Question

Describe the boy who was responsible for the author’s misadventure.

Answer 1

Hint: The above question is from the chapter ‘Deep Water’, written by William Douglas. The story or incidents in it deals with the childhood fear of Douglas.

Complete answer:
William Douglas’s ‘Deep Water’ focuses on the certainty that childhood fear must never be treated lightly. If they are not overcome, then they make deep inroads into one's psychology. A misadventure at the YMCA pool evolved an aversion of water in the writer and he suffered from hydrophobia.

The perpetrator was a big boy, probably an eighteen-year-old who had thick hair on his chest. He was a beautiful strong specimen due to his legs and arms having rippled muscles. He was a fun-loving and trouble-making guy and enjoyed teasing the younger and weaker boys.

He picked the writer up and tossed him into the nine feet deep end of the Y.M.C.A. pool. He hit the water surface in a sitting position. He swallowed water and went once again to the bottom. He nearly experienced his death in this misadventure.

This incident revived his aversion to water. He was highly afraid of water and avoided it whenever he could.

Note: The title 'Deep water' is the right title for the extract from William. O. Douglas's 'Of men and mountains’. The story revolves around Douglas's hydrophobia and death due to drowning. The story promotes determination and willpower. As a result of an unlucky event with a bully, the writer had developed an extreme fear of the water. However, he decides to face his fear and works hard to overcome it until he becomes a good swimmer.