Flamingo, Chapter -3 Deep Water - William Douglas Summary and Questions, Answers Summary - The lesson, " Deep Water," is writt...
Flamingo, Chapter -3
Deep Water - William Douglas
Summary and Questions, Answers
Summary - The lesson, " Deep Water," is written by William Douglas, who was an English Teacher by profession and later became a successful lawyer and friend to the President, and remains the longest-serving Justice in the history of the court. This lesson is an autobiographical extract from " Of Men and Mountains", where he explains how he conquered the fear of water. He had his first encounter with water when he was merely a 4-year-old boy with his father. The second misadventure came into his life at the age of 11 years, when a bully boy threw him into a swimming pool, where he experienced the terror of death and was almost drowned in the water. Then, fearing water continuously haunted his mind and kept him away from water sport activities and fishing. But he was determined to get rid of his water fear. Then finally, he decided to take the services of the swimming instructor and slowly but steadily, bit by bit, piece by piece, with continuous practice with determination and self-belief, he turned into an excellent swimmer. He finally conquered his water fear and regained his confidence. Truthfully, he justified the saying of President Roosevelt, " All we have to fear is fear itself". After all, whatever we want always lies on the other side of fear.
Glossary -
1. treacherous - dangerous
2. stirred - move to mix
3. aversion - dislike
4. bruiser - a tough and strong man
5. skinny - thin person
6. aping - imitate
7. timid - shy
8. Bob - jump
9. tinge - slightly coloured
10. shrieking - screaming
11. pounding - repeated beating
12. oblivion - unconscious about what is happening around
13. wobbly - unsteady, weak
14. cascade - waterfall
15. Canoes - small boats
16. salmon, trout - a kind of fish
17. vestiges - traces
18. subdued - to bring under control
19. flailed - wave or swing wildly
20. limp - walk with difficulty
21. exertion - physical or mental effort
22. Y.M.C.A - Young Men's Christian Association.
Think as you read -
1. What is the" misadventure" that William Douglas speaks about?
Ans - The " misadventure" happened in Douglas's life when he was trying to learn to swim at a pool. One day, all of a sudden, a strong, big boy picked him up and threw him into the pool. He was neither prepared nor learned to swim, so he landed in the water in a sitting position. He got very scared, swallowed water. and went straight to the bottom of the pool, and with great difficulty, he came to the surface of the water. He was almost drowned.
2. What was 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 - When Douglas was suddenly thrown into the pool, he got scared but somehow managed to muster his courage and, while sinking towards the bottom of the pool, planned that when his feet hit the bottom, he would make a jump by striking the bottom and come to the surface of the water. Lie flat on it and paddle to the edge of the pool.
3. How did this experience affect him?
Ans - This experience affected Douglas very badly on the psychology of Douglas because he had literary experienced a death. It proved a nightmare for him. Fear of the water continuously haunted his mind. He could not sleep properly and remained disturbed for several years. He started avoiding water sports, fishing, and canoeing trips.
4. Why was Douglas determined to get over his fear of water?
Ans - Since childhood, Douglas had a very bad experience with water because, till the age of 11 years, he faced two misadventures. It deprived him of all the water sports and fishing. Whenever he tried to do so. He would get paralyzed. He tried every possible way he knew to overcome it, but could not succeed. So finally, with the help of the swimming instructor, he decided to get over his fear of water and learn to swim.
5. How did the instructor" build a swimmer" out of Douglas?
Ans - The instructor," build a swimmer" out of Douglas with great care and patience. He started Douglas's practice by fastening the belt around him, and the belt that was attached to the rope went through a pulley that ran on an overhead cable. He slowly corrected the mistakes of Douglas hour after hour, day after day, and week after week. He also taught Douglas how to exhale and inhale. Douglas repeated every exercise hundreds of times. Thus, piece by piece, he made Douglas an excellent swimmer.
