NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Flamingo - Deep Water

Q1: Notice these words and expressions in the text. Infer their meaning from the context.

• treacherous: unpredictable danger; not dependable or trustworthy
• subdued my prid: to lower or restrain the intensity of self-respect and confidence
• flailed at the surface: to strike or lash out vigorously at the surface of the water in trying to come out
• fishing for landlocked salmon: to go fishing for a specific variety of salmon available in certain lakes
• misadventure: an incident that turns out to be a disaster
• bob to the surface like a cork: to float or show the characteristics of buoyancy as a cork in water
• curtain of life fell: to indicate that life has ended or a near-death experience
• back and forth across the pool: to swim across the swimming pool from one side to the other

Think As you Read

Q1: What is the “misadventure” that William Douglas speaks about?
Ans: William O.Douglas had just learnt swimming. One day, an eighteen year old big bruiser picked him up and tossed him into the nine feet deep end of the Y.M.C.A. pool. He hit the water surface in a sitting position. He swallowed water and went at once to the bottom. He nearly died in this misadventure.

Q2: What were the series of emotions and fears that Douglas experienced when he was thrown into the pool? What plans did he make to come to the surface?
Ans. Douglas felt a strong sense of fear when he was thrown into the pool, but he was not completely overwhelmed. As he sank, he devised a plan: when his feet touched the bottom, he would jump up forcefully, aiming to rise to the surface like a cork. He intended to lie flat on the water and paddle to the edge of the pool.

Q3: How did this experience affect him?
Ans: The near-death experience of drowning had a profound effect on his psychology. He was deeply shaken and disturbed by the incident. A persistent fear of water took over his physical strength and emotional stability for many years. This fear prevented him from enjoying any activities related to water, as he could not bear to be surrounded by it.

Q4: Why was Douglas determined to get over his fear of water?
Ans: His fear of water ruined his fishing trips and deprived him of the joy of canoeing, boating, and swimming. Douglas had developed this fear since childhood, and even as an adult, it held him firmly in its grip. To overcome this fear, he decided to get an instructor and learn to swim. He committed to practicing five days a week, determined to conquer his fear of water.

Q5: How did the instructor “build a swimmer” out of Douglas?
Ans: The instructor built a swimmer out of Douglas piece by piece. For three months he held him high on a rope attached to his belt. He went back and forth across the pool. Panic seized the author every time. The instructor taught Douglas to put his face under water and exhale and to raise his nose and inhale. Then Douglas had to kick with his legs for many weeks till these relaxed. After seven months the instructor told him to swim the length of the pool.

Q6: How did Douglas make sure that he conquered the old terror?
Ans: Douglas continued to feel terror when he was alone in the pool. Although the remnants of his old fear would return, he confronted it by swimming another length of the pool. Unsatisfied, he travelled to Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire, where he dived off a dock at Triggs Island and swam two miles across the lake. Despite lingering doubts, he pressed on to Meade Glacier, dove into Warm Lake, and swam to the opposite shore and back. Through these challenges, he ensured he had truly conquered his old terror.

Understanding the Text

Q1: How does Douglas make clear to the reader the sense of panic that gripped him as he almost drowned? Describe the details that have made the description vivid.
Ans: Once Douglas was sitting alone at the Y.M.C.A pool waiting for others to come. Then there came a big bruiser of a boy. He tossed him up and threw him into the deep end of the pool. Douglas went deep and swallowed water. He was at the sitting position at the bottom. He was frightened but was not out of his wits. On the way down, he had a strategy in his mind. When his feet touched the bottom, he would make a great spring upward. Then he would paddle to the edge of the pool, but he came up slowly. He opened his eyes and saw dirty water. He was deeply frightened. His legs seemed paralysed. A great force was pulling him down. A stark power overpowered him. He shrieked in the water but only the water heard him. After feeling the tiles under his feet, he jumped withal his might but it made no difference. His lungs ached and heart throbbed. Stark terror took him in its grip. His legs and arms could not move. He again tried for the third time. He searched for air but swallowed water. He felt drowsy and ceased all efforts. He was crossed to oblivion. The curtain of his life fell and he lay unconscious.

