DEEP WATER

-William Douglas

English Assignment
Assigned By : J.P Sah Sir

Presented By: Aryan Kumar

Class : 12th. [A]
Roll no. :
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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
 . 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.
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
WILLIAM DOUGLAS
SHORT SUMMARY
 Deep Water is about the writer’s journey of overcoming
the fear of water, which is deeply rooted in him since
childhood.

 The author started fearing water since the age of four. It

starts when he was visiting California with his father.

 He visits a beach where a wave knocks him down and

sweeps over him.
 This terrifies the author, although the father laughs at
this knowing it was no danger.

 However, this experience terrifies him and develops a

fear of water.

 After that, when the author is 11 years old, he

experiences another incident which escalates his fear
•He is at a swimming pool in Yakima,
trying to learn swimming.

•On one fine day, a bully decides to pull a

dangerous prank. He pushes him in the
deep end of the pool which frightens the
author.

• He reaches nine feet into the water and

starts struggling desperately to hold on to
something.
•Moreover, he yells for help but he starts feeling
paralyzed and only his heart was moving now.

•Thus, he gives up and readies himself to die but

wakes up at the side of the pool. However, the
terror he experiences while drowning never goes
away.

•It continues to haunt him for many years and even

spoiled his future expeditions concerning canoeing,
swimming, fishing and more
•He even visits Marine Lakes, Columbia, New
Hampshire and more but is not able to enjoy it.
Thus, he decides to overcome this fear by hook or
by crook.

•He enrolls himself in a swimming class and tries

to learn from the instructor. The instructor teaches
him many tips and tricks for swimming.

• He begins with the inhaling and exhaling part

then he practices it for many weeks.
•Further, he moves on to the kicking the legs on the side of the
pool. Finally, he combines all this with the final move of
swimming.

• Although the author knows how to swim, he is still terrified of

water. Thus, in order to get rid of the fear, he decides to confront
it. He mocks it by thinking what can it really do? Consequently,
he plunges in to the water and to his surprise, his fear goes away.

• He faced it in many places and at last, manages to conquer it.

Conclusion of Deep Water :

To sum up, Deep Water summary, we learn

that if we are determined enough and have
the courage, we can overcome any fear
that comes our way without letting the fear
overpower us.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION

Q01}
The YMCA pool was ______ feet deep at the shallow
end.
 Four

 Five

 Three

 Two
Q02} Deepwater is an excerpt from

oInto the wild

oMy experiments with truth
oOf men and mountains
oA beautiful mind

Q03} What Fear does the author want to

overcome?
oFear of Water
oFear of Heights
oFear of Darkness
oFear of Ghosts
Q4} When was William convinced that he had
overcome his fear?’

oWhen he swam in the pool

oWhen he climbed the mountain
oWhen he swam across the lake
oWhen he got a swimming instructor

Q05} When did the old fear return?

oIn the middle of the pool

oIn the middle of the Lake
oOn the beach
oAt the hospital
Q06} William's strategy was to ________
oLet go of all effort
oScream for mother to help
oJump when his feet touch the bottom
oHold his breath
NOTICE THESE WORDS AND EXPRESSION
FROM TEXT.
INFER THEIR MEANING FROM THE
CONTEXT.

 Treacherous – Extremely dangerous

 Aversion – A strong dislike

 Aping – Imitating / Copying

 Timid – Showing a lack of confidence

 Bruiser – A big and strong man

 Flailed – Moving legs and arms in an uncontrolled way

o Subdued – controlled
o Surf – Waves
o Frightened – Scared
o Paddled – Moving feet up and down while swimming
o Stirred – arose
o Misadventure – Accident
o Tiled – Tiled floor
o Timid – shy and nervous
o Rippling – Waving
o Specimen – Model
 Ached – Suffering from a continous dull pain
 Throbbed – Feeling pain in a series of regular beats

 Thrash – Moving in a violent manner

 Sheer – Without a break

 Stark – Complete

 Pounding – Rhythmical beating

 Midst – In the middle of

 Ceased – Ended
 Limp – Lifeless
 Drowsy – Sleepy

 Dizzy – Unsteady and confused

 Oblivion – A state in which a person losses all awareness

 Wobbly – Moving side to side due to poor balance

 Cascade – A small waterfall

 Wading – To walk in water with some effort as it comes

up to your legs
 Canoe – A light and narrow boat with pointed ends