Test: Deep Water- 1 - Class 12 MCQ

Overcoming the fear is the Deep Water by William Douglas theme. The following measures were taken by the author to win over the battle with his fear: The author got himself enrolled in a swimming class.

Douglas was afraid of water from a very young age. His misadventure at the YMCA pool further increased his water phobia. He was unable to enjoy fishing and boating trips. Finally he decided he had to overcome his fear. He could not do it without seeking professional help, so he appointed an instructor who gradually made him an excellent swimmer. Still Douglas was not satisfied. He made use of every opportunity to swim and dive in water thus challenging his fear. He was able to overcome his fear completely and this led him to make the statement that what one is afraid of is fear itself and if we are able to overcome that fear then we can achieve anything in life.

Y.M.C.A. stands for “Young Men’s Christian Association’.

William Douglas developed an aversion to water when he was three or four years old. He stood at a beach with his father when a wave Swept over him and knocked him down. His head throbbed and his legs felt paralysed thus making him fear water permanently.

Douglas had a keen desire to wade into the water since his childhood. But he had developed an aversion from the water. When he was at the age of three or four, his father took him to the beach in California both were standing together at the surf. There came a wave that knocked him down and swept over him.

“Deep Water” is an excerpt taken from the autobiography of William Orville Douglas- Of Men and Mountains. The chapter narrates the author's fear of water. He also tells us about frightening incidents which led to the growth of his phobia and the way he conquered it.

The big bully of a boy found Douglas alone at the pool. He picked him up and tossed him into the deep end of the pool. Douglas was thrown at the bottom of the pool and feared that he would be drowned. This ‘misadventure’ caused Douglas a lot of trouble and agony. He developed an aversion to water as he experienced a series of fears and emotions. Icy horror grabbed his heart and made him panicky. This experience had a lasting effect on Douglas. It deprived him of the joys of boating and swimming. This fear of water ruined his fishing trips. He never went back to the pool. This fear of water stayed with him as the years rolled by.

Whenever he tried to enter water, he was seized by fear. Wherever he went his joys of fishing, boating and swimming were ruined. This fear of deep waters stayed with him for years and firmly held him in its grip. Douglas had to resort to professional assistance to overcome his fear of water. He employed an instructor to teach him how to swim. He practiced five days a week, an hour each day with the instructor and piece by piece the instructor built a swimmer out of Douglas.

Douglas was frightened when he was thrown into the water but he did not lose his wits. He made a plan to make a big jump, to come to the surface, lie flat on it and paddle to the edge of the pool. He summoned all his strength and made a great spring upwards but instead, he came up slowly.

The instructor first put a belt around him to which a rope was attached. This rope went through a pulley that ran on an overhead cable. ... Thus, bit by bit, the instructor built a swimmer out of Douglas.

When Douglas was drowning in the swimming pool, he tried to come to the surface of the pool but failed because he was overcome with fear and could not move his limbs. He felt that he would die.