6. How did Douglas make sure that he conquered the old terror?
Ans - Despite the continuous and passionate training by his instructor, Douglas was not sure about his swimming techniques. Water fear and terror were still there, but he was determined to get rid of them physically as well as mentally. So he started practicing swimming in different locations such as Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire, Triggs Island, two miles across the lake to stamp act Island in different styles like crawl, breaststroke, sidestroke, backstroke, and whenever old terror returned to him, he would laugh and say," Well, Mr. Terror, what do you think you can do to me?". In this, with great devotion, determination, and vigorous practice, he managed to conquer the old terror.
UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT
1. 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 - At the age of 11 years, Douglas decided to learn swimming at the Y.M.C.A swimming pool. One day, a big strong boy tossed him in the pool, he landed in a sitting position, he was very frightened but while sinking that when his feet hit the bottom of the pool, he would make a big jump like a cork, come to the surface, lie flat on it and paddle to the edge of the pool. But those nine feet appeared like ninety feet for him. His lungs were exhausted, still, with great force, he tried to come to the surface of the water, but it could not happen. He saw yellow water all around; he was suffocating. He tried to yell, but no sound came out of his mouth, and finally, he became unconscious.
2. How did Douglas overcome his fear of water?
Ans - Douglas's first encounter with water was when he was merely 4 years old, his second misadventure happened at the Y.M.C.A. pool when he was thrown in the water by a bully boy, where he almost drowned. Since then, fear of water always haunted his mind by virtue of which he could not enjoy water sports and fishing. But he always wanted to get rid of it, physically as well as mentally. Then, finally, he decided to engage the swimming instructor. He started practicing 5 days a week, bit by bit he improved his confidence and shed his complex towards swimming. It took him about 7 months to become an expert in swimming. He tried in different lakes, islands to improve his swimming skills but by continuous hard work and determination, he finally succeeded in overcoming his fear of water.
3. Why does Douglas, as an adult, recount a childhood experience of terror and his conquering of it? What larger meaning does he draw from this experience?
Ans - As the lesson is an autobiographical extract of Douglas. He honestly shared his emotions, feelings, and a long journey from fear of water to conquering it. His journey includes every single aspect, such as a death-like drowning experience, consequently causing fear of water and deprivation of desirable water sports activities and fishing, a disturbed lifestyle, and his continuous but honest efforts to overcome it. and how he motivated his life from a drastic failure to grand success with great patience, honesty, determination, and obedient hard work. A larger meaning can be withdrawn from this lesson that it gives a message to the reader that failures are an unavoidable part of life, but one should never give up, but should continuously strive towards a goal, then definitely we can taste the sweet fruits of success.
TALKING ABOUT THE TEXT
1. " 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 - " All we have to fear is fear itself," said Roosevelt, because with fear of fear, nothing can be achieved in life. Fear becomes a major obstacle in the progress of human beings. It's very important to overcome one's fear, as did Douglas, because only after conquering the fear of water could he enjoy boating, fishing, peace of mind, and regain his confidence. Fear is very common in one's life. In our childhood, some of us had a fear of height, darkness, water, stage fright, the courage to speak, riding a bicycle, etc. My father had gifted me a beautiful bicycle on my 10th birthday. I was very excited to learn to ride a bicycle. One of my friends helped me to learn. In my early attempts. Once I had fallen from my bicycle and my left leg was fractured, and it took me about six months to heal, but then after that, I was totally scared to ride. After a period of time, the same old friend gave me confidence and said," Just don't worry, it was an accident, it won't happen again". His words gave me confidence, and I slowly with continuous practice. Finally, I managed to ride a bicycle. In this way, I conquered my fear and regained my confidence to ride a bicycle.
2. Find and narrate other stories about the conquest of fear and what people have said about courage. For example, you can recall Nelson Mandela's struggle for freedom.
Ans - Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918. During his college days, he came across the sufferings of black people under British Rule. He started participating in movements against racial discrimination. Then, he joined the African National Congress. He was desirous to get justice, freedom, and respect for fellow Africans. He was arrested and kept in prison for 27 years, and he became free when his country gained independence. He became the first black president of South Africa. For his great contribution to the freedom struggle, he got the Nobel Prize in 1993, and the Government of India also honoured him for his great contribution with its highest honour, " Bharat Ratna". Therefore, he is popularly known as the Mahatma Gandhi of South Africa.
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