CHAPTER - 3: DEEP WATER (FLAMINGO)

24/03/2020

                                                    CHAPTER - 3 : DEEP WATER

                                                          WILLIAM O DOUGLAS

A new day brings a new beginning. 

Welcome to today’s class.

We are going to start with a fresh chapter.

Chapter – 3: Deep Water (Flamingo)

I give you 30 minutes to read this chapter THOROUGHLY. Do not forget to get familiar with the author William O. Douglas as well.  I advise you to mark the difficult words/phrases and make a note of the meanings of these words/phrases. Here are few word meanings from the chapter for your better understanding. Refer them while reading the chapter from your textbook.

WORD	MEANING
Y.M.C.A.	Young Men’s Christian Association
Yakima	a place in Washington, USA
Treacherous	Dangerous
Water wings	A pair of inflatable waterproof bags designed so that one can be attached to each arm, especially of a child learning to swim
Subdued	to overcome
Aversion	Dislike
Knocked me down	threw him down
Aping	Copying
Bruiser	a person who is tough and aggressive and enjoys a fight or argument
Ducked	push or plunge someone under water
Bob	Jump
Tinge	touch of colour
Flailed	waved his hands
Stark	Severe
Oblivion	the state of being unaware or unconscious of what is happening around one
Curtain of life fell	life came to an end
Wobbly	Weak
Cascades	Waterfall
Canoes	small boats
Vestiges	Traces

(READING OF THE CHAPTER)

Now, since you have read the chapter, here is the gist of what you read in points. This will help you to retain the chapter for long.

Gist of the lesson:

Ø  William O. Douglas had a desire to learn swimming since childhood.

Ø  At the age of three or four, he was knocked down and buried by a wave at a beach in California.

Ø  He developed a great aversion to water.

Ø  At the age of ten or eleven he decided to learn to swim with water wings at the Y.M.C.A pool since it was safe at the shallow end.

Ø  A misadventure:- while sitting alone and waiting for others to come at the Y.M.C.A pool, a big boy came and threw Douglas into deep end of the pool.

Ø  Douglas swallowed water and went straight down to the bottom of the pool.

Ø  While going down he planned to make a big jump upwards but came up slowly. Tried to shout but could not.

Ø  As he went down the pool second time, he tried to jump upwards but it was a waste of energy.

Ø  Terror held him deeper and deeper.

Ø  During the third trial he sucked water instead of air.

Ø  Light was going out and there was no more panic.

Ø  So he ceased all efforts and he became unconscious.

Ø  He crossed to oblivion.

Ø  When revived he found himself vomiting beside the pool.

Ø  He was in grip of fear of water and it deprived him of the joys of canoeing, boating swimming and fishing.

Ø  Hired an instructor to learn swimming.

Ø  The instructor taught him swimming piece by piece.

Ø  He went to different lakes to swim and found tiny vestiges of fear still gripped him.

Ø  He challenged the fear and swam.

Ø  Swimming up and down the Warm Lake he finally overcame his fear of water.

Ø  He realized that in death there is peace and there is terror only in fear of death.

Well done boys, you have well understood the chapter till here.  Moving ahead, let us get an idea about the theme of this chapter.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Ø  An account of a person’s life written by that person

Ø  Deep water is an autobiography which shares writer’s on experience of getting out of fear of water.

Ø  Personal account about life

Ø  It is to explore, evaluate, share and reflect on one’s own life.

FEAR

Ø  Fear of water ( Hydrophobia)

Ø  The emotional , mental and physical struggle and paralyzing fear of drowning

Ø  “All we have to fear is fear itself” Roosevelt.

Ø  To be conquered by fear is a failure and to win over fear is success.

Ø  Fear of mind which restricts once actions and denies his success.

PERSISTENCE

Ø  The fact of continuing in an opinion or course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.

Ø  The desire to achieve a goal leads to an empowering will

Ø  To be in the water of death and to come out into life by swimming.

Ø  He reverted sarcastically to the tiny vestiges of fear that would grip him time and again until all of it vanished away.