Q2: How did Douglas overcome his fear of water?
Ans: After his misadventure in the pool at the Y.M.C.A, Douglas was amidst the fear of the water. He realised that his fishing trips, canoeing, swimming and boating were over. He tried his best to overcome it but the haunting of the water followed him everywhere. Finally he decided to engage an instructor to learn to swim and overcome his fear. He went to the pool and practiced five days a week, an hour each day. The instructor put a belt around him and a rope was attached to the belt. The rope went through a pulley that ran an overhead cable. Douglas held one end of the rope and went back and forth across the pool. On each trip some of the terror would seize him up. After three months, the tension began to decrease. Piece by piece he shed the panic. He taught him to put his face under water and exhale. He also learnt how to raise his nose and inhale. This exercise was repeated hundreds of times. Now he was able to shed part of the fear that seized him under water. He went to lake Wentworth Triggs island and Slamp act island. He swam two miles across the lake. Now he was determined and he swam on. He shouted with joy and he had conquered his fear of water.

Q3: Why does Douglas as an adult recount a childhood experience of terror and his conquering of it? What larger meaning does he draw from his experience?
Ans: Douglas experienced two significant childhood events that filled him with terror. The first occurred at a beach in California, where powerful waves knocked him down. The second incident happened at the Y.M.C.A. pool, where a larger boy threw him into the deep end, overwhelming him with fear. This fear haunted him, affecting his enjoyment of activities like fishing, canoeing, and swimming. Recognising the impact of his fear, Douglas sought help from an instructor who taught him how to swim. Through this training, he was able to conquer his fear of water. This experience held a profound meaning for him; having faced the sensation of dying and the accompanying terror, he developed a strong will to live. Douglas understood that true peace comes with death, while fear resides only in the anticipation of it. He realised that what truly matters is the will to live, echoing Roosevelt's sentiment that "all we have to fear is fear itself." Thus, Douglas's journey illustrates how overcoming fear can empower individuals to reach the highest peaks of life.

Talking about the text

Q1: “All we have to fear is fear itself”. Have you ever had a fear that you have now overcome? Share your experience with your partner.
Ans: Roosevelt has appropriately said ‘‘All we have to fear is fear itself.’’ These words have a deeper meaning for all of us. It implies that we fear from fear. Those who have undergone this experience of fear, they can only appreciate its worth. William O. Douglas has faced it twice in life. He had a terrible fear of water. He could not go for swimming, canoeing, boating and rafting etc. He realised that it would ruin his career since it was following and haunting him wherever he went. Fear is our hard core enemy. We must get rid of it at the earliest like Douglas. I too had a terrible experience in my life.
A small tributary flows near our village. During the summer vacation, we used to go there for swimming and bathing. Very often, we were made cautious by the villagers not to bathe in it since there is a deeper hole inside the stream. Being children, we never bothered . One day we took out our clothes and plunged into it. By chance, the water was overflowing the bank and the current was fast. While diving, two among us got stuck into the hole. We cried and cried out. We were going deeper and deeper. We thought that it was the end of our life. One of the boys came outside and saw the villagers. He cried and cried. They came and brought us out of the water. But this enabled us to challenge the fears of life and we can take adventurous life.

Q2: Find and narrate other stories about conquest of fear and what people have said about courage. For example, you can recall Nelson Mandela’s struggle for freedom, his perseverance to achieve his mission, to liberate the oppressed and the oppressor as depicted in his autobiography. The story ‘We’re Not Afraid To Die,’ which you have read in Class XI, is an apt example of how courage and optimism helped a family survive under the direst stress.
Ans: In his autobiography ‘Long Walk to Freedom’, Nelson Mandela shares the remarkable story of his life. He vividly describes the growing political conflict in the 1950s between the African National Congress and the government, leading to his role as an underground leader and the infamous Rivonia Trial of 1964, where he was sentenced to life imprisonment. Mandela recounts the eventful twenty-seven years he spent in prison and the intricate negotiations that ultimately resulted in his freedom and the beginning of the end of apartheid. Mandela also fought against the exploitation of labour and the segregation of universities. His perseverance was crucial in achieving his mission to liberate both the oppressed and the oppressor. In 1990, he was released from prison, and the apartheid laws began to be relaxed. Mandela emerged as a champion for human rights and racial equality, eventually becoming the first non-white president of the Republic of South Africa.

