Deep Water

 QUES ANS

Deep Water Chapter Wise Important Questions Class 12 English

Short Answer Type Questions (3 Marks, 30-40 words)

Question.1. Which two incidents in Douglas’ early life made him scared of water? (Compartment 2014)
Answer. When Douglas was three or four years old, his father took him to a beach in California. There he was knocked down by strong waves, was almost buried under water, and got breathless. Though he hung on to his father, he was quite frightened. Secondly, when Douglas was ten or eleven, a big bully of a boy tossed him into the deep end of the YMCA pool. He could not come to the surface, in spite of all his efforts, and became panicky. These two incidents made Douglas scared of water.

Question.2.Why did Douglas prefer to go to YMCA swimming pool to learn swimming?(Compartment 2014)
or
Which factors made Douglas to decide in favour of YMCA pool? (All India 2011)
Answer. According to Douglas, the YMCA pool was safer compared to the Yakima River. The river was quite deep and there were several cases of drowning reported about it. As against the uncertain depth of the river, the pool was only two or three feet deep at the shallow end. Though its depth was about nine feet at the deeper end, yet the drop was gradual, and Douglas could rely on it. Also, his mother had recommended it.

Question.3.What did Douglas feel and do when he was pushed into the swimming pool?(Compartment 2014)
or
What were the series of emotions and fears that Douglas experienced when he was thrown into the pool? (Foreign 2011)
Answer. When Douglas was thrown into the pool, he did not lose heart and planned to push himself up with all his force. He thought that once he came to the surface, he would paddle to the edge of the pool. Thrice, he tried to come to the surface, but unfortunately his strategy did not work and terror gripped him. His lungs were ready to burst; he was breathless and instead of air, he sucked water.

Q4       How did his experience at the YMCA pool affect Douglas?

Ans      After the misadventure at the pool, Douglas could not sleep at night and could not eat for days. The lurking fear always haunted him. The slightest exertion would make him feel weak at the knees and sick in the stomach.  He feared water and started avoiding all activities related to water.

Question.5.How did his swimming instructor ‘build a swimmer’ out of Douglas? (Compartment 2014)
or 
How did the instructor turn Douglas into a swimmer? (Delhi 2013)
Answer. The instructor adopted a systematic method to turn Douglas into a swimmer. He first made Douglas shed his initial fear of water by making him cross a pool suspended by a rope attached to a pulley. The instructor held the other end of the rope and relaxed and tightened it from time to time. Then he taught the narrator to breathe while swimming, and finally the leg movements and other strokes. He then put all the pieces together and made Douglas swim in the pool.

Question.6. How did Douglas make sure that he conquered the old terror? (All India 2013)
Answer. After the instructor had trained Douglas in the art of swimming, Douglas was still not sure of himself. He felt tiny vestiges of the fear now and then. So, he went to Lake Wentworth and swam. Once when terror returned, he challenged it and did not let it overcome him. Finally, Douglas went to the Warm Lake. There he swam to the other shore and back and the fear didn’t return to haunt him again.

Q7       What efforts did Douglas make to get over his fear of water?

Ans      After several attempts to overcome his  fear of water, Douglas finally engaged an instructor. Step by step, the instructor taught Douglas how to swim. But still, Douglas was not sure. He decided to go to Lake Wentworth in New Hempshire and swim across on his own. At last he made his terror fly away by swimming across the Warm Lake

Q8 Why was Douglas determined to get over his fear of water?

Ans      The misadventure of having a near- drowning experience left a deep mark on Douglas’ mind. This fear of water hampered all his joys of enjoying water sports and activities like canoeing, swimming and fishing. He did not want to live with this handicap and so was determined to overcome his fear of water.

Q9       What did Douglas experience as he went down into the pool for the first time?

Ans      When Douglas went down into the pool for the first time, those nine feet felt like ninety feet to him. He summoned all his strength and sprang upwards hoping to reach the surface. But he did not pop up like a cork as he had imagined. When he opened his eyes he only saw water and his hands could grab nothing but water.

Q10     Why did Douglas go to Lake Wentworth in New Hempshire?

Ans      Douglas learnt swimming in the pool but he was not confident of his skill. He was not satisfied with his practice and so he deicded to go to Lake Wentworth. There when he was swimming in the middle of the lake, only once did the terror return, but he finally overcame it.

Q11     When Douglas realised he was sinking, how did he plan to save himself?

