Deep Water (William Douglas) — NCERT Solutions

Douglas makes the panic vivid through sensory details, repetition, and short, forceful statements. He describes the water as “dirty yellow” and later “dark water” that he cannot see through. He shows the body’s helplessness: his lungs ache, his head throbs, his legs hang like dead weights, and his arms will not move. The repeated downward movement — “down, down, endlessly” — creates a feeling of helpless sinking. He also uses strong expressions like “sheer, stark terror”, “paralysed”, and “I was shrieking under water” to show complete fear. These details make the scene immediate and intense.

Douglas overcame his fear through systematic training and persistent practice. An instructor used a rope and belt to support him in the pool, helping him get used to water. Douglas practised five days a week, learned to exhale and inhale properly in water, and then learned to kick correctly. After that, he swam alone again and again until the fear weakened. To make sure the fear was gone, he later challenged himself in Lake Wentworth and Warm Lake, and finally felt free from the terror of water.

As an adult, Douglas recounts this childhood experience to show how fear can dominate a person’s life and how it can be conquered by courage, training, and determination. The experience had a deep meaning for him because he had felt both the sensation of dying and the terror of fear itself. From this he draws the larger meaning that death itself is peaceful; what truly terrifies people is the fear of death. This leads him to the idea expressed by Roosevelt: “All we have to fear is fear itself.” After conquering fear, he feels released and free to live boldly.

If the experience were narrated by someone else, it would be less immediate and personal, because the reader would not hear Douglas’s own thoughts and fears directly. In a third-person version, the narrator would describe Douglas from outside rather than let us feel his panic from inside his mind.

Sample third-person paragraph:

Douglas sat beside the pool, waiting for others to come. A large boy entered and, with a laugh, picked him up and threw him into the deep end. Douglas sank to the bottom, swallowed water, and struggled to rise. He planned to jump when his feet touched bottom and then float to safety, but terror overwhelmed him. He flailed helplessly, unable to move his legs or arms, while the water seemed to hold him fast.

The first-person style is more effective here because it makes the fear feel direct, intimate, and real. We experience the terror along with Douglas, not just observe it from outside.

At last I felt released — free to walk the trails and climb the peaks and to brush aside fear.

When I first decided to learn cycling, I thought it would be simple. I had seen others balance easily on two wheels, and I was sure I could do the same. But the first time I sat on the bicycle, my hands became cold and my knees shook. The road seemed too narrow, every stone looked like an obstacle, and I was frightened of falling in front of everyone.

My father encouraged me to begin slowly. He held the seat from behind and kept telling me to look ahead and not at my feet. I fell many times, scraped my knees, and once even bruised my elbow. I felt embarrassed and wanted to quit. Some friends laughed, but one of my teachers told me that every rider starts with fear and only practice makes confidence.

Gradually, I learned to keep my balance for a few seconds, then for a few minutes. I began to trust my own hands and feet. The fear did not disappear at once, but each ride made it smaller. One evening I rode all the way to the end of the lane without help, and I could not stop smiling.

Now cycling gives me a sense of freedom. What once seemed impossible has become easy and enjoyable. I learned that fear can be overcome by patience, practice, and encouragement, and that success feels sweetest after struggle.

Dear Rahul,

I hope you are well. I am very happy to tell you that I have learnt something new — I can now swim a little without support. At first I was afraid of putting my face into the water, but after many practice sessions I slowly became confident.

The instructor helped me a lot. He taught me how to breathe properly and how to move my legs and arms. At first I was nervous, but now I can swim across the pool with much less fear. It was difficult in the beginning, yet I feel proud that I did not give up.

Do write back soon and share some good news from your side.

Yours lovingly,
[Name]