About the author
CBSE Sure-Shot Questions Deep Water Class 12 English: Summary
Introduction Deep Water’s Summary
In Deep Water, William Douglas discusses his fear of water and how he finally overcame it. He uses his own story to make us understand how it is very difficult to overcome our childhood fears. In Deep Water’s summary, we will discuss what happened to the author when he was eleven years old and decided to ‘learn to swim.’ He tried many ways, and first, he tried himself, but he couldn’t succeed in coming out of the water of fear. Then, he hired a professional trainer to learn the techniques and got successful.
Deep Water’s main points of summary
In the beginning, the author tried to come out of the water on his own.
William Douglas started his journey of learning to swim at the Y.M.C.A on his own as it was safer than the Yakima River, which was “treacherous”. The author got a pair of water wings and went to the pool. The author’s fear of water started when he was three and the waves knocked him down, almost drowning him. Fright had grabbed him. In Y.M.C.A., he started his training with full confidence, and one day he was alone in the pool. A strong boy picked him up and “tossed” him into the deep end. William Douglas got frightened but tried his best to come out of the water.
A “misadventure” took place with the author. The author went to the pool in the hope that he would be able to swim, but unfortunately, it didn’t materialize. He was just sitting and no one was there, and then, “a big bruiser” came and picked the author up and “tossed” him into the water. Thus, all this happened suddenly, and the author couldn’t swim in the swimming pool. The author discussed the “misadventure” in Deep Water.
On the way down, the author planned to make a big jump when his feet hit the bottom. This way, he would come out of the water. But unfortunately, the author swallowed water and was fully choked. His legs got paralyzed and became rigid. He screamed but was not listened to by anybody. His lungs started aching, and he became “dizzy.” He didn’t lose heart and tried once again to come out, but unfortunately, he couldn’t. He kept his sense and didn’t allow the fear to overcome him, but it was all in vain. The sheer, stark terror seized him. He tried everything but couldn’t succeed. This is how the author tried many times, but all in vain. He got too tired to continue his effort to come out of the water and lost all hope, “Mother’s… now I must go to sleep…”. He became unconscious and “the curtain of life fell.” After that, he never went to the pool and avoided all types of water to try. He couldn’t try for many years.
William Douglas hired an instructor and learned to swim.
He went to the pool and practiced five days a week, an hour each day. The instructor put a belt around him and a rope attached to the belt and held the rope himself. Every time a panic of water struck him, and it continued for three months. The author felt a little confident, and the instructor asked him to dip his tongue in the water and repeat the exercise a hundred times. This way, the author finally overcame his fear of water. The instructor built a swimmer, “piece by piece.” Thus, the instructor’s work of training was finished, but still, the author was not fully confident. He then tried it in other lakes and eventually “conquered” his fear of water.
William Douglas finally conquered the old terror
The instructor developed the author’s swimming techniques; “piece by piece, he built a swimmer.” This way, the instructor said, “Now you can swim. Dive off and swim the length of the pool, crawl stroke. ” Thus, the instructor was finished. The author was a swimmer, but the fear was not finally ended.
So, it’s now up to the author to figure out if he’s gotten to the point where he can swim without fear. So, he tried on his own in a swimming pool to test his fear, and he confidently declared that the terror of swimming couldn’t scare him. He went to a lake called Wentworth in New Hampshire where he tried swimming the crawl, breaststroke, side stroke, and backstroke. The good thing was that he got frightened only once. He laughed and said, “Well, Mr. Terror, what do you think you can do to me?” At last, he felt released, free to walk the trails, climb the peaks, and brush aside fear. Thus, finally, we learn what Roosevelt said: “All we have to fear is fear itself.”
Conclusion of the Summary of Deep Water
The author himself tells us that the experience of coming out of the water had a deep meaning. Fear of childhood takes time and needs proper training to overcome. In death there is peace. There is terror only in the fear of death, as Roosevelt said, “All we have to fear is fear itself.” The author had experienced both. Therefore, it was very difficult to overcome such fear.
