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S ubject English Core Class XII S ession 2020 - 21 Text Book – Flamingo Summary – Deep Water Introduction In this story, Douglas talks about his fear of water and how he finally overcomes it with strong will power, courage, hard work, and firm determination. Once he took courage, the fear vanished. That Shows most of our fears are baseless. Fear creates danger s where there is none. The writer’s Experiences further confirm the proverbial truth, “Where t here is a will, there is away.” Characters & Places Douglas: Narrator of the story YMCA Pool: A swimming pool runs by Young Men’s Christian Association Yakima: Y akima is a US city located about 60 miles southeast of Mount Rainier in Washington. Summary The story, “Deep Waters” tells us how the writer overcame his fear of water and learned swimming with sheer determination and will power. He had developed a terror of water since childhood. When he was three or four years old, the writer had gone to California with his father. One day on the beach, the waves knocked the child down and swept over him. The child was terrified but the father who knew, there was no harm, laughed. The experience bred a permanent fear of water in the child’s sub - conscious mind. Still another incident, more serious, increased his terror. The writer was trying to learn swimming in the Y.M.C.A. swimming pool in Yakima. One day while he was wai ting for other boys, a big boy suddenly played a dangerous prank and pushed him into the water. The writer was terribly frightened. He went down nine feet into the water. When he reached the bottom, he jumped upward with all his strength. He came up but ve ry slowly. He tried to catch hold of something like a rope but grasped only at water. He tried to shout but no sound came out. He went down again. His lungs ached, head throbbed and he grew dizzy. He felt paralyzed with fear. All his limbs were paralyzed. Only the movement of his heart told him that he was alive. Again he tried to jump up. But this time his limbs would not move at all. He looked for ropes, ladders and water wings but all in vain. Then he went down again, the third time. This time all effor ts and fear ceased. He was moving towards peaceful death. The writer was in peace. When he came to consciousness, he found himself lying on the side of the pool with the other boys nearby. The terror that he had experienced

in the pool never left him. It haunted him for years and years to come. It spoilt many of his expeditions of canoei ng, swimming and fishing. It spoilt his pleasures in Maine Lakes, New Hampshire, Deschutes, Columbia and Bumping Lake etc. But the writer was determined to conquer his terror. He took help of a swimming instructor to learn swimming. The instructor taught h im various actions necessary in swimming part by part. He put his face under water and exhaled and inhaled raising it above water. He practiced it for several weeks. He had to kick with his legs a few weeks on the side of the pool. At last he combined all these actions and made the writer swim. He learned swimming but the terror continued. So deep goes our childhood experiences! So fearful is the fear of fear! Whenever he was in water the terror returned. Hence forward the writer tried to terrorize terror i tself. He tried to face the new challenge. When terror came, he confronted it by asking it sarcastically as to what it can really do to him? He plunged into the water as if to defy the fear. Once he took courage the terror vanquished. He faced the challeng e deliberately in various places like the Warm Lake. He conquered it at last. Gist of the lesson: William O. Douglas had a desire to learn swimming since childhood. At the age of three or four, he was knocked down and buried by a wave at a beach in Califo rnia. He developed a great aversion to water. At the age of ten or eleven he decided to learn to swim with water wings at the Y.M.C.A pool since it was safe at the shallow end. A misadventure : - while sitting alone and waiting for others to come at the Y.M. C.A pool, a big boy came and threw Douglas into deep end of the pool. Douglas swallowed water and went straight down to the bottom of the pool. While going down he planned to make a big jump upwards but came up slowly. Tried to shout but could not. As he w ent down the pool second time, he tried to jump upwards but it was a waste of energy. Terror held him deeper and deeper. During the third trial he sucked water instead of air. Light was going out and there was no more panic. So he ceased all efforts and he became unconscious. He crossed to oblivion. When revived he found himself vomiting beside the pool. He was in grip of fear of water and it deprived him of the joys of canoeing, boating swimming and fishing. Hired an instructor to learn

