Deep Water
By William Douglas
§
The chapter ‘Deep
Water’ is written by William O. Douglas who was an advocate and the longest serving
judge of the court.
§
The chapter is an excerpt taken from 'Of Men and Mountains' by William O. Douglas. It reveals
how as a young boy, William Douglas was nearly drowned in a swimming pool.
§
In this essay he
talks about his fear of water and thereafter, how he finally overcame it. We
are able to notice how the autobiographical part of the selection is used to
support his discussion of fear.
§
The story is
subjective as it describes the emotions of the writer associated with his
childhood and his fear of water. It brings his childhood memories back when he
was nearly drowned.
§
This chapter
depicts the author's intense personal struggle with a traumatic experience and
the subsequent journey of overcoming fear.
§ Chapter highlights the gradual nature of
healing and the theme of triumph over fear. This theme of resilience inspires
the readers to be mentally strong, face the fear and overcome it.
Video on Aunt Jennifer's Tigers
Summary / Synopsis:
The chapter ‘Deep Water’ reflects the author's intense personal struggle with a traumatic experience and his subsequent journey of overcoming fear. A traumatic experience happened when the narrator was ten or eleven years old.
The narrator decided to learn to swim. There was a pool at the Y.M.C.A in Yakima which was safe as per his mother as it was 2 to 3 feet deep at shallow end. He hated to walk naked in water and show his skinny legs. But he did it to learn swimming.
The narrator had an aversion to water and this scare for
water entered into his heart when he was three or four years old and father took
him to the beach in California. He and the father stood together in the surf. He hung on
to father, yet the waves knocked him down and swept over him. His breath was gone.
He was frightened. Father laughed, but he got extremely scared of overpowering
force of the waves.
Y.M.CA. swimming
pool revived his unpleasant memories and fear. But he tried to gather confidence
as he was determined. He paddled with his water wings, watching the other boys and learning how to swim for some days. Then. the misadventure happened.
Once he was alone at the pool waiting for other boys to come. Then, a big bruiser of a boy, probably eighteen years old picked him up and tossed him into the deep end. He landed in a sitting position, swallowed water, and went at once to the bottom. He was frightened out of his wits. Those nine feet were more like ninety, and when his feet hit bottom, he summoned all his strength and made a great leap upwards. He came up slowly and could see nothing but water. He grew panicky and cried but no sound came out. He swallowed water and choked. He tried to bring his legs up, but they hung as dead weights, paralysed and rigid. A great force pulled him under and he went down again. And then sheer, stark terror seized him. When his third attempt also failed, his body became weak, dizzy and motionless. When he was pulled out, he only remembered lying on the stomach and vomiting water. The boy who threw him into the water said that he was only fooling around.
For days, months and years a haunting fear remained in his heart. The slightest thought of water would upset him. Water served as a powerful symbol of panic, a source of deep-seated fear. The aftermath is characterised by lingering anxiety, nightmares, and an aversion to water related activities. The fear extends to natural bodies of water, impacting the narrator's ability to enjoy outdoor activities like fishing, boating, swimming and canoeing.
Finally, one October, the narrator felt, 'enough is enough' as he could not lead such traumatic life anymore. He again decided to get an instructor and learn to swim. He went to a pool and practised five days a week, an hour each day. The instructor put a belt around him and a rope attached to the belt went through a pulley that ran on an overhead cable. Each time the instructor relaxed his hold on the rope and he went under, the old terror returned and his legs froze. After three months things began to relax. Then, he taught him to put his face under water and exhale, and to raise his nose and inhale. He repeated the exercise hundreds of times. Bit by bit he shed part of the panic that seized him earlier when his head went under water. Next, the instructor taught him how to kick with his legs and for weeks he just did that. By April next year he was built into a swimmer piece by piece.
After a good practice at the pool, in July he went to the Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire, dived off a dock at Triggs Island, and swam two miles across the lake to Stamp Act Island. He tried all the strokes there. Once, the fear gripped him in the Lake but he swam on and defeated that fear. Under the depth of lake water he stared into the eyes of fear and scared it and the fear fled away, and that was the symbol of a profound personal victory. But, he wasn't satisfied.
Towards the end, the eventual triumph of the writer over his fear is marked by a swimming challenge across a lake. When he camped in Conrad Meadows, he dived into the Warm Lake, swam across the lake and came back to the shore. He shouted with joy that he had conquered his fear of water and the Gilbert Peak returned the echo. Finally, he had conquered his fear of water.
Despite the initial
fear and ongoing struggles the narrator persevered, faced the fear which had
deep set in his soul and emerged victorious. At last, he felt released and free from his fear, thus he quoted Roosevelt, "All we have to fear is the fear itself."
Video on Roadside Stand
Theme
Chapter highlights the theme of triumph over fear discussing gradual nature of healing. The theme of resilience and perseverance which is emphasised in the story throughout inspires the readers to be mentally strong, face the fear and overcome it.
Message
The story voices out the message in the words of Roosevelt, "All we have to fear is the fear itself." The chapter also help us recall the words of Nelson Madela "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over that fear". We must learn to win our fear and then we can be successful in all that we do the way William O. Douglas did not leave any stone unturned to overcome his fear.
Important Question Answers
Q1. What were the series of emotions and fears that
Douglas experienced when he was thrown into the pool? What plans did he make to
come to the surface? How did this experience affect him?
Ans. When William Douglas was thrown into the pool at YMCA, his childhood fear for water revived. Inside the pool he
underwent a series of emotions and fears. He was frightened when he reached the bottom of nine feet deep pool. But, he tried his
best to come out of water. Soon his legs became stiff and refused to move. He was nearly drowned, horror
gripped his heart and he panicked. Last time when he attempted to make a leap,
his legs and hands became paralysed and rigid. His lungs ached and head pounded, and he became unconscious.
Due to this frightening experience he became scared of
water and couldn’t think of swimming any more. Whenever he thought of water, he
couldn’t fight his fear. Later, he decided to learn swimming and overcome his fear.
Q2. “All we have to fear is fear itself.” Illucidate
with reference to the narrator, William Douglas’ struggle to defeat his fear.
Ans. Douglas had really had a brush with death when he
got nearly drowned in YMCA pool. After that episode darkness of fear engulfed
his life completely. But, he didn’t want to spend his entire life under that
scare because ‘all we have to fear is the fear itself’. He knew that through a
determined efforts he can overcome his fear and he decided to learn swimming
and started learning under an expert trainer. He challenged his fear and
started practising to swim in a pool five days a week. He went down in the
depth of water and told his fear that he is no more scared. He swam in lakes
and from the Gilbert peak he shouted with joy that he has defeated his fear and
that returned in an echo. American president, Franklin D. Roosevelt has rightly
said, “All we have to fear is the fear itself.” This was well deservedly
understood and lived by the narrator, William Douglas who struggled with all
his might until he succeeded to defeat his fear of water.
Video on Last Lesson
Q3. How is the narrator's victory a lesson to all the beginners who get scared of doing a thing even before they Begin?
Ans. The narrator's decision to face and overcome his fear of water represents a journey of self discovery and resilience which is needed for all the beginners who set the sail to achieve something in life and feel nervous at the outset. Seeking swimming lessons and practicing regularly with an instructor display a deliberate and determined effort to confront and conquer the deep rooted phobia. This narrative highlights the gradual nature of healing and triumph over fear. The step-by-step process of swimming lessons, started with basic skills and progressed to more challenging tasks. It resulted as the incremental progress in overcoming the trauma. This process needs lot of courage, patience and unshakeable determination and this is my take from the lesson and the character of William Douglas.
No comments:
Post a Comment