DEEP WATER

Chapter – 3
Flamingo
About the Author

William Orville Douglas (1898 – 1980) was an American jurist and politician who served as
tha associate justice of the supreme court of United States Nominated by President Franklin.
D.Roosevelt. Douglas was the youngest justice appointed at the supreme court in the age of
40.His term lasted 36 years and 209 days ( 1939 – 1975).

THEME: In this excerpt taken from ‘Of Men and Mountains’ by William O .Douglas talks
about his fear of water and thereafter, how he finally overcomes it. A misadventure at the
YMCA pool developed an aversion of water in him and he suffered from hydrophobia. The
chapter focuses on the fact that childhood fear must never be treated lightly. If they are not
tackled, then they make deep inroads into one's psychology.

IMPORTANT POINTS TO REMEMBER:

1. Developed aversion to water

(i) 3 to4 years old: father took him to the beach in California.
(ii) waves knocked him down.
(iii) swept over him.
(iv) fear of water sets in
2. Yakima River :
(i) dangerous
(ii) mother-warned him against it.
(iii) kept fresh in his mind - each drowing in the river.
3. Misadventure at Y.M.C.A.(safe pool)
(i) Y.M.C.A. pool-shallow end is 2-3 feet deep; 9 feet at the deep end
(ii) An 18 yr old bully tossed him into the deep end
(iii) Douglas' plan (strategy)-when he hits the bottom of the pool-he would jump &come to
the surface.
(iv) went 9 feet down
(v) failed to rise, suffocated, lungs ached, head throbbed. fear-stricken
(vi) became unconscious, nearly died.
4. Effect/Impact of Fear :
(i) ruined his fishing trips
(ii) deprived him of the joy of canoeing , boating & swimming.
5. HIRED AN INSTRUCTOR TO OVERCOME FEAR OF WATER :
(i) practised 5 days a week-1hour each day
(ii) used belt& rope to teach swimming
(iii) Taught to exhale under water &inhale above water
(iv) Taught Limb coordination
(v) Taught different strokes-crawl stroke, breast stroke, side stroke& back stroke
6. TESTED HIMSELF :
(i) Went to Lake Wentworth in Hampshire-swam 2 miles to Stamp Act Island
(ii) Went upto Meade Glacier to swim in warm lake near Gilbert Peak.

CHARACTER SKETCH OF DOUGLAS

*adventurous by nature.
*had a zest for life.
*courageous/bold.
*indomitable spirit-to overcome his fear.
*not frightened by crisis-accepted it as a challenge.
SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER

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 waiting 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 very 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 efforts 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 canoeing, 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 him 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 itself. 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 challenge deliberately in various places like the
Warm Lake. He conquered it at last.

KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER

1. Douglas had a desire to learn swimming since childhood.

2. At the age of three or four, he was knocked down and buried by a wave at a beach in
California.
3. He developed a great aversion to water.
4. 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.
5. While sitting alone and waiting for others to come at the Y.M.C.A. pool, a big boy came and
threw Douglas into the deep end of the pool.
6. Douglas swallowed water and went straight down to the bottom of the pool.
7. While going down he planned to make a big jump upwards but came up slowly.
8. Stark terror seized him.
9. Tried to shout but could not.
10. As he went down the pool the second time he tried to jump upwards but it was a waste of
energy.
11. Terror held him deeper and deeper.
12. During the third trial he sucked in water instead of air. So he ceased all efforts and he
became unconscious.
13. When revived he found himself vomiting beside the pool.
14. He was in the grip of fear of water and it deprived him of the joys of canoeing, boating
swimming and fishing.
15. He took help of a swimming instructor to learn swimming.
16. The instructor taught him swimming piece by piece.
17. He went to different lakes to swim and found tiny vestiges of fear still gripped him.
18. Swimming up and down the warm lake he finally overcame his fear of water.
19. He realized that in death there is peace and there is terror only in fear of death.
20. Will to live is stronger than fear of death.

Q1. What is the misadventure that William Douglas speak about?

 Ans. Douglas refers to the incident at the Y.M.C.A. swimming pool where he almost drowned
as a “misadventure.” The author was about ten or eleven years old at the time and had barely
begun to learn swimming, primarily by aping others. As he was thrown suddenly into the water
by someone and he couldn’t swim, he started drowning. The struggle to come to surface and to
avoid getting drowned left him with a deep fear of water which deprived him from enjoying
water-related activities for many years.

Q2. What were the series of emotion and fears that Douglas experienced when he was
thrown in to the pool? What plans did he make to come to the surface?

Ans. The sudden realization of being thrown into the pool did not make him lose his wits
immediately. Although frightened, he thought of a trick to come up to the surface but couldn’t
execute it successfully. He panicked and felt suffocated by the water. His sense-perceptions
gave way, his heart pounded loudly, his limbs became paralyzed with fear, his mind became
dizzy and his lungs ached as he gulped water while making desperate attempts to come out of
the water. Finally, he lost all his strength and willingness to keep struggling and blacked out.

Douglas planned to allow himself to go down till his feet hit the bottom so that could make a
big jump to come back to the surface like a cork. Then, he would lie flat on the surface of 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 very strong impact on his psychology. He
was deeply perturbed and shaken by the whole experience. A haunting fear of water took
control of his physical strength and emotional balance for many years. As he couldn’t bear
being surrounded by water, he was deprived of enjoying any water-related activity.

