CBSE Class 12 English Deep Water Notes Set 03

Deep Water

About the Author

William Orville Douglas (1898-1980) was an American jurist. He served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was also known as a champion of civil liberties and the rights of minorities. Douglas was a prolific writer, especially on conservation, history, politics and foreign relations. Most of his writings, comprised elements that showed his love for nature and the valuable insights he had learned over the years.

Chapter Sketch

Deep Water is an excerpt taken from ‘Of Men and Mountains’ by William O Douglas, a leading advocate of individual rights and a Justice in the courts of USA. It reveals how, as a young boy, he nearly drowned in a swimming pool. He talks about his fear of water and thereafter how he finally overcame it.

About the Characters

• Douglas: William Douglas himself is the main character of the story. We see his growth from a young and thin boy to a man determined to overcome his fear.
• Douglas’ mother: She is a loving and caring mother who supports her son and wants him to be safe.
• Bully: He is an 18 year old well-built boy who throws Douglas in the deep end of the pool for a prank. He seems to be arrogant and stupid in his actions.
• Douglas’ instructor: He is an organised, strategic and a determined man. He understood what to do to get Douglas over his fear of water and planned his classes accordingly.

Summary of the Chapter

The Narrator’s Aversion to Water

The narrator was 10 or 11 years old when he developed his fear of water. He had decided to learn swimming and the YMCA pool gave him the opportunity as it was safe. In comparison, the Yakima river was dangerous and had many drowning incidents.

The narrator developed an aversion to water at the age of three or four when his father took him to the beach in California. He almost drowned in the waves and was frightened but his father had only laughed at him. The other incident happened in the YMCA pool. He was just beginning to feel comfortable in the water when one day an 18 year old boy threw him into the deep end of the pool. Douglas went into the pool in a sitting position and went to the bottom.

Attempts to Save his Life

Douglas was frightened but was able to make a plan to save himself. He decided that when his feet would hit the bottom, he would make a big jump, come to the surface, lie flat on it and paddle to the edge of the pool. When he reached the bottom of the pool, he used all strength to make the jump. However, he failed and started to panic. He tried to breathe but swallowed water. Douglas screamed but no sound came out and he started to go down again. He started to lose consciousness when he remembered his strategy.

The Terror

When Douglas opened his eyes, he saw nothing but water with a yellow glow. He was filled with an uncontrollable terror. As a result, Douglas was paralysed and only his heart and the pounding in his head showed that he was still alive. However, Douglas remembered his plan to jump when he reached the bottom. He again jumped but was unsuccessful.

Douglas, then, looked for ropes, ladders and water wings to save himself but found nothing. This frightened him even more. He tried to call for his mother, but nothing happened. Then, he started going down for the third time. By this time, all his efforts stopped and he fell unconscious.

The next thing Douglas remembers was lying by the pool. The boy who threw him into the pool was justifying his actions while getting scolded. Several hours later, Douglas walked to his home. After that, he started fearing water and avoided it whenever he could.

Learning How to Swim

The fear of water ruined Douglas’ fishing trips and deprived him of the joys of water activities. Finally, in October, he decided to get a swimming instructor. He practised five days a week, an hour each day. The instructor put a belt with a rope around Douglas. This rope went through a pulley and the instructor held its other end. Each time the instructor relaxed his hold on the rope and Douglas went under water, which filled him with fear. It took him three months to get over this fear.

Then, the instructor taught him to breathe while swimming. Next, he taught him to move his legs. Thus, piece by piece, he built a swimmer out of Douglas. Finally, the fear and panic that filled Douglas went away.

Getting over the Fear

After the training was finished, Douglas wondered if he would be terror-stricken when he would be alone in the pool. He tried and some old terror returned but he was not afraid. However, Douglas was not satisfied. So, he went to Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire as well as the Warm Lake to test his swimming skills. He successfully swam to the other shores and back. He was thrilled with joy as he had conquered his fear of water.

This experience had a deep meaning for Douglas. He explains that it is the fear of death that affects a person. Then, he quotes President Roosevelt’s saying, ‘All we have to fear is fear itself.’ Because he had experienced death and the terror that it could produce, his will to live somehow grew in intensity.

Word-Meaning

• treacherous: dangerous, unreliable
• water wing (s): an apparatus in the shape of inflated waterproof bags that can be fixed to the arms to help someone learn swimming
• subdued my pride: overcame feeling ashamed
• surf: a mass of foam formed by waves breaking on a seashore
• stirred: aroused
• paddled: moved through the water
• aping: imitating, copying
• bruiser: bully
• specimen: example
• rippling: swelling, bulging
• ducked: pushed under water
• bob to the surface like a cork: move up quickly to the water surface like a piece of cork
• panicky: afraid, alarmed
• flailed at the surface: swung arms or legs violently on the surface
• expending: spending or using up
• irresistible: overwhelming
• strike out: hit sharply
• pounding: rhythmical beating or throbbing
• oblivion: unconsciousness
• curtain of life fell: as if life ended
• fishing for landlocked salmon: fishing for edible fish trapped by being cut off from the sea
• bass: a common term for many different species of fish
• trout: a freshwater fish
• slack: lessen or reduce
• integrated: composite
• crawl stroke: a stroke in which the swimmer lies flat on the water with face submerged, and takes overhand arm strokes, while moving his legs up and down
• vestiges: traces or remains of something that is disappearing or no longer exists

Important Themes of the Chapter

• Conquering Fear: The main theme of the story is the author’s struggle to overcome his fear of water. The story demonstrates how to overcome fear through willpower and strength of mind. Its shows the narrator’s determination and relentless pursuit of mastering the ocean’s depths.
• Psychological Analysis of Fear: The subthemes of the story is a psycho-analytical study of fear and how to overcome it. The author realises what fear essentially is and how we need to fear the idea of fear itself. He understands that we need to conquer our fear to expand our horizons and grow as an individual.