Deep Water

The childhood experience of terror of Douglas made him stronger and more determined. Elucidate the above statement supporting it with evidences from the text.

One day while Douglas was sitting by the pool side, a strong big boy picked him up and threw him into the deepest part of the pool. He sank to the bottom, but he tried to jump and come up gradually. As fear had gripped him, all his efforts went in vain. He was nearly…

‘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?

was about four years old when he visited a beach in California with his father. They stood together in the surf. Douglas clung to his father yet a powerful wave swept him and knocked him down. He was terrified. This developed a fear of water in him. Then, when he was eleven years old, he…

Describe the efforts made by Douglas to save himself from drowning in Y.M.C.A swimming pool.

When Douglas was picked and tossed into the deep end, he was frightened, but not so frightened that he lost his wits, entirely. On the way down, he planned that when his feet hit the bottom, he would make a big jump, come to the surface, lie flat on it, and paddle to the edge…

Douglas’s mother (ironically) thought that Y.M.C.A pool was safe for learning to swim. What are your views?

I think Y.M.C.A pool was not safe because Douglas wasn’t happy to go and learn there. Moreover, he was pushed into the deep water by a big bully and almost drowned. It led to life time fear of water for Douglas. OR I think Y.M.C.A pool was safe for learning swimming. It’s only because of…

‘All we have to fear is fear itself’. When did Douglas learn this lesson?

Once the writer realised that his fear of water was keeping him from enjoying any of the water related sports and activities, he decided to engage a swimming instructor, who gradually helped him face his fear. However, it was after his successful swimming attempts in Lake Wentworth and Warm Lake that the writer understood the…