CBSE Sure-Shot Questions Deep Water Class 12 English: Reading Comprehension
decided to learn to swim. There was a pool at the YMCA.
in Yakima that offered exactly the opportunity. The Yakima
The river was treacherous. Mother continually warned against
it, and kept fresh in my mind the details of each drowning
in the river. But the Y.M.C.A. pool was safe. It was only
two or three feet deep at the shallow end; and while it was
nine feet deep at the other, the drop was gradual. I got a
pair of water wings and went to the pool.
of a boy, probably eighteen years old. He had thick hair on
his chest. He was a beautiful physical specimen, with legs
and arms that showed rippling muscles. He yelled, “Hi,
Skinny! How’d you like to be ducked?”
end. I landed in a sitting position, swallowed water, and
went at once to the bottom. I was frightened, but not yet
frightened out of my wits. On the way down I planned:
When my feet hit the bottom, I would make a big jump,
come to the surface, lie flat on it, and paddle to the edge of
had perfected each piece, he put them together into an
integrated whole. In April he said, “Now you can swim. Dive
off and swim the length of the pool, crawl stroke.”
I did. The instructor was finished and used every way I knew to overcome this fear, but it
held me firmly in its grip.
CBSE Sure-Shot Questions Deep Water Class 12 English: Exercises Reading Comprehension
get an instructor and learn to swim. I went to a pool and
practiced five days a week, an hour each day. The instructor
put a belt around me. A rope attached to the belt went
through a pulley that ran on an overhead cable. He held on
to the end of the rope, and we went back and forth, back
and forth across the pool, hour after hour, day after day,
week after week. On each trip across the pool, a bit of
panic seized me. Each time the instructor relaxed his hold
on the rope and I went under, some of the old terror returned
and my legs froze. It was three months before the tension
began to slack.
terror-stricken when I was alone in the pool. I tried it. I
swam the length up and down. Tiny vestiges of the old
terror would return. But now I could frown and say to that
terror, “Trying to scare me, eh? Well, here’s to you! Look!”
And off I’d go for another length of the pool.
This went on until July. But I was still not satisfied. I
was not sure that all the terror had left. So I went to Lake
Wentworth in New Hampshire dived off a dock at Triggs
Island, and swam two miles across the lake to Stamp Act
Island. I swam the crawl, breaststroke, sidestroke, and
backstroke.
Q.1. How did the author check his confidence after training?
Q.2. What did the author say about terror?
Q.3. In which lake the author went?
Q.4. ‘But I was not finished’ what does it mean in the passage?
Q.5. ‘Tiny vestiges’ refers to…
Q.6. Why did the author go to Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire?
Deep Water Important Textual Questions and Answers NCERT Class 12 English Flamingo
Think as You Read Deep Water
Page 27
Question 1. What is the “misadventure” that William Douglas speaks about?
Answer
A “misadventure” took place with the author. The author went to the pool in the hope that he would be able to swim, but unfortunately, it didn’t materialize. He was just sitting and no one was there, and then, “a big bruiser” came and picked the author up and “tossed” him into the water. Thus, all this happened suddenly, and the author couldn’t swim in the swimming pool. The author discussed the “misadventure” in Deep Water.
Question 2. What were 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?
Answer
The author’s fear of water started when he was three and the waves knocked him down, almost drowning him. Fright had grabbed him. In Y.M.C.A., he started his training with full confidence, and one day he was alone in the pool. A strong boy picked him up and “tossed” him into the deep end. William Douglas got frightened but tried his best to come out of the water.
On the way down the author planned that he would make a big jump when his feet hit the bottom. This way he would come out of the water. But unfortunately, the author swallowed water and was fully choked. His legs got paralyzed and became rigid. He screamed but was not listened to by anybody. He kept his sense and didn’t allow the fear to overcome him, but it was all in vain. The sheer, stark terror seized‘ him.
