Question

How did Douglas overcome his fear of water?

Answer 1

Hint: The context of the above question is given in the chapter ‘ Deep water’. It is written by William Douglas. It is an excerpt taken from ‘Of Men and Mountains’. It is about William as a young boy when he nearly drowned in the swimming pool. He discusses his fear of water and how he overcame it.

Complete answer:
‘Douglas’ in the question refers to the author William Douglas. Two experiences of his life were the main reasons responsible for his fear of water. These were-
1) Once his father took him to the seashore. The waves overpowered him and pushed him to the shore. He was buried under the water and could not breathe.
2) He drowned in the swimming pool at Y.M.C.A. He tried coming out of it but every time he sank to the floor. He struggled to come out but there was no one to help. When he was out of the pool almost unconscious, he heard someone say that ‘ the kid nearly died’. This experience intensified his fear of water. His legs would paralyse thinking of water.

He overcame his fear by finding an instructor for himself who would teach him to swim. He went to the pool and practised swimming five days a week. He would swim for an hour on all five days. The instructor put a belt around him. A rope attached to the belt used to go through a pulley that ran on an overhead cable. The instructor held the end of the rope. This helped in fast and safe movement in the water. Once, he was made comfortable with the water and swimming in it, the instructor taught him to go underwater. He repeatedly practised the instructions given by the instructor. Thus, he soon learned to swim.

To test himself he went to Wentworth in New Hampshire, dived off a dock at Triggs Island, and swam two miles across the lake to Stamp Act Island. Only one time he was triggered in the middle water and he fearlessly overcame that too.

Note: The moral of the chapter is that through practice we can overcome the worst of our fears. As per the author, those who overcome their fears will be able to appreciate the fact that ‘In death there is peace. There is terror only in the fear of death’.