Class 12 English — Chapter 3: Deep Water

What you'll learn

• ▸Initial Aversion to Water
• ▸The Drowning Misadventure at the Y.M.C.A.
• ▸The Experience of Drowning
• ▸The Aftermath and Lingering Hydrophobia
• ▸A Methodical Approach to Overcoming Fear
• ▸The Final Conquest and Self-Testing
• ▸Thematic Significance: Fear and the Will to Live

Chapter Summary

--- PAGE 1 --- 3 Deep Water 12074CH03 About the author William Douglas (1898-1980) was born in Maine, Minnesota. After graduating with a Bachelors of Arts in English and Economics, he spent two years teaching high school in Yakima. However, he got tired of this and decided to pursue a legal career. He met Franklin D. Roosevelt at Yale and became an adviser and friend to the President. Douglas was a leading advocate of individual rights. He retired in 1975 with a term lasting thirty-six years and remains the longest-serving Justice in the history of the court. The following excerpt is taken from *Of Men and Mountains* by William O. Douglas. It reveals how as a young boy William Douglas nearly drowned in a swimming pool. In this essay he talks about his fear of water and thereafter, how he finally overcame it. Notice how the autobiographical part of the selection is used to support his discussion of fear. Notice these words and expressions in the text. Infer their meaning from the con…

Practice Questions from this Chapter

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1. Explain fear's effect on the body. Get Solution →
2. Describe common swimming pool safety rules. Get Solution →
3. Give tips for staying calm underwater. Get Solution →
4. At what age did William Douglas decide to learn to swim at the Y.M.C.A.? Get Solution →
5. What was the depth of the Y.M.C.A. pool at its deepest end? Get Solution →
6. Where was the Y.M.C.A. pool located? Get Solution →
7. Who threw William Douglas into the deep end of the pool? Get Solution →
8. What was Douglas's initial strategy to get to the surface after being thrown in? Get Solution →

Did you know?

• 💡 The human brain can process fear in less than one-tenth of a second.
• 💡 Some animals, like frogs and fish, can breathe underwater through their skin.
• 💡 Globally, drowning is a leading cause of accidental death for children.
• 💡 The largest swimming pool in the world is over 1,000 yards long.
• 💡 Many Olympic swimmers shave their bodies to reduce water resistance.

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