FLAMINGO PROSE 3 DEEP WATER- William Douglas

QUESTION BANK
Multiple Choice Questions based on an extract
A.My breath was gone. I was frightened. Father laughed, but there was terror in my heart at the
overpowering force of the waves. My introduction to the Y.M.CA. swimming pool revived unpleasant
memories and stirred childish fears. But in a little while I gathered confidence. I paddled with my new
water wings, watching the other boys and trying to learn by aping them. I did this two or three times on
different days and was just beginning to feel at ease in the water when the misadventure happened.
i. Choose the correct option with reference to the two statements given below.
Statement 1: The author’s father laughed to mock his son’s inability to swim.
Statement 2: The author wanted to swim just to prove to his father that he can swim.
a) Statement 1 is true but Statement 2 is false.
b) Statement 1 is false but Statement 2 is true.
c) Both Statement 1 and Statement 2 cannot be inferred.
d) Both Statement 1 and Statement 2 can be inferred.
ii. “My introduction to the Y.M.CA. swimming pool revived unpleasant memories and stirred
childish fears.” It can be inferred that this was a clear case of
a) suppression b) oppression c) depression d) repression
iii. The misadventure that took place right after the author felt comfortable was that
a) the author slipped and fell into the swimming pool.
b) a bully tossed him into the pool for the sake of fun.
c) his coach forgot to teach him how to handle deep water.
d) his father couldn’t help him from drowning into the water.
iv. Choose the option that describes the equipment used by the author while learning to swim.
a) Option 1 b) Option 2 c) Option 3 d) Option 4

B. Then all effort ceased. I relaxed. Even my legs felt limp; and a blackness swept over my brain. It wiped
out fear; it wiped out terror. There was no more panic. It was quiet and peaceful. Nothing to be afraid of.
This is nice... to be drowsy... to go to sleep... no need to jump... too tired to jump... it’s nice to be carried
gently... to float along in space... tender arms around me... tender arms like Mother’s... now I must go to
sleep... I crossed to oblivion, and the curtain of life fell.
i. Choose the correct option with reference to the two statements given below.
Statement 1: The author tried his best to jump out of water.
Statement 2: After a while, the author was not anxious in water.
a) If Statement 1 is the cause, Statement 2 is the effect.
b) If Statement 1 is the effect, Statement 2 is the cause.
c) Both the statements are the effects of a common cause.
d) Both the statements are the effects of independent causes.
ii. The ‘curtain (of life) fell’ corresponds to an aspect of
a) Geometry b) History c) Sports d) Drama
iii. The purpose of using “…” in the above passage is to
a) show omission b) indicate pauses c) shorten a dialogue d) replace an idea
iv. Which option indicates that the poet lost consciousness?
a) ‘It was quiet and peaceful.’ b) ‘I crossed to oblivion.’
c) ‘Tender arms like Mother’s.’ d) ‘It wiped out fear.’

C. From the beginning, however, I had an aversion to the water when I was in it. This started when I was
three or four years old and father took me to the beach in California. He and I stood together in the surf. I
hung on to him, yet the wa knocked me down and swept over me. I was buried in water. My breath was
gone. I was frightened. Father laughed, be there was terror in my heart at the overpowering force of the
waves. My introduction to the YMCA. swimming pool revived unpleasant memories and stirred childish
fears. But in a little while I gathered confidence.

(i) What caused the narrator's aversion to water?

(ii) How did the narrator's father react to the situation at the beach?
(a) He panicked and rescued the narrator. (b) He laughed at the situation.
(c) He was indifferent and ignored the narrator. (d) He warned the narrator about the dangers of water
(iii) Identify a phrase from the extract that shows the narrator's emotional reaction to the incident
at the beach.
(iv) What impact did the Y.M.C.A. swimming pool have on the narrator initially?
(v) Based on the extract, what change occurs in the narrator's feelings towards water over time at
the YMCA swimming pool?
(vi) Complete the given sentence appropriately.
The extract reflects a journey from _________________ .

