Deep Water Short Question Answer
Class 12 English – Deep Water Short Question Answer
Class 12 English Prose – Short Answer Type Questions
Short Answer Type Questions
Q.1. When did Douglas decide to learn swimming ? What options were available to him to swim in ? Which one did he choose and why ?
Ans. Douglas was ten or eleven years old when he decided to learn swimming. He could swim in the Yakima River or the Y.M.C.A. pool at Yakima. The Yakima River was dangerous. Many persons had drowned in it. So, he chose the Y.M.C.A. pool. It was considered safe.
Q.2. Which factors led Douglas to decide in favour of the Y.M.C.A. pool ?
Ans. The Y.M.C.A. pool was safe. It was only two to three feet deep at the shallow end. It was nine feet deep at the other. Moreover, the drop was gradual. The Yakima River was treacherous and had drowned many. So, he decided in favour of the Y.M.C.A. pool.
Q.3. “I had an aversion to the water when I was in it ? “says Douglas. When did he start having this aversion and how ?
Ans. The aversion started when Douglas was three or four years old. His father had taken him to the beach in California. They were standing together in the surf. He had held his father tightly, even then the waves knocked him down and swept over him. He was buried in water. His breath was gone. He was frightened. There was terror in his heart about the overpowering force of the waves.
Q.4. How did Douglas initially feel when he went to the Y.M.C.A. pool ? What made him feel comfortable ?
Ans. Unpleasant memories of the past were revived and childish fears were stirred in his mind. In a little while he gathered confidence. He paddled with his new water wings. He watched the other boys and tried to imitate them. He did so two or three times on different days. He began to feel comfortable.
Q.5. What two things did Douglas dislike to do ? Which one did he have to do and why ?
Ans. Douglas hated to walk naked into the pool and show his very thin legs. Secondly, he was fearful about going in alone. So, he sat on the side of the pool to wait for others. But he had to go into water as one cannot learn swimming without going into water.
Q.6. In what connection does Douglas mention “a big bruiser of a boy ?
Ans. Douglas mentions him for his misadventure in the Y.M.C.A. swimming pool in which he had nearly died. It was this boxer boy who had picked up Douglas and tossed him into the deep end. Later on, when Douglas was rescued, the boy said, “I was only fooling.”
Q.7. Describe the boy who was responsible for the author’s misadventure ?
Ans. He was a big boy, a bruiser. He was probably eighteen year old. He had thick hair on his chest. He was a beautiful specimen. His legs and arms had rippling muscles. He was a fun – loving fellow and enjoyed teasing the younger and weaker boys.
Q.8. How did the “misadventure” happen with Douglas ?
Ans. Douglas was sitting alone on the side of the pool, waiting for others. A big, boxer boy of eighteen came there, Mocking him as ‘skinny’ he enquired how he would like to be plunged in water. Saying so, he picked up Douglas and tossed him into the nine feet deep end. Douglas struck the surface of water, swallowed water and at once went to the bottom.
Q.9. “I was frightened, but not yet frightened out of my wits,” says Douglas. Which qualities of the speaker are highlighted here and how ?
Ans. Douglas was frightened when he went down into the pool and was about to be drowned. He had an aversion to water and now he was filled with terror. He had remarkable self – control. He used his mind even in the crisis and thought of a strategy to save himself from being drowned.
Q.10. “On the way down I planned,” remarks Douglas. What plan had he devised and how far did it succeed ?
Ans. While going down to the bottom, he made a plan to save himself from being drowned. He decided to make a big jump as his feet hit the bottoms.He hoped to move up to the surface of water like a cork. Then he would lie flat on it, and paddle to the edge of the pool. The plan was only partly successful. He rose to surface twice. But each time he swallowed water and went down.
Q.11. What did Douglas experiencé as he went down to the bottom of the pool for the first time ?
Ans. Going down to the depth of nine feet was not quick. It seemed a long way down. For him those nine feet were more like ninety. Before he touched bottom his lungs were ready to burst. He did not lose his presence of mind. Using all his strength, he made a great jump upwards.