swimming. The instr uctor taught him swimming piece by piece. He went to different lakes to swim and found tiny vestiges of fear still gripped him. He challenged the fear and swam. Swimming up and down the Warm Lake he finally overcame his fear of water. He realized that in d eath there is peace and there is terror only in fear of death. Question and Answer. Question 1: Why did Douglas fail to come to the surface of the pool as he hope to? Answer: 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 li mbs. He felt that he would die. Question 2: How did Douglas’ introduction to the YMCA pool revi ve his childhood fear of water? Answer: Douglas’ introduction to YMCA pool revived his childhood fear of water as , when he had not yet learnt swimming, he was thrown into the pool’s deep end by a bully and sank to the b ottom despite his best efforts. Question 3: What shocking experie nce did Douglas have at YMCA pool? Answer: One day when Douglas started going to the YMCA pool for learning swimming, a big bully threw Douglas into the deep - end of the pool when no one was around. Douglas had a shocking experience as he almost drowned t hat day. Question 4: What deep meaning did his experience at the YMCA swimming pool have for Douglas? Answer: The experience at the YMCA pool had a deep meaning for Douglas. As he had experienced both the sensation of dying and the terror that the fea r of it can produce, he learnt the will to live in great intensity. Question 5: How did his experience at the YMCA swimming pool affect Douglas? Answer: Douglas’ experience at the YMCA pool left a haunting fear of water in his heart. He started avoidin g going near water for many years. It prevented him from fishing, canoeing, boating and swimming, besides ruining his social life. Long Answer Type Questions : (120 – 150 Words) Question 1: “All we have to fear is fear itself”. Describe Douglas’ experiences which led to making of the statement. Answe r: Douglas has experienced both the sensation of dying and terror that the fear of death can cause. Strong will, determination, courage as well as honest labo u r won over all his terrors and fears. The will to live brushed aside all his fears. In reality all our fears are only psycho

logical, and can be easily won over, if we can control our mind. This realization makes Douglas resolve to learn swimming by engaging an instructor. This instructor, piece by piece, built Douglas into a swimmer. However, his first step was to drive away Douglas’ fear of water, befo re training him in swimming techniques. When Douglas tried and swam the length of the pool up and down, small traces of his old terror of water would return. So, he went to Lake Wentworth, dived at Triggs Island and swam two miles across the lake to Stamp Act Island. Finally, he was certain that he h ad conquered his fear of water. Question 2: “I crossed to oblivion, and the curtain of life fell.” What was the incident which nearly killed Douglas and developed in him a strong aversion to water? Answer: The incident which nearly killed Douglas occurred when he was ten or eleven years old. He had decided to learn swimming at the YMCA pool, and thus get rid of his fear of water. One morning, when he was alone at the pool, waiting for others, a big bully of a boy tossed him into the deep end of the pool. Though he had planned a strategy to save himself as he went down, his plan did not work. Thrice he struggled hard to come to the surface, but failed each time. He was frightened and got almost drowned in the pool, lost his consciousness and felt that he would die. Though he was ultimately saved, this misadventure developed in him a strong aversion to water. Question 3: Desire, determination and diligence lead to success. Explain the value of these qualities in the light of Dougl as’ experience in ‘Deep Water’. Answer: The terror of water followed Douglas wherever he went. To get rid of it, he made a strong determination. He decided to overcome his fear through his will power. He engaged an instructor who wou ld perfect him in swimming. The instructor first helped him drive away his fear, and then gave him many exercises besides teaching him how to exhale and inhale in water. The practice went on for months together, during which his fear came back to haunt hi m, but his desire and firm will made him persist in his efforts. It was only through sheer determination and diligence that Douglas could not only counter his terror, but also became an expert swimmer. He swam across and back large distances to ensure that his fear of water did not return. Hence, desire, determination and d

iligence succeeded in removing his fear of water. Va lue Based Answer Type Questions : (120 – 150 Words) Question 1: The story ‘Deep Water’ has made you realize that with determination and perseverance one can accomplish the impossible. Write a paragraph in about 100 words on how a positive attitude and courage will aid you to achieve success in life? Answer: Determination and perseverance is a combination of attributes and abilities that drive people to set goals for themselves and then to take the initiative to achieve these goals. Douglas was able to overcome his fear of water by the values of positive a ttitude and courage. Initially he was afraid of water but his grit and determination made him get an instructor to train him and overcome his fear. Determination today leads to our success tomorrow. It is that innate quality in our soul, which comes to sur face when we face difficult tasks. It is a reflection of our values taught to us by society and circumstances and enable s us to overcome all obstacles. Question 2: Roosevelt said, “All we have to fear is fear itse lf.” Do you agree? Why/why not? Answer : The quote, “All we have to fear is fear itself”, by the American President, Franklin D Roosevelt, it is absolutely true. It is only the fear of consequences which prevents us from taking an action and hampers our progress. William Douglas’ fear of drownin g makes him develop an aversion to water. Hence, he avoids going near water bodies or indulge in water sports. When he is able to overcome his fear with the help of the instructor, he succeeds. Likewise, there are numerous incidents around us that show how fear cripples the mind of an individual and society, a nd acts as a barrier to growth. The other lessons in the textbook also support the view. The bangle makers of Firozabad in ‘Lost Spring’ fear that the police would put them in jail, so they accept the ir exploitation, and do not organize themselves into co - operatives. It is only when we are able to overcome our fear that we can step ahead and progress in life. Word Meanings re lated to the text. 1. Opportunity – Chance 2. Surf – foamy waves. 3. Revived – brought back 4. Offered – Provided 5. Quiet – Peaceful 6. Grab – Catch hold 7. dizzy – feeling giddy. 8. Midst – amid 9. Tender – soft. 10. Bu mping - boun