Deep Water (William Douglas)

Answer

The central theme is the conquest of fear. William Douglas shows how a frightening childhood experience created a lasting fear of water, and how patient training, determination, and self-control helpe…

Answer

Treacherous means dangerous and unsafe. It describes the Yakima River, which Douglas's mother warned him about because it had caused drownings and was feared in the family.

Answer

Douglas decided to learn swimming when he was ten or eleven years old. He chose the Y.M.C.A. pool in Yakima because it seemed safe compared with the treacherous Yakima River.

Answer

His earliest fear began when he was three or four years old at a California beach. He stood in the surf with his father, was knocked down by waves, buried in water, and felt terror at the overpowering…

Answer

He was an about eighteen-year-old boy at the Y.M.C.A. pool with thick chest hair and rippling muscles. He picked Douglas up and tossed him into the deep end, causing the near-drowning.

Answer

He landed in a sitting position, swallowed water, and sank. He became panicky, struggled to rise, flailed at the surface, and was pulled back under several times before losing consciousness.

Answer

The Y.M.C.A. pool was important because it was safe, shallow at one end, and had a gradual slope, yet it became the place of a terrifying near-drowning. That contrast makes the incident more shocking …

Answer

He felt fear, panic, suffocation, helplessness, and then complete terror. Later, when exhaustion took over, fear disappeared and he felt a strange calm before losing consciousness.