Q4. Why was Douglas determined to get over his fear of water?

Ans. Douglas determined to get over his fear of water because he was regretted being deprived
of enjoying water activities like canoeing, boating, swimming, fishing, etc. The wish to enjoy
them and the craving to regain his lost confidence, while being in water, made him try every
possible way to get rid of his fear. He was finally able to overcome this mental handicap by
getting himself a swimming instructor and further ensuring that no residual fear was left.

Q5. How did the instructor build a swimmer out of Douglas?

Ans. The instructor worked gradually on Douglas’ psychology, moved on to his physical
movements and then integrated each part to build a swimmer out of him.

Initially, he made Douglas swim back and forth across the swimming pool so that he could get
used to it. He used an elaborate mechanism with a rope, belt, pulley and an overhead cable to
help them stay connected while Douglas was in the pool. Then, one-by-one, he made Douglas
master the individual techniques of swimming, like putting his head in the water, exhaling and
inhaling while in water, movements of his hands, body, legs, etc. Finally, he integrated these
perfected steps into a whole experience of swimming for Douglas.
Q6. How did Douglas make sure that he conquered the old terror?

Ans. Even after the swimming training was over, Douglas wasn't confident about his swimming
or that he had overcome the fear. He was determined to completely get rid of it forever. He
swam alone in the pool. He went to Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire Dived in and swan
two miles across the lake to Stamp Act Island. Only once when he was in the middle of the
lake, did the terror return. But he confronted it and swam on.

There, he tried every possible stroke he had learnt. He fought back the tiny vestiges of terror
that gripped him in middle of the lake. Finally, in his diving expedition in the Warm Lake, he
realised that he had truly conquered his old terror. Thus, he was sure of having conquered his
fear of water.

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. Douglas was thrown into the deep end of the pool by a big and strong boy. He landed in a
sitting position, swallowing water and went at once to the bottom) As he wassailing to the
bottom of the pool, he decided to make a big jump, come to the surface, lie fIat on it, and
paddle to the edge of the pool. At this point, he was frightened but not scared out of his wits)
But the nine .feet depth of the pool was more like ninety, and before he touched the bottom his
lungs were ready to burst. Gathering all his strength he tried to Jump) However, unlike what he
had thought, he came up slowly. On opening his eyes he saw nothing but water. He was
terrified and suffocated. He tried to scream but in vain as his mouth was in water. He thrashed
at the surface of the water but his legs seemed to hang as dead weights to his body, refusing to
move. He was being pulled under water, to the bottom of the pool. Breathless, he hit at the
water with all his strength. His lungs and head ached and he began feeling dizzy. He-attempted
to repeat his strategy but was once again unsuccessful. This time when he went down, he was
inexpiably terrified. He felt sheer stark terror, terror that knew no understanding no control. He
was paralysed—stiff, rigid with fear. The only sign of life was the pulsating in his head. In the
midst of terror came a touch of reason. He tried for the third time with all his strength. But it
made no difference. He was still in water. He groped around for something but felt only water.
He felt even more terrorized and his limbs refused to move. He tried to call for help but nothing
happened, (then, strangely, he saw light that meant he was coming out of the awful yellow
water. His eyes and nose were almost out. But this was short-lived as for the third time he was
being pulled down. Helplessly, he stopped making an effort. He just let go—his legs felt limp
and blackness swept over him. The writer makes the description vivid by giving graphic details
of the situation and his fear

2) How did Douglas overcome his fear of water?

Ans. Douglas overcame his fear of water through sheer determination. The experience he had,
as a child of three or Jour, had left an indelible imprint on his mind. This was aggravated by the
experience that he had when he was thrown into the pool. This would paralyse him whenever
he attempted going into the water. His instructor taught him to swim yet he would be terror-
stricken when he was alone in the pool. He swam tirelessly up and down the length of the pool
but he was not sure that all the terror had left.(So he went to Lake Wentworth, in New
Hampshire, and swam two miles across the lake to Stamp Act Island. Only once did he feel the
fear, when he was in the middle of the lake, but he confronted it and swam on. To ascertain that
he had overcome it completely, he went up to Meade Glacier, and dived into the Warm Lake.
This assured him that he had accomplished his desire to overcome his fear of watery.

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. Douglas, as an adult, recounts his childhood experience of terror and his way of
conquering it. He recalls how petrified he was of water but anally he swam across Warm Lake
to the other shore and back, just as Doug Corpron used to do; More than him becoming an
accomplished swimmer, he rejoiced at having conquered his fear of water.. He feels that the
experience had a deep meaning for him as he had conquered stark terror. He feels that unlike
death, fear is not peaceful He had experienced both the sensation of dying and the terror that
fear of it could produce. He realized that the richness of life is found in adventure. Adventure
calls on all the faculties of the mind and spirit. It develops self-reliance and independence. Life
then teems with excitement. But, one is not ready for adventure unless one is rid of fear. For
fear confines one and limits one's scope. One stays tethered by strings of doubt and indecision
and has only a small and narrow world to explore. Hence, sharing his experience would be
immensely useful to others who feel scared like he did when he was young.