Ø  He realized that fear was merely a crop of the mind.

Ø  The path of success is bitter but its fruits are sweet

Ø  Persistence leads to hardworking, to achieve a particular goal.

Hope you are finding this interesting. 

 Now let us evaluate your learning with the given MCQs. 

CHAPTER 3- DEEP WATER (Prose)

MULTIPLE CHOICE TYPE QUESTIONS

1. How old was Douglas when the misadventure took place?

a.       Three to four years old

b.      Ten to eleven years

c.       Eleven to twelve years

d.      Twelve to thirteen years

2. Name the treacherous river mentioned in the chapter ‘Deep Water’.

a.       Bumping river

b.      Thames river

c.       Yakima river

d.      Tieton river

3. Which word is used to describe the eighteen year old boy who bullied the author at the pool side?

a.       Treacherous

b.      Bruiser

c.       Shallow

d.      Skinny

4. How old was the boy who pushed Douglas into the pool?

a.       16 years

b.      17 years

c.       18 years

d.      19 years

5. The famous quote on fear by Roosevelt is:

a.       All we have to fear is fear itself

b.      All we have to fear is death itself

c.       All we have to fear is failure itself

d.      All we have to fear is dangers itself

6. How did Douglas develop extreme fear of water?

a.       Misadventure at Lake Wentworth

b.      Misadventure at Meade Glacier

c.       Misadventure at the Yakima River

d.      Misadventure at YMCA pool

7. “This handicap stayed with me as the years rolled by.” What handicap is being referred to in the above sentence?

a.       Fear of dark

b.      Fear of water

c.       Fear of the bully

d.      Fear of fishing

8. How long did it take for Douglas to perfect the art of swimming?

a.       October to April

b.      October to March

c.       October to February

d.      October to December

9. What do you infer from the line “The instructor was finished”?

a.       He was exhausted

b.      He stopped midway

c.       He gave up

d.      His task was complete

10. How does the author describe going beneath the water the final time?

a.       His head throbbed

b.      He was paralyzed with fear

c.       His legs felt limp and blackness swept over his brain

d.      His lungs ached

11. Which proverb most aptly describes the theme of the story ‘Deep water’?

a.       Slow and steady wins the race

b.      Time and tide wait for none

c.       A bad workman blames his tools

d.      Where there is a will, there is a way

12. How did Douglas’ will to live grow in intensity over the years?

a.       He had experienced both – the sensation of dying and the fear it produces

b.      He had experienced the courage to overcome his innermost fears

c.       He had experienced the fear of drowning and the terror it produced

d.      He had experienced the terror of dying and the will to overcome it.

13. When did Douglas finally conquer his fear?

a.       When his instructor gave his approval

b.      When he tried swimming alone at different places

c.       When he was able to put his face under the water

d.      When he tried different strokes on his own in the pool

14. Which statement rightly explains the phrase “At last I felt released”?

a.       A student who gets the expected results

b.      A student who is preparing for his examination

c.       A student who failed in an examination

d.      A student who is awaiting his result

15. Which statement aptly conveys the message of the story “Deep Water”?

a.       Fears are dangerous

b.      Old fears return

c.       Most fears are baseless

d.      Fear confines and limits one’s scope

Life lessons

Refrain from bullying

The 18 year old boy wanted some harmless fun at the expense of the skinny little Douglas. So, he tossed him into water the water without thinking about the consequences. 

The incident is not new to us for we have seen/experienced stronger people picking on the weaker ones. it is important to remember that this reckless behaviour can cause serious damage and traumatise the victim. 



Caution while in water

Perhaps the earliest memory of our swimming lessons was being tossed into the pool. Luckily for us, the environment was a safe one and a lot of us learned to swim. However, drowning incidents have been making headlines regularly. Youngsters must be very careful while they are in a pool or a river. they should lookout for themselves and those around them. Sharing the link of a video about how to identify someone who is drowning.
https://youtu.be/ErtQKtTTGxs
Be safe, always

To end today’s class, I am leaving you with an image that you should carry at the back of your subconscious mind throughout your life.