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Chapter 3 Deep Water

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24 views

Chapter 3 Deep Water

Uploaded by

devinajhastudy
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CBSE Class 12 English Flamingo Book Important

Questions for Chapter 3 Deep Water

Class 12 English Deep Water 2 Marks Important Questions – 30 to 40


words
Q 1. How did Douglas’ experience at the beach in California affect him?
Ans. – At the age of three or four, Douglas accompanied his father to a beach in
California. The waves hit him, threw him and swept him. This was overwhelming for the
child and terrified him. Thus, a fear of water got buried deep inside Douglas.

Q 2. What lesson did Douglas learn when he got rid of his fear of water?
Ans. – When Douglas got rid of his fear of water he realised that it is fear that creates
panic. It is not any situation which terrorizes us but it is the fear of that situation that
scares us. When Douglas came out of the fear, he was relaxed and the terror had gone.

Q 3. Which two incidents in the life of William Douglas before he was 10


years old created an aversion in his mind to water?
Ans. – The first incident was at a beach in California when William was three or four
years old and was accompanied by his father. The second incident was at the YMCA
swimming pool at Yakima where William had enrolled to learn swimming.

Q 4. What did Douglas feel and do when he was pushed into the swimming
pool?
Ans. – Douglas planned to reach the bottom of the pool and kick it hard so that he could
reach the surface of the water. Despite repeating this thrice, he was unsuccessful. He tried
to scream for help, breathe; but gulped water instead. He was fear stricken, terrorised,
paralyzed and rigid with fear. He searched for something that could help him get out of
the mass of yellow water that surrounded him.

Q 5. Douglas’ mother (ironically) thought that YMCA pool was safe for
learning to swim. What are your views?
Ans. – I think his mother was right in considering the YMCA pool safer. In comparison to
a natural water body like a lake or sea a swimming pool is safer because it is not deep,
there is a life guard present and there are swimming instructors too. The incident that
William faced at the pool was an unnatural mischief played by another boy. This incident
cannot be considered as one which made the pool unsafe for learning swimming.

Q 6. Why did Douglas’ mother recommend that he should learn swimming at


the YMCA swimming pool? Why did William Douglas choose YMCA pool
when he decided to learn to swim?
Ans. – William’s mother warned him against swimming in the Yakima river because it

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was treacherous. On the other hand, she considered the YMCA pool to be safer. It was
only two or three feet deep at the shallow and 9 feet deep at the other. The drop was
gradual. She also got him a pair of water wings that would help him float on the water and
prevent him from drowning.

Q 7. How did the instructor turn Douglas into a swimmer?


Ans. – The instructor taught him to swim in phases. First he made Douglas confident in
swimming across the length and breadth of the pool. Then he taught him to inhale and
exhale while swimming. The next step was to teach him how to kick in the water. Finally,
the instructor was successful in training Douglas as a swimmer.

Class 12 English Deep Water 5 Marks Important Questions – 120 to 150


words
Q 8. How did the swimming instructor build a swimmer out of Douglas?
Ans. – William Douglas developed a fear of water as a child. This fear remained with
him, despite his desire to swim in water. Thus, it remained an unfulfilled desire. Finally,
decided to overcome his fear. He hired a dedicated instructor to teach him how to swim.
He would spend an hour each day, five days a week. The instructor tied a belt around
William’s waist. A rope was attached to the belt which ran up to a pulley which hung on an
overhead cable.
He held on to the end of the rope and went back and forth across the pool. They practised
this regularly for many weeks. Whenever the instructor would relax his hold on the rope, a
bit of the terror would return and his legs would freeze. After three months, the tension
began to reduce. Then he taught Douglas to put his face in the water and exhale, to raise
his nostril and inhale. Then he taught him to kick with his legs.
Thus, gradually, the instructor built a swimmer out of William.

Q 9. How did Douglas develop a fear of water?


Ans. – At the age of three or four when Douglas accompanied his father to the beach in
California, the waves hit him, threw him and swept him away. This terrified him and
instilled a fear of water. Douglas wanted to overcome this fear and upon his mother’s
suggestion, he joined the swimming pool ay YMCA, Yakima, at the age of ten or eleven.
There another incident took place, which further increased his aversion to water.
A big strong boy lifted Douglas and threw him into the deep end of the pool. Douglas sank
into the water and planned to return to the surface by hitting the bottom of the pool with
his foot. He tried this but unfortunately, it did not work. He tried thrice but he could not
come up to the surface of the pool. A fear gripped him as he had nearly drowned. When he
tried to breathe, he swallowed water instead. Finally, Douglas gave up on life and lay
quietly when someone came and pulled him out.

Q 10. The story talks about Douglas’ attempts to overcome his fear of water.
The story can also be viewed as a figurative manifestation of life’s many
challenges. Elaborate with reference to the text.
Ans. – William Douglas developed a fear of water as a child. This fear was further

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strengthened by another incident that had happened at a swimming pool that he had
joined at the age of ten or eleven. The fear remained with him through a greater part of his
life, despite his strong desire to swim across many water bodies.
Finally one day William Douglas decided to overcome his fear of water. He hired a
swimming instructor who taught him. Gradually, he turned William Douglas into a
trained swimmer.
Douglas recollects that during the training the fear would come back to him but he would
face it and it would vanish.
This example of Douglas’ fear can be used to explain how we can overcome any challenge
in our life. The key is determination, hard work and patience. If we decide to overcome
any challenge and work towards it, we will surely get success.

Q 11. What misadventure did Douglas Experience at the YMCA swimming


pool?
Ans. – Details of the incident

Q 12. The childhood experience of terror of Douglas made him stronger and
more determined. Elucidate the above statement supporting it with evidence
from the text.
Ans. – Douglas experienced fear of water due to two incidents that happened in his
childhood. These incidents had been very terrorizing and the fear was instilled deep in his
mind. This had been a great learning experience for him too because he had realised that
it was fear that created terror and panic. So he realise the need of overcoming fear as well.

William realised that the Act was not terrorizing but it was the fear that created terror in
him. Finally, one day he decided to overcome the fear, worked on it and achieve success.
Still whenever he went swimming, the terror would return at times and when William
would see it with courage, it would vanish. This experience made him realise that it was
only fear which created terror and in order to live, he had to come out of this fear. When
he overcame this fear he felt free and released. He would walk the trails and climb the
peaks. All this made him stronger and more determined.

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