Hello
Friends.
Know the Author :
William Douglas (1898-1980) was born in Maine, Minnesota. Douglas
was a leading advocate of individual rights. He retired in 1975 with a term
lasting thirty-six years and remains the longest-serving Justice in the history
of the court. The following excerpt is taken from his autobiography “Of Men
and Mountains”.
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The essay
deals with a psychological phenomenon Fear factor. Author has delineated the
whole state of affairs related with the creation of fear in his innocent mind
while he was a child of 3-4 years only. He makes 3 incidents responsible for emergence
of fear from water. He had an aversion of water which ruined all his fishing,
canoeing, boating and swimming trips. The first impression of fear of water was
created by his father, who took him to the California beach. Douglas was swept
over by a wave, tried to jump over his father but failed and ultimately buried in
water. Secondly when he was willing to learn swimming at YMCA pool Washington,
his mother generated the fear of water by reminding him all the deaths happened
in the Yakima river, which was considered by her ‘treacherous’. But YMCA pool
was quite safe for learning how to swim. The third misadventure happened with
him at YMCA pool, when he was alone at the pool one day & was waiting at
the side of the pool for the other to come. Suddenly he was tossed into the 9
feet deep side of the pool by a muscular boy of 18. Douglas’ fear of water
again revived. But he collected his strength and tried to jump from the bottom
of the pool to come to the surface of the water and then coming to the edge of the
pool. But he failed in all his 3 efforts and ultimately became unconscious.
When he woke up, he was lying at the side of the pool, probably he was saved by
the same boy who threw him into the pool. This fear of water struck to his heart
and remained there for years.
After some
years he made up his mind and hired a trainer, practiced one hour per day &
5 days a week. A rope was attached with the belt of Douglas and caught hold by
the instructor over the pulley so as to save him when he is in a drowning
position. He gave him ample practice and exercises. He taught him how to inhale
and exhale. Then he practiced him kicking by his legs at the side of the pool. Bit
by bit he made a perfect swimmer in Douglas.
But Douglas
was not sure of eradication of his fear of water so he tested his learning of
swimming in the pool alone, Lake Wentworth and Warm Lake. At last he felt
relaxed and rooted out his aversion of water. This could have been possible
only with strong will power and determination.
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Glossary of difficult words :
|
Word |
Meaning |
|
Treacherous |
Involving betrayal or deception |
|
Subdued my pride |
Overcome, bring under control |
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Flailed at the surface |
Wave, Swing |
|
Landlocked salmon |
Entirely surrounded by land |
|
Misadventure |
A mishap, an unfortunate incident |
|
Bob |
Ease with which a task can be achieved |
|
Aversion |
Dislike |
|
Stirred |
Awaken, begin, arouse strong feeling |
|
Aping |
Imitating |
|
Bruiser |
A person who is tough and aggressive and enjoys a fight or argument |
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Rippling |
Wave like surface |
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Duck |
Push under water |
|
Burst |
Break open or apart suddenly and violently |
|
Summoned |
Collected |
|
Tinge |
Colour |
|
Suffocating |
Difficulty in breathing |
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Throbbed |
Pound, Vibrate |
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Dizzy |
Faint |
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Sheer |
Pure |
|
Stark |
Harsh |
|
Limp |
Lifeless |
|
Crossed to Oblivion |
State of being unconscious |
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Exertion |
Hard work |
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Sick to my stomach |
Disgusted, shocked |
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Wading |
Walk with difficulty in fairly deep water |
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Canoe |
Small lightweight boat |
|
Slack |
Drop |
Questions from the CBSE Papers :
Q. 1 ‘All
we have to fear is fear itself’. When did Douglas learn this lesson ? CBSE AI
2016 (3)
–
experience of fear and death and its conquest made him live
intensely
–
conquering fear made him realise true value of life and helped him
enjoy
every moment of life
–
learnt ‘all we have to fear is fear itself’
–
made him more confident and determined
(Any
Two)
Q. 2 Fear
is something that we must learn to overcome if we want to succeed in life. How
did Douglas get over his fear of water ? CBSE AI 2018 (6M)
-
appointed a swimming instructor, went to the pool, practised five days a week,
an
hour each day, in six months, learnt to swim, in July tested his newly learnt
skills
in different lakes and water bodies.
Q. 3 How
did the instructor turn Douglas into a swimmer ? CBSE AI 2019 1-1-1 (3M)
-
engaged an instructor to learn swimming. Instructor made him practice for five
days a week an hour every day. Tied a rope attached to a pulley, free from fear
of water
-
taught him to breathe and exhale underwater.
-
made him kick his legs
-
piece by piece he built a swimmer
(any
two)
Q. 4 Why
did William Douglas choose Y.M.C.A. pool when he decided to learn to swim ?
CBSE AI 2019 1-1-2 (3M)
-
Yakima river was treacherous/ many have drowned there(mother’s warning)
-
Y.M.C.A. pool was safer /only 2 or 3 feet deep at the shallow end, the deep end
was 9 ft.
-
the drop was gradual
(any
two)
Q. 5 Which
two incidents in the life of William Douglas before he was ten years old created
an aversion in his mind to water ? CBSE AI 2019 1-1-3, 1-2-1 (3)
-
when he was three or four years old – went to the beach in California with his
father – huge wave knocked him down / swept over him / he was buried under
water
-
he was frightened at the overpowering force of the wave
Note-
If only one incident is mentioned accept it as full answer /if the student
writes about the YMCA incident also he/she should be duly marked.
Q. 6 Douglas has a near-death experience
in his childhood which has a negative as well as a positive outcome. Justify
the statement with evidences from the text. CBSE
AI 2019 1-4-1 (6)
or
Q. 7 What
qualities turned the diffident Douglas into a good swimmer ? CBSE AI 2019 1-4-2
(3)
or
Q. 8 Childhood fears are deeply
entrenched in our mind. Determination, hard work and right training are needed
to get rid of them. Comment on the statement in the light of Douglas’ efforts to
overcome his fear of water. CBSE AI 2019 1-4-3 (6)
At
California beach felt suffocated when knocked down by a large wave
Misadventure
at the YMCA pool
Fears
restrict our happiness and joy
Deprived
him of enjoying fishing trips with friends
He
was determined to overcome his fear
The
instructor could build him into a good swimmer only because of his will power
and perservance
Douglas
tested himself in different locations without any assistance – made persistent
efforts
His
steadiness and tenacity empowered him to fight his fear.
(Any
other relevant point)
(Any
three)
Q. 9
Douglas says, ‘‘The instructor was finished, but I was not.’’ What did the
instructor teach Douglas ? How did Douglas finish the task begun by the
instructor ? CBSE AI 2019 1-5-1 (6)
-
instructor taught Douglas how to swim
-
Douglas tried swimming alone in the pool
-
swam across lakes and water bodies testing his swimming skills
Q. 10 How
did Douglas completely overcome his fear of water through hard work and
determination ? CBSE AI 2019 1-5-2 (6)
-
hired an instructor
-
practised 5 days a week; an hour each day - rope attached to belt around his
waist - the rope went through a pulley which ran on an overhead cable - went
back and forth in the pool - learnt how to inhale and exhale in water - piece
by piece was built into a swimmer (any three)
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