The Narrator Developed an Aversion to Water at a Young Age
The narrator ( Douglas ) recalls a horrific incident that happened to him when he was ten or eleven years old . He had decided to learn swimming , and the YMCA pool gave him the opportunity , as it was safe . It was only two or three feet deep at the shallow end and , while it was nine feet deep at the other end , the drop was gradual . In comparison , the Yakima river was treacherous .
The narrator's mother continually warned him against it . She kept reminding him about the details of each drowning incident in the river .
The Misadventure
mindent in Douglas tried to learn swimming by imitating the other boys at the pool . He was just beginning to feel at ease in the water when a mishap occurred . He went to the pool one day and found that no one else was there . He was timid about going in alone . So , he sat on the side of the pool to wait for others .
Just then a big bully came . He was quite muscular . He picked up Douglas and threw him into the deep end of the pool . Douglas landed in a sitting position , swallowed water , and went at once to the bottom . Douglas planned a strategy to come out of it and safe himself . He tried it a few times but it didn't work . As a result , he was completely paralysed with fear . Then he fell unconscious . The next thing he remembers was lying on his stomach beside the pool , vomiting .
The Terror Destroyed Douglas ' Social Life
After the incident at YMCA , Douglas feared water and avoided it whenever he could . Whenever he went near water , the terror that had seized him in the pool would return to haunt him . The fear paralysed him . This handicap stayed with him as years rolled by . It ruined his fishing trips and deprived him of the joy of canoeing , boating and swimming .
He tried his best to overcome this fear , but it didn't let go of him . Finally , Douglas decided to get a swimming instructor . He went to a pool and practised five days a week , an hour each day . Piece by piece , bit by bit , the instructor built a swimmer out of Douglas .
Douglas ' Will to Live Grew in Intensity
After the training was finished , Douglas wondered if he would be terror - stricken when he would be alone in the pool . He tried , and tiny vestiges of the old terror did return , but now he was not afraid . Douglas was still not satisfied . So , he went to Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire and swam two miles across the lake . When Dou glas was in the middle of the lake , he put his face under and saw nothing but bottomless water .
The old sensation came back to haunt him . But this time Douglas was strong . He swam on . Yet he had some residual doubts . At his first opportunity , he went to the Warm Lake . He swam to the other shore and back . He was thrilled with joy , as he had conquered his fear of water . The experience had a deep meaning for him .
