Deep Water (William Douglas) — Flashcards

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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…

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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.

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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.

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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…

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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.

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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.

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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 …

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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.