Stand Alone MCQs

i. The most appropriate justification for the title of the chapter ‘Deep Water’ is that
a) it's about the dangerous depth of the swimming pool.
b) It reveals the author’s lack of surety about overcoming his fear of swimming.
c) it underlines the author’s fear of water and how he overcomes it.
d) it includes the methods of the author’s coach to overcome the fear of deep water
ii. Choose the quote that DOES NOT resonate with the central idea of the chapter.

a) Option 1 b) Option 2 c) Option 3 d) Option 4

iii. Samuel has a phobia of heights but is scared and can’t overcome it. Choose the option that
displays an advice.
a) Option 1 b) Option 2 c) Option 3 d) Option 4
iv. The chap that threw me in was saying, “But I was only fooling.” Choose the option mentioning
the personality traits of this ‘chap’.
1. persuasive 2. Irresponsible 3. Domineering 4. Manipulative 5. callous
a) 1, 2, 4 b) 2, 4, 5 c) 2, 3, 5 d) 1, 3, 5
v. I crossed to oblivion, and the curtain of life fell.
Which of these sentences uses the expression 'the curtain of life' as used in the above line from
'Deep Water'?
A. The tailor had to repair many holes in the curtain of life.
B. Congratulations on the promotion! What a curtain of life!
C. No one alive knows what lies on the other side of the curtain of life.
D. They never gave away the curtain their grandmother gifted them – it was a curtain of life.
Answer in 30-40 words:
i. Seemingly small everyday wins are actually the greatest learnings of life. Comment on the statement
with reference to the chapter “Deep Water”.
ii. If you could give the chapter a new title, what would it be? Support your answer with reference to the
chapter “Deep Water”.
iii. Getting rid of fear is an extremely difficult task. Elucidate with reference to the chapter “Deep Water”.
iv .Discus the significance of the references to the natural world in the chapter “Deep Water”.
v. Describe both the physical and emotional impacts that the misadventure at the YMCA pool had on the
narrator.
vi. “It had happened when I was ten or eleven years old.” Well-known author Ursula K. Le Guin once said,
"First sentences are doors to worlds." Describe how the first sentence of 'Deep Water' given above sets
the tone of the text.

vii. Father laughed, but there was terror in my heart at the overpowering force of the waves.
Why did the narrator and his father have such contrasting emotions here? Explain with reference to the
story 'Deep Water'.
Answer in 120 - 150 words:
i. Imagine that the bully who threw Douglas into the pool, reads this chapter and realizes his mistake.
As the bully, write a dairy entry penning down your response to Douglas’ perseverance and your own
feelings of guilt and regret.
ii. Douglas’ mother writes to the YMCA authorities holding them accountable for the mishap as well as
demanding that the authorities employ a team of guards near the pool for supervision of the children.
As the mother, write a letter to the authorities with reference to the case of your son.
You may begin like this:
Sir
Subject: Negligence on Premises
This is with reference to the incident of near fatal drowning of my son, William on your premises. We
were…
iii. The experience had a deep meaning for me, as only those who have known stark terror and conquered
it can appreciate it. In death there is peace. There is terror only in the fear of death as Roosevelt knew
when he said, 'All we have to fear is fear itself." We all have one fear or another but few of us are able to
overcome it. With reference to the chapter 'Deep Water, draw out qualities that one should possess to
overcome his her fear of water.
iv. Courage is not the absence of fear but the triumph over it. Comment on the statement above with
reference to the text 'Deep Water'. State two ways in which the narrator strives to overcome his fear.
v. 'Mother continually warned against it, and kept fresh in my mind the details of each drowning in the
river. In Prose section, 'Deep Water' includes this comment on William Douglas.
In 'My Mother at Sixty Six', we are told that –
"But after the airport's security check, standing a few yards away, I looked again at her, wan. pale as a
late winter's moon'.
Imagine a conversation between Kamala Das and William Douglas as friends. Create this exchange with
reference to the extracts given above.