DEEP WATER NCERT SOLUTIONS -CLASS XII CBSE ENGLISH
NCERT SOLUTIONS
1 1. What was the author’s early childhood fear of the water? How did it affect him in the rest of his life?
The author and his father once went the beach
of California when the former was three or four. While playing in the surf of
the sea, the author was knocked down by the water and was buried under it. His
breath was gone and a deep fear developed in his mind.
2.What was the misadventure that happened while
William Douglas was making his attempt to learn swimming in the YMCA pool?
Douglas was attempting to learn swimming in
the YMCA pool. He was sitting on the side of the pool waiting for other boys to
come. Unexpectedly a big boy arrived there, and, seeing Douglas sitting
timidly, grabbed him and threw him onto the deepest part of the pool and left
him to drown. Douglas landed inside the pool in a sitting position, swallowed
water and went at once to the bottom of the pool.
3. What were Douglas’ plans when he went down the water the first time?
Douglas was frightened at being hauled into the deep water but he was strategic even at such a crucial stage. While sinking, he planned to make a leap once his feet touched the tiled bottom of the water and consequently reach the surface and swim to the side and escape.
4. Why was Douglas determined to get over his fear of water?
Ans. Douglas after his misadventure and a
near brush with death became so scared of water that he could not go fishing,
canoeing, boating and swimming. He tried hard to overcome his fear but it held
him firmly in its grip. Finally, one October he decided to get an instructor
and learn to swim. He started going to the pool 5 days a week, an hour each
day.
5. How
did the instructor “build a swimmer” out of Douglas?
1.He went to a pool and practiced five days a
week, an hour each day
2.The instructor put a belt around him. A
rope attached to the belt went through a pulley that ran on an overhead cable.
He held onto the end of the rope, and they went back and forth
3. Then he taught him to put my face
under water and exhale, and to
raise nose and inhale. He repeated the
exercise hundreds of times
4.Next he held him at the side of the pool
and had him kick with my legs. For weeks he did just that.
5.Thus, piece by piece, he built a swimmer.
And when he had perfected each piece, he put them together into an integrated
whole.
6. How did Douglas make sure that he conquered
the old terror?
At first, he tried to overcome his fear of
water on his own. But when this failed,
he got an instructor for himself who worked on Douglas’ fear very methodically.
With his help, Douglas began by learning to be at ease in water. After this, he
practiced exhaling-inhaling in water to eliminate the fear of putting his head
inside the water. Then, he moved on to master individual steps of swimming
which were, finally, integrated into a complete experience of swimming, by his
instructor. After about six months, Douglas could not only swim well but was,
also, free of his fear to a great extent.
At this stage, Douglas’ journey of truly
overcoming his fear to its tiniest vestiges began. He swam alone in the pool.
He went to Lake Wentworth to dive. He tried every possible stroke he learnt.
Finally, in his diving expedition, in the Warm Lake, he conquered his fear
completely.
7. 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. As an adult, Douglas recounts his
childhood experience of terror and how he overcame it. He recalls how he almost
drowned in the swimming pool. He also narrates his journey to conquer the fear
that had gripped him for so long. The experience had deep significance for the
writer. The fear haunted him for years . He had experienced both the sensation
of dying and the terror that it produces.
It aroused in him the passion to destroy that fear/ was resolved to
destroy the fear and produced in him a greater desire to live. This account
does not glorify his achievements as a swimmer but celebrates his efforts of
conquering his fear of water. His experience is a useful lesson for all the
readers that fear could be conquered through determination, will power, courage
and perseverance.
He drew a larger meaning from this experience. “In death there is peace.” “There is terror only in the fear of death.” He had experienced both the sensation of dying and the terror that fear of it can produce. So, the will to live somehow grew in intensity. He felt released- free to walk the mountain paths, climb the peaks and brush aside fear.
8. Give
an account of the fears and emotions of Douglas as he made efforts to save
himself from drowning in YMCA pool.
Ans. - When the author was flung into the
deep end of the pool, he was overcome with fear.
- Fortunately, he was able to think rationally.
- So, he planned that as soon as he hit the
bottom, he would make a big jump.
- He hoped that he would be able to come to
the surface.
- but his efforts went futile.
-Panic groped him when he realised that he
had gone deep inside nine feet of water.
-He thought he would bob to the surface like
a cork
-His limbs were almost paralysed.
- He failed to find anything to hold on to
and he was again being pulled under.
-His lungs ached and his screams went
unheard.
-The mass of yellow water gripped him which
produced stark terror.
-When three attempts to rise to the surface
failed, he fainted. He experienced a terror which never left him.
9. 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.
Douglas takes us through his near death
experience at the Y.M.C.A. pool by detailing every little aspect associated to
it. He details minutes of his emotional, mental and physical struggle with the
paralyzing fear of being drowned in the water. The first person narration of
the incident also helps us to associate with his experience more deeply.
Though he did not lose his wits initially, he panicked when his strategy didn’t work. His feeling of suffocation, fear and losing hold on sense perceptions make the readers experience what he does. His eyes couldn’t see beyond the dirty yellow water. His voice did not assist him. His nose and mouth could only manage to take water to the lungs. His limbs became paralyzed with fear and his mind dizzy. His desperation to save himself kept him struggling until he went down the third time and blacked out. All these details make the description vivid.
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