Q.12. How was the result of the ‘great spring upwards’ that Douglas made on hitting the bottom of the pool for the first time ?
Ans. Douglas rose to the surface very slowly. When he opened his eyes he saw nothing but water with a dirty yellow colour. He grew panicky. He tried to grab a rope but his hands clutched only at water. He was suffocating. He tried to shout. but no sound came out. Then his eyes and nose came out of the water but not his mouth.
Q.13. How did Douglas struggle before hitting the bottom of the pool for the second time ? What was the outcome of his struggle ?
Ans. Douglas moved his arms and legs around without control. He swallowed water and choked. His legs hung as dead weights, paralysed and rigid. A great force was pulling him down. He struck at the water with full force as he went down. He had lost all his breath. His lungs ached and head throbbed. He was getting dizzy. He went down through dark water and was filled with fear.
Q.14. What sort of terror seized Douglas as he went down the ‘water with a yellow glow’ ? How could he feel he was still alive ?
Ans. An absolute, rigid terror seized Douglas. It was a terror that knew no understanding or control and was beyond comprehension of anyone who had not experienced it. He was paralysed under water – stiff and rigid with fear. His screams were frozen. The beating of his heart and throbbing of mind made him feel that he was still alive.
Q.15. In the midst of the terror came a touch of reason.’ How did the two forces work in opposite direction and how did Douglas fare ?
Ans. Reason told him to jump when he hit the bottom as he felt the tiles under him, he jumped with everything he had. But the jump made no difference. A mass of yellow water held him. Stark terror took an even deeper hold on him. He shook and trembled with fright. His arms and legs wouldn’t move. He tried to call for help, but nothing happened.
Q.16. I crossed to oblivion, and the curtain of life fell. How did Douglas experience the sensation of dying before he actually crossed to oblivion ?
Ans. As Douglas went down the pool the third time, he swallowed more water. All his efforts to jump up ceased. His legs felt limp. A blackness swept over his brain and it wiped out fear and terror. There was no more panic. It was quiet and peaceful. He felt drowsy and wanted to go to sleep.
Q.17. In what state did Douglas find himself on regaining consciousness ?
Ans. He found himself lying on his stomach near the pool. He was vomiting. The fellow who had thrown him in the pool was saying that he was only joking. Then someone remarked that the small boy had nearly died. He hoped that he would be all right then. Then he was carried to the locker room for change of clothes.
Q.18. How did Douglas react to the frightening experience (i) that day and (ii) later when he came to know the waters of the Cascades ?
Ans. (i) He walked home after several hours. He was weak and trembling. He shook and cried when he lay on his bed. He couldn’t eat that night. A haunting fear was there in his heart. The slightest exertion upset him. His knees became wobbly. He felt sick to his stomach.
(ii) Whenever he waded the Tieton or Bumping River or bathed in Warm Lake of Goat Rocks, the terror that had seized him in the pool would come back. This terror would take possession of him completely. His legs would become paralysed. Icy horror would grab his heart.
Q.19. What was the first piece of exercise the Instructor gave Douglas ? How long did it take to yield the desired result ?
Ans. The instructor made him go across the pool an hour a day for five days with the help of a rope attached to his belt. The rope went through a pulley that ran on an overhead cable. The instructor held on to the end of the rope. They went back and forth across the pool. A bit of panic seized him every time Moreover, the old terror returned and his legs froze when the instructor loosened his grip on the rope and Douglas went under water. It was after three months that the tension began to decrease.
Q.20. Which other exercise did the Instructor prescribe for Douglas to make him shed the panic caused by water ?
Ans. He taught Douglas to put his face under water and exhale. Then he was to raise his nose and inhale. He repeated this exercise hundreds of time. Bit by bit he shed part of the panic that seized him when his head went under water.
Q.21. Which exercise helped Douglas to loosen his stiff legs and make them work as he desired ?