Question 3. How did this experience affect him?
Answer
The author swallowed water and was fully choked. His legs got paralyzed and became rigid. He screamed but was not listened to by anybody. He kept his sense and didn’t allow the fear to overcome him, but it was all in vain. The sheer, stark terror seized him.
He tried everything as per his plan, but couldn’t succeed. This is how the author tried many times, but all in vain. He got too tired to continue his effort to come out of the water and lost all hope, “Mother’s… now I must go to sleep…”. He became unconscious and “the curtain of life fell.” After that, he never went to the pool and avoided all types of water to try. He couldn’t try for many years.
Think as You Read Deep Water
Page 29
Question 1. Why was Douglas determined to get over his fear of water?
Answer
The fear of water stayed with the author for many years, and thus, he was disturbed as the fear deprived him of his fishing trips, “canoeing, boating, and swimming”. In this way, he put all his efforts into coming out of the fear of water, but unfortunately, he couldn’t succeed in overcoming the fear of water. Finally, William Douglas decided to hire an instructor and started learning to swim under the guidance of his instructor.
CBSE Sure-Shot Short Questions Deep Water Class 12 English
Question 2. How did the instructor “build a swimmer” out of Douglas?
Answer
The fear of water stayed with the author for many years, and thus, the author hired an instructor to learn to swim. The instructor made five lesson plans in a week. He attached a rope and asked the author to go back and forth, and in this way, hour after hour, day after day, the instructor was developing swimming skills of the author. “Each time the instructor relaxed his hold on the rope and I went under, some of the old terror returned and my legs froze.”
Thus, the instructor developed the author’s swimming techniques; “piece by piece, he built a swimmer.” Finally, the instructor made the author a perfect swimmer by putting all his techniques together. This way, the instructor said, “Now you can swim. Dive off and swim the length of the pool, crawl stroke. ” Thus, the instructor was finished. The author was a swimmer, but the fear was not finally ended.
Question 3. How did Douglas make sure that he conquered the old terror?
Answer
The instructor developed the author’s swimming techniques; “piece by piece, he built a swimmer.” This way, the instructor said, “Now you can swim. Dive off and swim the length of the pool, crawl stroke. ” Thus, the instructor was finished. The author was a swimmer, but the fear was not finally ended.
So, it’s now up to the author to figure out if he’s gotten to the point where he can swim without fear. So, he tried on his own in a swimming pool to test his fear, and he confidently declared that the terror of swimming couldn’t scare him. He went to a lake called Wentworth in New Hampshire where he tried swimming the crawl, breaststroke, side stroke, and backstroke. The good thing was that he got frightened only once. He laughed and said, “Well, Mr. Terror, what do you think you can do to me?” At last, he felt released, free to walk the trails, climb the peaks, and brush aside fear. Thus, finally, we learn what Roosevelt said: “All we have to fear is fear itself.”
The author himself tells us that the experience of coming out of the water had a deep meaning. Fear of childhood takes time and needs proper training to overcome. In death there is peace. There is terror only in the fear of death, as Roosevelt said, “All we have to fear is fear itself.” The author had experienced both. Therefore, it was very difficult to overcome such fear.
Understanding the text Deep Water
Question 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.
CBSE Sure-Shot Long Questions Deep Water Class 12 English
William Douglas started his journey of learning to swim at the Y.M.C.A on his own as it was safer than the Yakima River, which was “treacherous”. The author got a pair of water wings and went to the pool. The author’s fear of water started when he was three and the waves knocked him down, almost drowning him. Fright had grabbed him. In Y.M.C.A., he started his training with full confidence, and one day he was alone in the pool. A strong boy picked him up and “tossed” him into the deep end. William Douglas got frightened but tried his best to come out of the water.
A “misadventure” took place with the author. The author went to the pool in the hope that he would be able to swim, but unfortunately, it didn’t materialize. He was just sitting and no one was there, and then, “a big bruiser” came and picked the author up and “tossed” him into the water. Thus, all this happened suddenly, and the author couldn’t swim in the swimming pool. The author discussed the “misadventure” in Deep Water.
