Deep Water Important Questions Class 12 English

3.  Deep Water (William Douglas)

Short Answer Type questions :

Q.1  Describe the writer’s experience when he was of three or four years.OR      Which incident created water aversion in the writer’s mind?

Ans. The writer’s father took him to the beach in California. Both of them were in seawater.  Then a wave knocked him down. It swept over the writer and buried him in water. His breath was broken. The incident created an aversion to water in the writer’s mind.

 

Q.2  What did the 18-years old boy do the writer and why?

Ans. The writer was afraid of going into the pool alone. So he was waiting for someone to come. Then a boy of eighteen came there. First, he made fun of the writer. He called him skinny. After that, he picked him up and threw him into deep water. He did it just out of fun.

 

Q.3  Why was the writer at first not much frightened when he was thrown into the pool?

 

Ans. The writer was hopeful to come to the surface very soon. While going down into the water, he made a plan. He would spring up as soon as his feet touched the bottom of the pool. So he was not frightened.

Q.4  How did the writer feel when he stopped all efforts to save himself?

Ans. The writer felt relaxed. Even his legs became inactive. He felt darkness in his brain. There was no fear and panic. All was quiet and peaceful. He felt drowsy. He was too tired to jump. Those were the moments of giving up all to God.

Q.5  What did the writer remember as he came to his senses after the misadventure at the pool?

Ans. He remembered that he was lying on his stomach. He was vomiting. The boy who had thrown him into the pool was also there. He was saying that he had done that only as fun. Another person was saying that the kid had nearly died.

Q.6  How was the writer affected by his misadventure at the pool?

 

Ans. It affected the writer badly. It created fear of water in his mind. After that, he never went to the pool. On that night, he reached home trembling. He could not eat that night. Thus the misadventure affected him physically and mentally.

Q.7  Why was Douglas determined to get over his fear of water?

 

Ans. The writer wanted to bathe in the warm lakes and cascades or wade in Tieton or Bumping River. But the fear of water would paralysed his legs. His heart would freeze. Sometimes he wished to fishing, boating, and swimming. So the writer determined to get over his fear of water.

Q.8  How did Douglas overcome his fear of water?

Ans. First, he got training from an instructor. He taught him swimming piece by piece. He continued to practise swimming for four months. Then he swam two miles in Wentworth Lake. Fear of water came off and on. But he did not care for it. Finally, in the warm lake, he succeeded in overcoming the fear of water.

 

Q.9  How did Douglas make sure that he had conquered the old terror?

Ans. After training of swimming, the writer wanted to make sure that he had conquered the old terror. For this, he practised swimming alone in the pool. Then he went to Wentworth Lake. He swam into it for two miles. Finally, he conquered the fear of water in the warm lake.

Q.10       The writer says, “The instructor was finished. But I was  not finished.” Why?

Ans. The writer’s instructor trained him in swimming. Then he said his job was finished. But the writer’s job was still unfinished. He was to finish his fear of water by practising swimming alone. That is the reason why the writer says “ ..... I was not finished.”

General Answer :

The writer Douglas had a fear of water since childhood. But he had a strong desire for swimming. The swimming pool of Y.M.C.A was safe for swimming. He tried to swim into the pool three or four times. One day a misadventure happened. A boy of 18 threw him into deep water just for fun. He was nearly drowned. That incident created almost permanent fear in his mind. The terror for water became stranger in is mind. Whenever he put his feet into the water, the fear of water made him weak.

But he wanted to conquer fear in order to enjoy swimming, bathing, fishing and boating. He got training in swimming. After that, he practised swimming for months alone. He swam alone in Wentworth Lake. He swam in the lake for two miles. Finally, he conquered fear in a warm lake.

Q.1  How did Douglas overcome /conquer his fear of water? Or Q.2  How did the instructor make a swimmer out of Douglas?

Ans.       For Q.1 & Q. 2, see the answer above (General)

Q.3  How does Douglas describe the panic that gripped him as he almost drowned himself? What makes the description so vivid (clear)?

OR

Narrate briefly the writer’s emotions and fears when he was thrown into the pool. What plans did he make to come to the surface ? OR

 

 What was the misadventure’ of the Y.M.C.A. pool that the writer William Douglas speaks about?

Ans. The misadventure was that a grown-up boy picked up and threw him into the deep water of the pool. In the beginning, he was not so much afraid. He had a plan in his mind. As soon as his feet touched the bottom of the pool he would spring up and come to the surface.

But he failed to do so. He felt weak. His legs and arms would not move. He became panicky. Twice he tried to come up, but in vain his effort proved.  He tried to cry; he tried to call his mother, but all was dark before his eyes. At last, his efforts stopped. He left everything to God. He became unconscious. When he came to his senses, he found himself lying on his stomach and he was vomiting Thus he nearly got drowned.