Ans. The Instructor held Douglas at the side of the swimming pool. Then he made Douglas kick with his legs. He did just that for weeks. At first his legs refused to work. But gradually they relaxed. Finally, he was able to command them.
Q.22. Why does Douglas say:’ The Instructor was finished. But I was not finished ? How did he overpower tiny vestiges of the old terror ?
Ans. The Instructor’s work was over when he built a swimmer out of Douglas piece by piece and then put them together into an integrated whole. However, Douglas was not satisfied as thel remnants of the old terror would return when he swam alone in the pool. He would frown on terror go for another length of the pool.
Q.23. Why did Douglas go to Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire ? How did he make his terror flee ?
Ans. Douglas was not sure whether all the terror had left even after the training from October to April and practice till July. So, he went to Lake Wentworth and swam two miles. Terror returned only once when he was in the middle of the lake. He had put his face under and saw nothing but bottomless water. The old sensation returned in a smaller size. He laughed and rebuked terror. His terror fled away and he swam on.
Q.24. Where was the pool and what opportunity did it offer ?
Ans. The pool was at the Y.M.C. A. in Yakima (river) and it was offering the opportunity to lear swimming. Douglas wanted to join but his mother continually warned him about the treacherousness of the river.
Q.25. What terror did Douglas have in his heart ? How ?
Ans. In his heart, Douglas had a terror for water. When he was about three or four years old, at California beach, he was with his father and the waves knocked him down and swept over him. Being a little child, he became fearful from the overpowering force of water0, and terrorized.
Q.26. What did the big bruiser of a boy do at the pool ? why ?
Ans. A bruiser of a boy picked Douglas up and tossed him into the deep end. He was probably eighteen years old boy with a beautiful physical specimen who threw the narrator into the pool just for fun.
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Q.27. How deep was the pool ? What was there inside the water ?
Ans. The pool was nine feet deep. There was nothing inside the water except the yellow tinge. Everywhere there was water and only water.
Q.28. What happened to the legs of Douglas inside the pool ? How did he try to overcome that situation ?
Ans. Inside the pool, the legs of the narrator didn’t move. His legs were paralysed and hung like dead weight. For recovering from this situation. he looked for ropes, ladders, water wings but nothing he caught, only water.
Q.29. What terror seized Douglas ? What was its effect on him ?
Ans. The terror of water seized Douglas. Once at California beach and other at the pool, both the incidents terrorized Douglas with the extreme level. He was affected deeply from it, as he scared from water for a long time but later due to his will – power, he won his fear of water.
Q.30. What did Douglas do inside the water to save his life ?
Ans. Inside the water, Douglas made the strategy to hit the water, make a big jump, come to the surface, lie flat on it, and paddle to the edge of the pool but everytime, his strategy failed. He did this all continuously to save his life.
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Q.31. How did all efforts cease ? What happened then ?
Ans. All efforts ceased when Douglas tried all his ways to save his life. His all strategies failed everytime. And then his legs felt limp; and a blackness swept over his brain. That wiped out fear and terror and then there was no panic.
Q.32. What was Douglas’s condition after getting escaped from the pool ?
Ans. After getting escaped from the pool, after several hours, Douglas walked home, he was weak and trembling, he shook and cried when he laid on his bed, he couldn’t eat that night and for days a haunting fear remained in his heart. And after that day, he never went back to the pool.
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Q.33. What did Douglas come to know after few years later ? What did he want then ?
Ans. A few years later Douglas came to know about the waters of the Cascades and he wanted to get into them. But whenever he did – wading the Tieton or Bumping River or bathing in Warm Lake of the Goat Rocks, the old terror returned and took possession of him completely.
Q.34. What did the instructor do to train Douglas ?
Ans. The instructor put a belt around him, attached a rope to the belt went through a pulley, held on to the end of the rope, went back and forth across the pool, hour after hour, day after day, week after week. And after seven months, the instructor declared him as a swimmer.
Q.35. Was Douglas satisfy after the training ? If no, why ?