Talking about Language

Q1: If someone else had narrated Douglas’ experience, how would it have differed from this account? Write out a sample paragraph or paragraphs from this text from the point of view of a third person or observer to find out which style of narration would you consider to be more effective? Why?
Ans: If a third person had narrated Douglas’ experience, the impact of the story would have lost the reader’s deep connection with the main protagonist and his fear of water. The narrator then would be passively telling the story from the perspective of an observer. The incident of drowning in water could never have successfully communicated the feeling of the “stark terror” that Douglas underwent.
In third person narrative, the 8th and 9th paragraph of the story would be as follows:
“He flailed at the surface of the water, swallowed and choked. He tried to bring his legs up but they hung as dead weights, paralyzed and rigid. A great force was pulling him under. He screamed, but only the water heard him. He had started on the long journey back to the bottom of the pool.”
“He struck at the water as he went down; expending his strength as one in a nightmare, fights an irresistible force. He had lost all his breath. His lungs ached. His head throbbed. He was getting dizzy. But he remembered the strategy – he would spring from the bottom of the pool and come like a cork to the surface. He would lie flat on the water, strike out with his arms, and thrash with his legs. Then he would get to the edge of the pool and be safe.”
So, it is only the first person narrative that keeps the reader gripped to the story. It makes the experience more relevant and tangible for the reader. It engages him by making him go through the experience along with the protagonist. The desperation and helplessness of being in water, which has almost become fatal, the mental and physical agony of trying to survive the crisis, the long struggle of overcoming the fear bit-by-bit and the jubilation of conquering it at the end; all make the reader feel part of the experience. The first person narrative makes the story a fast-paced and urgent reading for the readers. All this would have been lost had it been a third person narrative or from the point of view of an observer.

Writing

Q1: Doing well in any activity, for example a sport, music, dance or painting, riding a motorcycle or a car, involves a great deal of struggle. Most of us are very nervous to begin with until gradually we overcome our fears and perform well.
Write an essay of about five paragraphs recounting such an experience. Try to recollect minute details of what caused the fear, your feelings, the encouragement you got from others or the criticism.
You could begin with the last sentence of the essay you have just read: “At last I felt released—free to walk the trails and climb the peaks and to brush aside fear.”
Ans: MY FIRST EXPERIENCE OF RIDING A MOTORCYCLE 
At last I felt released, free to walk the trails and climb the peaks and to brush aside fear. This fear of injuries had been my old enemy, hindering me at crucial moments. I remember when this fear began. As a toddler, I received a tricycle, but I often lost my balance and fell over. As I grew older, I was given smaller versions of cycles, yet my fear of the road persisted. I would crash into something and fall, sometimes suffering injuries that took time to heal. I felt frustrated with myself and cursed my fear, which seemed to grow into a monstrous obstacle. After completing my tenth class examination, I joined a city school. My father surprised me with a Hero Honda motorcycle for my birthday. My uncle offered to teach me how to ride. He explained the functions of various parts and took me to a playground. Sitting behind me, he held me firmly at first and guided me through the basics: starting the vehicle, changing gears, and controlling speed. When I was ready, he encouraged me to take a round of the playground. I was drenched in sweat, but his reassurance helped me regain my confidence. Eventually, I managed to complete three rounds of the playground. Then, we moved to a side road where he taught me how to navigate around other vehicles. I rode into the city and returned safely. I had conquered my fear and learned how to ride a motorcycle.

Q2: Write a short letter to someone you know about your having learnt to do something new.
Ans: 23, King John’s Lane
Westbury (UK)
12 March, 2007
Dear Dolly,
You will be pleased to learn that at last I have learnt playing tennis. You know how I dotted on the players taking part in Wimbledon and had cherished a dream to play on the centre court.
Well, I have taken the first step in that direction. After years of perspiration and training I have learnt playing tennis. This year I am participating in the Junior County Championship.
I must take this opportunity of thanking you for you have been a constant source of inspiration and support to me, both on and off the court.
I am anxiously awaiting for the day when I’ll intimate to you my achievements in this newly learnt game.
With best wishes
Yours sincerely
Angela

Things to Do

Q1: Are there any water sports in India? Find out about the areas or places which are known for water sports. 
Ans: India provides exciting opportunities for the following watersports: 
(i) White Water Rafting,
(ii) Water Skiing,
(iii) Canoeing and Kayaking,
(iv) Scuba Diving,
(v) Snorkelling,
(vi) Angling and Fishing.
Areas or places known for watersports: 
(i) White Water Rafting and Kayaking: The Ganges (from Rishikesh); the Beas (from Manali, the Indus (in Ladakh), Zanskar (in Zanskar), the Teesta (in Sikkim)
(ii) Water Skiing: The Ganges, the Beas.
(iii) Sailing, Yachting and Wind-surfing: Goa, Kovalam Beach in Kerala.
(iv) Scuba Diving: Andaman and Lakshadweep, Goa.
(v) Snorkelling: Andaman and Lakshadweep, Goa.
(vi) Angling and Fishing: Balukpung (Assam) Beas (Kullu Valley)