Lesson 'Deep Water' by William Douglas Summery

William Douglas's Deep Water

 

William O. Douglas was born in Maine, Minnesota, and reared in Yakima, Washington. He was a politician and a judge in the United States. He was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. President Franklin D. Roosevelt nominated him at the age of 40, making him the Supreme Court's youngest justice. He served for the longest time in the court's history.

Theme: Deep Water

'Deep Water' is about Douglas's boyhood dread of water. He developed a fear of water as a result of a mishap at the YMCA pool, and he was diagnosed with hydrophobia. The narrative emphasises the importance of avoiding childhood phobias.

 

Summary

'Deep Water' is an excerpt from William O. Douglas' novel Of Men and Mountains. It's an autobiographical account of the author's development of a fear of water and how he eventually conquered it. He claims that his fear of water began when he was three or four years old and his father took him to a California beach. He was nearly buried in the sea after being knocked down by the waves. He began learning to swim in the Y.M.C.A. pool when he was ten or eleven years old.

A large bruiser of a boy snatched him up and hurled him into the deep end of the pool one day as he was sitting alone on the side of the pool. He dashed down to the bottom. . He was terrified, yet he devised a plan to save his life. He decided to dive to the bottom and leap to the surface, where he would lie flat and paddle to the pool's edge. However, it appeared that his descent would take a long time.

His lungs were about to burst before he reached the bottom. Even though he attempted a large leap, he ascended slowly. As a result, he was knocked unconscious for the second time. His lungs hurt and he began to feel dizzy. He jumped, his feet touched the ground, but it didn't matter. He gulped a lot of water while trying to breathe air when he went down for the third time. Then all of his efforts came to a halt, and he went black. He succumbed to terror and died as a result. His dread of water grew as a result of this occurrence, and he didn't go swimming, fishing, or participate in any other water sport for many years.

His dread of water grew as a result of this occurrence, and he didn't go swimming, fishing, or participate in any other water sport for many years. Finally, in October of that year, he decided to face his phobia of water. He hired a swimming instructor to help him learn how to swim. He began to swim regularly. He gradually let go of the panic that had gripped him. The instructor wore a belt around his waist and used a rope to link it to a pulley. Day after day, the author practised until he regained his confidence. He could swim the entire length of the pool by himself. Despite the instructor's satisfaction, the author was concerned that his former phobia of water might resurface on other occasions. As a result, he continued to swim in various directions. Finally, to test if he had lost the last vestiges of fear, Douglas went up to the Tieton to Conrad Meadows, up the Conrad Creek Trail to Meade Glacier, and camped in high meadow by the side of Warm Lake. As he had experienced the terror of death, his will to live grew most intensely. This made him fearless and confident.

 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.

 Main theme

Deep Water Theme

‘Deep Water’ deals with the childhood fear of Douglas. A misadventure at the YMCA pool developed an aversion of water in him and he suffered from hydrophobia. The story focuses on the fact that childhood fears must never be treated lightly.

 

 Message of  the lesson

William Douglas was able to overcome his fear by sheer determination. The message conveyed by this story is that it is not death but the fear of death that creates terror in our mind, so that fear needs to be shaken off. Also, any fears can be conquered if we try hard enough.