ENGLISH

PROJECT ~ CHILDHOOD FEARS

NAME- IVANKA GOSWAMI

CLASS- XII E
ROLL NO. - 14
 INDEX
S.NO. CONTENTS Pg no
1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 1
2 INTRODUCTION( about the author) 2-3
3 Summary of chapter 4-5
4 Theme 6
5 Theme (Real life implications) 7
6 Objective 8
7 Copies of reference articles 9-11
8 Survey sheets 12-19
9 Article 20-24
10 Bibliography 25-26
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
With the completion of this Project, I would like to express my
gratitude and regards for my English teacher- Ms Kamalpreet Kaur ,
who gave me a possibility of completing the project by diligently
working with me and mentoring me throughout the session, in
understanding of the chapters, plot, character and theme.
Along with, I am grateful to my School and School Principal in
trusting me with ample opportunities to able my learning and
diligently shaping my behaviours .
CHAPTER- DEEP WATER

CHILDHOOD FEARS
 .

INTRODUCTION
Deep Water is a lesson by William Douglas which tells us about how the author conquered his fear of deep
water.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR CHARACTERS
William Orville Douglas
(1898-1980) was one of the most ▪ William Douglas (MAIN)
liberal and activist justices of the ▪ His father
U.S. Supreme Court and a
vigorous and controversial writer. ▪ A big 18year old guy
He was born on October 16, 1898, ▪ His coach
in Maine, Minnesota.

Deep Water by William Douglas is

an excerpt from the book ‘Men
and Mountains’ by the same
author.
SUMMARY
▪ THE CHAPTER PORTRAYS THE ADVERSITY THE AUTHOR FACED WHICH LED TO HIS FEAR
OF WATER.
.
Again at the age of 11, another deadly incident
It was at the age of four occurred which escalated the fear.
when he used to visit the The incident took place in a swimming pool in
beach in California with his Yakima. The author was pushed by an 18 year old
father and a huge wave bully in the deep end of the pool. He was frightened
knocked him down. There he of the fact. He has reached almost nine feet into the
got bumped into the fear of water and struggled to hold on to something. He
deep water. couldn’t even shout for the help as he began to feel
paralyzed. He was about to die, but somehow he was
rescued.

However, this experience haunted him for lifelong. He couldn’t do any water-related
expeditions such as canoeing, swimming, fishing etc. He couldn’t enjoy the beauty of
▪ . Lakes, Columbia.
Marine
• At this juncture, he had decided to overcome the fear by any
means. He took several steps to do so. One of them was enrolment
in a swimming class. He was taught various tricks and tips from
the instructor. He practiced inhalation-exhalation for several
weeks. After that, he went for kicking the legs on the side of the
.

pool. Lastly, all the moves were combined by him. Although the
method of swimming was known to him, the fear of water still
loomed large over him.
• Thereafter, he challenged his fear and dived straight into Lake
Wentworth and swam 2 miles. A little terror returned but the author
managed to get away with it and successfully got rid of his fear.

▪ .
THEME
• Also, how childhood fears must be
• One great lesson we can acquire
treated well in the childhood itself or
from the William Douglas Deep
else they pose difficulty in one’s
Water is how to win over the
adulthood.
fear with the help of the
strength of mind and will “ALL WE HAVE
power.
TO FEAR IS FEAR
• Fear is a major▪ .problem in our ITSELF.”
lives ahead of our happiness but
it is an illusion that we can run • Childhood fears if not tackled , can
away with sheer willpower.
make deep inroads into one’s
psychology.
What happens in society &
What should happen….
.
FACE THE FEAR ! We don't really take note of
what's bothering our child
and just assume. That should
Besides, any fear can be be avoided
conquered with sheer
determination. People tend to live
with their fears which should be
avoided. Strong faith can give us It's normal for children to feel afraid at times. Fear is an
victory over fear. Just don’t give emotion that can help kids be cautious. But if that fear
up! starts getting out of control and poses difficulty for your
child, it should be dealt then and there.
OBJECTIVE
“Childhood
. fears must never be treated lightly since they shape our .

personality and behaviour as an adult.”