Ans      When a big burly boy threw Douglas into the pool, he went straight down. He did not lose his wits and made a strategy to jump upwards as soon as he touched the bottom. He had imagined that he would pop up like a cork. He had planned that then he would lie flat on the surface and finally paddle to the edge of the pool.

Q12     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?

Ans      Douglas was completely terrorized when he went down the water with a yellow glow.  He felt paralysed, stiff and rigid. He had lost all control over his limbs which refused to move. Even his screams refused to leave his throat. It was only his throbbing heart that made him realize that he was alive.

Q13     What deep meaning about fear and death did the experience at the YMCA Pool have for Douglas?

Ans      The experience left a deep impression on Douglas’ mind. He had come out of the jaws of death and experienced total peace with it. He had realized that the fear of death which was terrible but death itself was not.

Q14     ‘All we have to fear is fear itself’. When did Douglas learn this lesson?

Ans      This was said by Roosevelt. Douglas learnt this lesson when he finally overcame his fear of water by his will power and determination.

Long answer questions

Q1       ‘I crossed to oblivion, and the curtain of life fell.’ What was the incident which nearly killed Douglas and developed in him a very strong aversion to water?

Ans      The misadventure occurred when Douglas was ten or eleven years old. He was  learning swimming at the YMCA pool to overcome his childhood fear of water. One morning, when he was alone at the pool a big bully boy tossed him into the water at the deep end of the pool. Though he had planned a strategy to save himself, his plan did not work. He went down to the bottom of the pool and panicked. Thrice, he struggled to come to the surface but each time he failed. He lost consciousness and felt himself drifting into an unknown world away from life. He was saved but the incident scarred him for life.

Q2       Douglas fully realized the truth of Roosevelt’s statement ‘All we have to fear is fear itself’. How did this realization help him brush aside his fear and become an expert swimmer?

Ans      Douglas had experienced both the terror that the fear of death can cause and  the sensation of dying. Strong will, determination, courage and dedication won over all his fears and terrors. The will to overcome his fear triumphed.

He engaged the services of an instructor who very methodically taught him to swim. Douglas was not confident even after swimming in the pool, so to test his skills and to develop his confidence he went to Lake Wentworth and Warm Lake and swan across both. The fear once returned to him while he was swimming in Lake Wentworth. But he derided it and brushed it aside. He then went and swam across Warm Lake and finally conquered his fear of water.

Q3       How did Douglas develop an aversion to water?

Or

When did Douglas start fearing water? What experience had further strengthened its hold on his mind and personality

Ans      Douglas developed an aversion to water from early childhood. His father had taken him to a beach in California when he was about four years old. The waves knocked him down and swept over him. Although his father laughed at the incident as it was not serious but it was at this moment that the fear of water took root inside Doughlas’ mind.

Further, when Douglas was ten or eleven years old, he met with another misadventure at the YMCA pool where he had gone to learn swimming. He was thrown into the deep end of the pool by a big bully and although he made many attempts to come to the surface, he almost lost his life. It was a nightmarish experience and it further cemented the fear of water in his mind.

Q4       How did Douglas become a good swimmer?

Douglas decided to get an instructor to learn swimming. The instructor taught him five days a week, an hour every day. The instructor put a belt around Douglas. A rope was attached to the belt that went through a pulley that ran on an overhead cable. The instructor held on to the rope and Douglas went back and forth across the pool. It took almost three months for the tension in Douglas to reduce. Then, the instructor taught him to put his face under water and exhale and to raise his nose and inhale. For weeks, his instructor made him kick his legs till he was able to command his legs at his will. In this way, piece by piece the instructor made Douglas a swimmer. When Douglas perfected each piece, his instructor put them together into an integrated one. As a result in nearly six months, Douglas was able to swim, dive and crawl.

After he had perfected his skills, he swam across different lakes to remove the last traces of fear from his mind. Thus, with his will, determination and courage, Douglas overcame his fear of water and became a confident swimmer.

Q5       What values does Douglas teach us through this chapter?

Ans      The story tells us the desperate struggle and heroic victory of Douglas. His childhood fear of water turned into a nightmare after the misadventure at the YMCA pool. He was scarred for life. But he refused to give in to his fear. He broke the shackles of the terror he felt and looked at life with a new perspective. He came out of the jaws of death with a renewed determination to overcome his fear of water. He trained systematically with an instructor, swam relentlessly, indulged in all kinds of nerve- breaking swimming activities and conquered his fear to come out a winner. He proves the saying ‘Where there is a will, there’s a way’. His strong will power, firm determination and unassailable courage set examples for all to follow and emulate.