The Hundred Dresses –Part 1

1. Where in the classroom does Wanda sit and why?

Ans. In the classroom Wanda sits in the seat next to the last seat in the last row in
Room Thirteen. She sits on the corner most benches where those boys who were not
academically good usually sat and made noises by the scuffling of feet and roars of
laughter.
Wanda is a poor, shy and quiet girl and prefers to sit alone as she does not want to
mix with the main group of girls.

2. Where does Wanda live? What kind of a place do you think it is?
Ans. Wanda lives in Boggins Heights. It is that part of the city where poor people
lived. It is an under -developed area with no proper roads and the place is covered
with mud. It may be a kind of slum.

3. When and why do Peggy and Maddie notice Wanda’s absence?

Ans. Wanda did not attend the school on Monday and Tuesday but as she had no
friends in the class, nobody noticed her absence. Only when Peggy and Maddie
wanted to make fun of her after school, they noticed on Wednesday that she had not
come to school that day. They had been waiting for her outside the school and even
got late for school.

4. What do you think “to have fun with her” means ?

Ans. It means to laugh at her or tease her as we humans make fun of others related to
their imperfections or appearance. Wanda is a source of amusement for them. She is
teased about the hundred dresses which she claims to have and which is
contradictory to the fact that she always wore the same faded blue dress.

5. In what way was Wanda different from the other children?

Ans. Wanda is different from the other children because of her origin and dress. Her
name is quite different from the other children and for them her name is funny. She
always wore a faded blue dress which did not fit her properly. She did not have any
friends.

6. Did Wanda have a hundred dresses? Why do you think she said she did?
Ans. Wanda did not have a hundred dresses. She only had drawings of them.
She was a poor girl who wore the same faded dress everyday to school. She was a
victim of inferiority complex and to hide the complex and impress the other girls to
get their attention, she said that she had hundred dresses without realizing that the
girls would use this remark to make fun of her. Moreover, being poor, it would have
been her desire to have a closet of hundred dresses , all lined up.

7. Why is Maddie embarrassed by the questions Peggy asks Wanda? Is she also like
Wanda or is she different?
Ans. Maddie is embarrassed because she is also poor. She wore old clothes which
were handed down by others. She was worried that later on, like Wanda, she would
become a target of mockery and everyone would start teasing her.
She is different from Wanda as she had more sense than to claim that she had a
hundred dresses .She was not as poor as Wanda and did not live in Boggins Heights
and she also did not have a funny name like Wanda.

8. Why didn’t Maddie ask Peggy to stop teasing Wanda? What was she afraid of?
Ans. Maddie did not ask Peggy to stop teasing Wanda because Peggy was the most
popular girl in the school. Peggy was a nice girl but when it came to Wanda her
behavior was different.
Though Maddie wanted Peggy to stop teasing Wanda, she didn’t ask her to do so as
she lacked courage to say so. She was afraid of losing her friendship with Peggy and
moreover she was afraid of being the next target of such teasings.

9. Who did Maddie think would win the drawing contest? Why?
Ans. Maddie was sure that Peggy would win the drawing contest as she was good in
drawing and everybody in the school knew this. She also had a good image and
impression on her teachers and classmates. No other child in the class could draw as
well as she did. So Peggy had all the chances of winning the competition.

10. Who won the drawing contest? What had the winner drawn?
Ans. Among the boys, Jack Beggles and among the girls Wanda Petronski won the
contest. Wanda had drawn one hundred designs. All were different and beautiful.
Each one of the drawings was worthy of winning the prize.
Wanda had drawn all those dresses which she had mentioned in the class an claimed
to possess. Everybody was impressed and applauded her.

11. How is Wanda seen as different by the other girls ? How do they treat her?
Ans. Wanda Petronski is a Polish girl who had settled in America with her parents.
She is quite different from the other girls. Her name is different from the names of the
other children in her class. She does not have any friends to talk to. She comes to the
school alone and goes home alone. She always wears the same faded blue dress
which does not fit her and is not even ironed properly. Her shoes are always covered
with mud.
The other girls treat her badly. They tease her and make fun of her. They often
surround her and ask her about the number of dresses and shoes she has. They also
belittle her.

12. How does Wanda feel about the dresses game? Why does she say that she has a
hundred dresses?
Ans. Wanda feels embarrassed and insulted about the dresses game but she remains
quiet and does not talk to anyone. Nobody gives attention to her. Though she is
deeply hurt but she never complains.
She says that she has a hundred dresses to counter the fun other girls make of her.
She feels humiliated and insulted.
13. Why does Maddie stand by and not do anything? How is she different from
Peggy?
Ans. Maddie stands by and does nothing. It is because she does not have the courage
to speak to Peggy. Peggy is the most popular girl in the class and Maddie is her close
friend. Maddie is afraid of losing Peggy’s friendship. That is why Maddie does not
want to take risk of annoying Peggy and prefers to be a mute spectator.

She is different from Peggy as she does not make fun of Wanda. She remains silent while
Peggy makes fun of Wanda. Peggy’s friendship is important to her. It is because Peggy is
the most liked girl in the whole room and Maddie thought that Peggy could not possibly
do anything that is really wrong.

14. What does Miss Mason think of Wanda’s drawings? What do the children think of
them?
Ans. Miss Mason thinks of Wanda’s drawings as “exquisite”, “all different and all
beautiful”. The children think of them as ‘amazing’. They were awestruck at the sight
of such beautiful paintings. It is evident from the fact that the boys, who had no
interest in dresses, were whistling and Peggy who thought of herself to be the best
artist, accepted that Wanda’s drawings were amazing.