Ans. No, Douglas was not satisfied after the training. Some residual doubts were left. He was not sure that all the terror had left. Whenever, he put his face under the water, the old terror used to return.
Q.36. Where did Douglas go to clear his residual doubts ? What did he do for it ?
Ans. For clearing his residual doubts, Douglas went to Lake Wentsworth in New Hampshire, dived off a dock at Triggs Island and swam two miles across the lake to Stamp Act Island. Then he hurried west, went up to the Tieton to Conrad Meadows, up the Conrad Creek Trail to Meade Glacier, and camped in the high meadow by the side of Warm Lake. Thus, after great efforts, Douglas conquered his fear of water.
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Q.37. How was the experience, a deep meaning for Douglas ?
Ans. There was a deep meaning of that experience for Douglas as only those who have known stark terror and conquered it can appreciate. In death there is peace. There is terror only in the fear of death. Douglas said that he had experienced both the sensation of dying and the terror that fear of it can produce.
Q.38. Why did Douglas’ mother recommend that he should learn swimming at the YMCA swimming pool ?
Ans. Douglas’ mother recommended that he should learn swimming at the YMCA swimming pool because it was safe, being only two or three feet deep at the shallow end with a gradual drop to nine feet at the other end. In contrast, the Yakima river was quite deep and several cases of drowning in it had been reported.
Q.39. How did Douglas’ introduction to the YMCA pool revive his childhood fear of water ?
Ans. Douglas’ introduction to the YMCA pool revived his childhood fear of water as, when he had not yet learnt swimming, he was thrown into the pool’s deep end by a bully and sank to the bottom despite his best efforts.
Q.40. What did Douglas experience when he went down to the bottom of the pool for the first time ?
Ans. As Douglas went down to the bottom of the pool for the first time, he felt the way down the pool to be very long and his lungs were ready to burst. He summoned all his strength and jumped up, but could not reach the surface and began to sink again.
Q.41. When Douglas realised that he was sinking, how did he plan to save himself ?
Ans. When Douglas realised that he was sinking, he thought that when his feet would hit the bottom, he would make a big jump, come to the surface and lie flat on it. Then he would easily paddle to the edge of the pool.
Q.42. What sort of terror seized Douglas as he went down in the water with a yellow glow ? How could he feel that he was still alive ?
Ans. When Douglas went down in the water with a yellow glow for the second time, a sheer, stark terror seized him. It was beyond control or understanding. Douglas was paralysed with fear and could not move his limbs. Only his throbbing heart and the pounding in his head made him feel that he was still alive.
Q.43. Why did Douglas fail to come to the surface of the pool as he hoped to ?
Ans. When Douglas was drowning in the swimming pool, he tried to come to the surface of the pool but failed because he was paralysed with fear and could not move his limbs. He felt that he would die.
Q.44. How did Douglas get rescued when he was thrown in the pool ?
Ans. The narrator does not mention this. When he regained consciousness, he was vomiting while lying on his stomach beside the pool. Apparently, he had been rescued by someone.
Q.45. Which two incidents in Douglas’ early life made him scared of water ?
Ans. The first incident occurred when he was three or four years old at a beach in California. A strong wave knocked Douglas down and he was buried in water. The next incident occurred at the YMCA pool when he was ten or eleven. A big bully of a boy tossed him into the deep end of the pool. He went down to the bottom and almost drowned in the pool.
Q.46. Mention any two long term consequences of the drowning incident on Douglas ?
Ans. Two long term consequences of the drowning incident on Douglas were –
(1) Douglas always felt terrified when near water. Fear gripped him when he came near any water body.
(ii) He was deprived from enjoying any water related activities like fishing, swimming, canoeing, boating etc.
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Q.47. How did Douglas remove his residual doubts about his fear of water ?
Ans. Douglas removed his residual doubts by swimming across warm lake to the opposite shore and back. He says,” I shouted with joy, and Gilbert Peak returned the echo. I had conquered my fear of water.”
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