing but water with a yellow glow. Sheer, stark terror seized him. He was shrieking under water. He was paralysed, stiff and rigid. Even his screams were frozen in his throat. Only his pounding heart signaled that he was alive. Then in the midst of this terror he remembered that he had to apply that strategy. When he hit the bottom, he jumped with all the strength he had but nothing happened.

14. The author says, “The instructor was finished. But I was not finished.” Why?

Douglas decided to overcome his fear of water & learn to swim after many years of the Y.M.C.A. pool incident. For this he took help of a swimming instructor who mentored him for about six months and made Douglas ready to swim alone. The instructor asked Douglas to swim the length of the pool and Douglas did it. Thus, the work of the instructor was over. His help and supervision was not required by Douglas anymore. But Douglas had a long way to go ahead. All the water activities that he had missed all these years were waiting for him. Thus he remarked, “The instructor was finished. But I was not finished.”

15. Roosevelt said, “All we have to fear is fear itself.” This statement sums up Douglas’ experience and its effect on him. Discuss.

Or

“All we have to fear is fear itself”. Discuss in context of ‘Deep Water’.

Roosevelt had rightly stated, “All we have to fear is fear itself.” Douglas realized this only after conquering his fear. Because of his fear of water due to the two incidents that haunted him whenever he went near water, he had deprived himself of many water activities. But once he was able to overcome his fear, he went to Lake Wentworth, dived into the warm lake, and swam across to the other shore and then back. Finally , he was able to do it and it all happened when he was able to overcome his fear. Thus, as Roosevelt had said it, we just need not let any fear overpower us.

16. Had Douglas not got a mentor in the form of his swimming instructor, he would have been living in fear of water. Do you agree? Discuss. Or It was the instructor who ‘built a swimmer’ out of Douglas. Discuss.

Douglas had spent many years avoiding water and thus depriving him of the joy of fishing, boating, canoeing and other water sports. He thus decided to overcome his fear and for this he decided to take professional help. The instructor he picked for himself proved to be the right choice as he mentored him out of his fear.

Understanding how deep rooted his fear was, the instructor started stripping it off layer by layer. The instructor put a belt around him. A rope attached to the belt went through a pulley that ran on an overhead cable. He held on to the end of the rope, and they went back and forth, back and forth across the pool, hour after hour, day after day, week after week. On each trip across the pool a bit of the panic seized Douglas. Each time the instructor relaxed his hold on the rope and Douglas went under, some of the old terror returned and his legs froze.

After three months of this, when Douglas had started feeling a little relaxed, the instructor taught him to put his face under water and exhale, and to raise his nose and inhale. He practiced it hundreds of times and bit by bit he was shedding his fear. Next was the turn to build the strength of his legs. For this, the instructor held him at the side of the pool and asked him to kick with his legs. He did this for weeks together. At first his legs refused but then gradually he could command them.

Thus, the instructor tackled his fear one by one and made him ready to swim after almost six months of training.

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

It took about six months for Douglas to overcome his fear of water and that too with the help of a swimming instructor. Once the instructor was sure that Douglas was ready to swim alone, he told him to do so. Douglas did that but wasn’t sure enough whether he would be able to do so when he was alone. He tried swimming the length of the pool, up and down, alone. Tiny remnants of the terror would return, however now he could frown and challenge terror to scare him. He kept on swimming alone in the pool for sometime and then decided to try somewhere else to be sure that all terror had left. So he went to Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire and swam two miles across the lake to Stamp Act Island. He swam the crawl, breaststroke, side stroke, and backstroke. The old terror did return but only once when he was in the middle of the lake and put his face under water and saw nothing bottomless water. But he laughed of ignoring the terror and swam on.

Still there was a little doubt in his mind. So he grabbed the first opportunity and went west up to the Tieton to Conrad Meadows, up the Conrad Creek Trail to Meade Glacier, and camped in the high meadow by the side of Warm Lake. The next morning he stripped, dived into the lake, and swam across to the other shore and back. Accomplishing it, he shouted with joy that he had conquered his fear of water. After this he felt released, free to walk the trails and climb the peaks and to brush aside fear.

18. Things didn’t go according to what Douglas had planned while sinking. Discuss.

Douglas was caught unaware by the bully. He didn’t even know how to swim. But he had learned a few strategies which he planned to apply as he was sinking in the pool after being plunged into it by the bully. On reaching the bottom of the pool, he intended to give himself a strong push upwards by applying all his strength. He had imagined that he would bob to the surface like a cork and would reach the edge of the pool. However, things always don’t happen as you plan. Same happened with Douglas. He did not spring up; rather, he came up slowly and saw nothing but water with a dirty yellow tinge. He was suffocating. His eyes and nose came out of the water but not his mouth. He swallowed and choked. His legs felt paralyzed and he again started sinking.

19. What did Douglas mean when he said, “At last I felt released -----------”.

He felt released once he was sure that he had overcome his fear completely. This fear had gripped him so intensely that it was preventing him from enjoying his life to the fullest. He wanted to go fishing, boating, canoeing etc. with his friends but every time he tried, his legs felt paralyzed and icy horror would clinch him. So, once he was free from his fear he felt released. Nothing prevented him from savoring the joys of life, not even water. He was free to walk the trails, climb the peaks and to brush aside fear.

20. Justify the title.

Check 'Title'.