▪ So, here I wish to prove this theory , through my research that

includes studying articles, watching videos related to it.
▪ Also, I did a survey of around 50+ people of different age group
and interviews which were extremely helpful to draw the
conclusion.
COPIES OF REFERENCE ARTICLES
.
.
SURVEY SAYS:
SURVEY QUESTIONS
.
SOME RESPONSES:
.
.
,
.
.
ARTICLE (MOVING TOWARDS
THE CONCLUSION)
 ARTICLE
CHILDHOOD FEARS- SHAPING OUR ADULTHOOD
- By Dhanak
"Everything you want is on the other side of the fear.“
It is normal for every person to have fears. Feeling fear is neither abnormal nor
a sign of weakness. According to a survey, every 54 out of 56 people fear
something. Fear is nothing but a Pull back lever in our mind which pulls us back
from exploring new things, living to the fullest and achieving our dreams. We
get scared because of what we imagine could happen. The more scared you
feel, the scarier things will seem. 58.9% people think that children are more
afraid of things than an adult. Not all fear is bad. In fact, a little fear serves as
an insurance policy. "Without fear, we'd jump headlong into things we
shouldn’t. Some fears are natural and predictable, but sometimes fear can
become more profound and problematic. While childhood fears develop in the
beginning period of our life, they create their way straight into our adulthood.
As per a survey only 23.2% people got over their childhood fears.
.
Fear is a state of feeling deprived of the courage needed to perform certain
tasks. According to one study, 52% of children between ages 6 and 16 had
many fears and concerns. A fear of darkness, particularly being left alone in the
dark, is one of the most common fears in this age group. So is a fear of
animals, such as large barking dogs. Some children are afraid of fires, high
places, thunderstorms, heights or diving in a pool (deep water). Some teens are
even afraid of closed spaces, strangers, bugs or sometimes death. Though
these phobias differ in type and severity, most of them have one thing in
common: They developed in adolescence. Most kids cope up with their normal
fears with gentle support from their parents. Some have a harder time to get
over their fears and enter the adulthood with them. These fears might act as a
huge problem because their intensity may escalate if not treated at the right
time. Down the line these small fears can create huge problems for the person
suffering. Also, childhood is that one stage that largely influences the life
thereafter. Ergo, childhood fears should be treated then and there in the
childhood or they would harm the bright forthcoming future.
.

▪ Moreover, they have a major hand in shaping our personality and

behaviour as an adult. Anything that a child develops at this point of time
might continue to manifest itself for the rest of his/her life. They might
mould our lives negatively affecting our life ahead. Our earliest
experiences may stick with us for years and continue to influence us well
into adulthood. We know that our early experiences likely affect all of us
to a certain extent. The child who feels insecure might develop fear of
strangers and might prefer to stay beside his parents than to be with his
friends. When that person grows up and becomes and adult the culture
and his environment might force him to deal with strangers and to stay
away from his parents so his fears will take another form. Adults with all
of their behavior and personality traits are just extensions to the
childhood experiences they have been through long ago. Therefore, it
becomes extremely important to be considerate of childhood fears.
Since, childhood is the base for a well built future, the fears should
be pulled off from the root at this particular stage of life.
 .

Some fears motivate us to do the best, a kid who fears failure would work hard to make
sure he doesn't fail. Some make us cautious or a child wouldn’t know the DONTs of the
life. He would go dive in a 6ft. Pool straight away or put his finger in the burning flame of
a candle if it wasn’t for the fears which act as the warning signals. Others might pose as
barriers between us and our dreams. Thus, it's really important to let go of those fears.
No matter what type of phobia you have be it minute or huge, it is crucial to get rid of
them if they are creating even a slightest menace in your life. We have one life and too
many of us are wasting it, living our fears. It's not something one should continue to do
because fear snatches away abundance of our opportunities from us. It's completely fine
to fear a little but living your whole life in the thought of it instead of making it better is not
healthy. A single big step to treat fear can be dangerous at times, small pushes for
moving forward may help. Challenge your fears instead of getting succumbed by
them. It's merely an illusion we've made up in our mind. We're bigger than this. Any
fear can be conquered, we always grow from the things that are meant to break us.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
SURVEY SHEETS
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LtFB8seVP_he1Mm1F9_wm6-LvxjC5Fuv8Lar1ZrdSLY/edit?usp=s
haring

ABOUT CHAPTER
▪ https://www.vedantu.com/english/deep-water-summary
▪ https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_O._Douglas
▪ https://www.learncbse.in/deep-water-summary/

REFERENCE ARTICLES
▪ https://bestlifeonline.com/childhood-fears/
▪ https://www.mentalhealthcenter.org/how-childhood-trauma-affects-adult-relationships/
▪ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/kid-fears-in-adults-the-dark-and-other-phobias/#
BIBLIOGRAPHY
FOR INTERVIEW
▪ https://bbpsmv-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/dhanak2406_bbpsmv_onmicrosoft_com/Em07BCu2
awZIohW-TtexHfABymoOeg_LCQCcYGSquzf8Sg?e=VIZ58A