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Deep Water is an excerpt from William O. Douglas' autobiography that details his lifelong fear of water stemming from a traumatic childhood experience. The narrative illustrates his struggle to overcome this fear through determination and perseverance, ultimately leading to his triumph as he learns to swim and confronts his anxieties. Douglas' story serves as a metaphor for overcoming challenges in life, emphasizing the importance of courage and resilience.

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Charu Mathi
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0 views11 pages

Presentation 8 (1)

Deep Water is an excerpt from William O. Douglas' autobiography that details his lifelong fear of water stemming from a traumatic childhood experience. The narrative illustrates his struggle to overcome this fear through determination and perseverance, ultimately leading to his triumph as he learns to swim and confronts his anxieties. Douglas' story serves as a metaphor for overcoming challenges in life, emphasizing the importance of courage and resilience.

Uploaded by

Charu Mathi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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DEEP WATER

WILLIAM O. DOUGLAS
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About the Author
• William O. Douglas was born on October 16, 1898, in
Maine, Minnesota.
• He lost his father at the age of six. His mother faced
great hardship in
raising him.
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• He taught at a high school in Yakima for two years
but soon realized
teaching was not for him and pursued a career in
law.
• Douglas became friends with Franklin D. Roosevelt
and served as an
advisor to him.
• He later served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of
the United States, with a record tenure of 36 years, the longest
in its history.
An Overview
• Deep Water is an excerpt from William Douglas’ autobiography "Of
Men and
Mountains."
• It explores the psychological fear of water that haunted Douglas
since
childhood.
• The story reflects how early experiences deeply impacted him and
how he
took conscious, deliberate steps to overcome this fear.
• The text is a story of struggle, determination, and eventual
triumph.
“A Head Full of Fears Has No Space For
Dreams”
Gist of the Lesson
• 'William O Douglas' had a desire to learn swimming since childhood.
• At the age of three or four, he was knocked down and buried by a wave at a beach in California.
• This traumatic experience caused him to develop a deep aversion to water.
• At the age of ten or eleven, he decided to learn to swim using water wings at the Y.M.C.A. pool,
which he
considered safe. It was 2 to 3 feet deep at the shallow end and 9 feet at the deep end.
• While Douglas was waiting alone at the pool for others to arrive, a big boy came, bullied him, and
threw him into
the deep end of the pool.
• Douglas swallowed water and went straight down to the bottom of the pool.
• While going down, he planned to make a big jump upwards, but came up slowly. “Shark terror”
seized him. He
tried to shout but couldn't.
• He tried to jump up several times, but failed. Eventually, he lost consciousness.
• When he regained consciousness, he found himself lying on his stomach at the edge of the pool.
• For days, a fear of water haunted him. The fear stayed with him for years.
• Finally he got an instructor and decided to learn to swim.
• The instructor attached a rope to the narrator's belt.
• The rope went through the pulley. He held it to the end of the rope and it went back & forth, up
and down in the
pool.
• The instructor taught him to put his face underwater and exhale, and to raise his nose above the
water to
inhale.
• Eventually, he became a complete swimmer, but he still feared being alone in the pool. He was
still not
satisfied.
• Finally, he dived off a dock at Triggs Island and swam two miles across the lake.
• At last, he was able to conquer his fear of water.
Refresher Questions
o Can childhood experiences shape our fears later in life? How?

o Why did Douglas think the Y.M.C.A. pool was a safe place
to learn swimming?

o What does his careful choice of pool tell us about his


mindset?

o Why did his plan to bounce back to the surface fail?

o Have you ever faced a moment of panic or fear? How did


you respond?

o What would you have done in Douglas’s place?


Literary Devices
Used:
Imagery: Uses sensory details to create vivid picture of the pool.
For example: Description of pool as “white and clean as a bathtub”.

Metaphor: Compares his fear of water to a “monster” or a


“shadow” that
haunted him for years.

Simile: The author compares the feeling of learning to swim to


“flying”.

Personification: The author gives human qualities to the fear of


water,
referring to it as “Mr.Terror”.

Hyperbole: The author exaggerates the details of drowning


incident,
Theme
 Conquering Fear
 Determination and
perseverance
 Triumph over Adversity
 Human Resilience
 The Importance of courage
Deep Water by William Douglas is a powerful
narrative about fear, determination, and victory.
Through his personal experience of nearly
drowning, Douglas shows how deeply-rooted
fears can hold us back. But with courage,
discipline, and perseverance, even the greatest
fears can be defeated. His journey becomes a
metaphor for overcoming any challenge in life,
and his story is a message of hope and strength.
Thank
you

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