On the way down, the author planned to make a big jump when his feet hit the bottom. This way, he would come out of the water. But unfortunately, the author swallowed water and was fully choked. His legs got paralyzed and became rigid. He screamed but was not listened to by anybody. His lungs started aching, and he became “dizzy.” He didn’t lose heart and tried once again to come out, but unfortunately, he couldn’t. He kept his sense and didn’t allow the fear to overcome him, but it was all in vain. The sheer, stark terror seized him. He tried everything but couldn’t succeed.
Question 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.
As we all know, as we grow older, our fear of the darkness fades. It happened to me as well. Things began to change as we grew older, and the terror began to fade. All of this occurred as we attempted to see through the witchcraft as a picture of such things developed among us. As we grew older, we realized that there was no such thing as witchcraft. It was insignificant. We soon discovered that there was nothing like that. As a result, age can play a role in instilling fear in children, and once they reach adulthood, such fear fades away. As a result, such fears are fictitious, and we must share the truth with our children to eliminate their childhood apprehension. As a result, “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
Question
A big bruiser of a boy who happened to be there shouted, “Hi, Skinny! How’d you like to be dunked? ” He immediately lifted the small boy and tossed him into the nine-foot deep pool of the Y.M.C.A. The child reached the bottom of the pool, but on the way, he planned how to come out of the water and save himself from drowning. The small boy was shocked as water filled his lungs.
I was fortunate to be present there and was able to watch all the happenings. I immediately rushed to save the kid from sinking into the water. The boy was struggling to catch something, and he tried it two times, but all in vain. The boy’s lungs were filled with water, although I had reached out to him and jumped into the pool. His condition was critical as his mouth was filled with water and he was unable to breathe. I immediately provided him with first aid by pressing on his stomach and the water came out. This way, the boy started breathing and became conscious. He opened his eyes and told me the whole story of how he was thrown into the pool.
Writing
Page 30
Question 1.
Doing well in any activity, for example, a sport, music, dance or painting, riding a motorcycle or a car, involves a great deal of struggle. Most of us are very nervous to begin with until gradually we overcome our fears and perform well.
Write an essay of about five paragraphs recounting such an experience. Try to recollect minute details of what caused the fear, your feelings, the encouragement you got from others, or the criticism.
You could begin with the last sentence of the essay you have just read: “At last, I felt released—free to walk the trails and climb the peaks and to brush aside fear.”
“At last, I felt released—free to walk the trails and climb the peaks and to brush aside fear.”
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE OF RIDING A MOTORCYCLE
At last, I felt released, free to walk the trails and climb the peaks and brush aside fear. This fear of injuries had been my old enemy and had thwarted me at crucial moments. I remember exactly when I started developing this fear. I was a toddler when I was given a tricycle. I would lose balance and the tricycle would fall over me.
As I grew older, I was given dwarfed versions of cycles but my road fear persisted. I would hit someone or something and fall. Sometimes the injuries took time to heal. I felt annoyed with myself and cursed my fear. But fern assumed monster-like proportions.
Now I had passed the tenth class examination and joined the city school. My father gifted me a Hero Honda mobike on my birthday. My uncle volunteered to train me. After telling me in detail the functions of various parts, he took me to the playground. He sat behind me and issued orders. He held me firmly at first. When I had learned to start the vehicle,
change gears, increase and decrease speed, turn the vehicle and come to a stop, he asked me to take a round. I perspired from head to foot. He reassured me and encouraged me. I regained my confidence.
Then I took a short round of the playground. I still hesitated while tinning the comer. Uncle explained the mechanism and demonstrated how to handle the machine.
Finally, I took three rounds of the playground. Then uncle and I came to the side road. He trained me on how to avoid the vehicles and give them passage. I drove to the city and returned safely. I had conquered fear and learned how to ride a motorcycle.
