The Hundred Dresses-I- Important Extra Questions- Long Answer Type

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The Hundred Dresses-I

By– El Bsor Ester

Answer the following questions in 100-120 words:

1. Wanda had no friends and nobody liked to talk to her. Do you think such an attitude of children towards Wanda is justified? Is it right to judge people on the basis of their social status? If no, then what values should such people imbibe?

Ans. Wanda was a quiet girl who rarely laughed out loud. She didn’t have any friend and always come to school and went home alone. Children made fun of her because she had a funny name. And also because she came to school wearing the same faded blue dress. Although, she claimed she had a hundred dresses. (i) This type of attitude is not justified. (ii) It is not at all right to judge people on the basis of their social status. Although Wanda did not have the actual dresses she had the drawings of the dresses on papers. All of different colours and designs. (iii) She proved herself by submitting a hundred drawings of dresses in the drawing and painting competition of her school. People who judge others with their socio-economic background, need to learn that such things are not the parameters to judge a person’s capabilities. They should respect others.

2. Maddie loathed the business of asking Wanda about her dresses but she found it difficult to stop Peggy to do so. Why could she not stop Peggy? Was she afraid of losing the friendship of Peggy? Write about the values one must possess in a true friendship in about 100-120 words.

Ans. Meddle did not approve of Peggy’s teasing of Wanda because she was as poor as Wanda was. But she could not stop Peggy as she did not have the courage to do so because Peggy was her best friend and thought that if she asked her to do so she might lose her friendship. Secondly, she thought that once the students stop teasing Wanda. they might ask her similar questions. I think a true friend should stop his/her friend of doing wrong things. She should guide him/her in the right direction.

3. Though Peggy and Maddie were good friends, they differed greatly in their thinking. Substantiate giving references from the story The Hundred Dresses’.

Ans. Peggy and Maddie were classmates and close friends. Peggy was rich, pretty and the most popular girl in her class. Maddie was poor and wore hand-me-down clothes mostly of Peggy with a little innovation. Other students knew her because she was always with Peggy. Peggy used to enjoy teasing Wanda a Polish girl by asking her about her hundred dresses. Maddie would become a part of the fun unwillingly. She used to feel uncomfortable, perhaps it reminded her of her own poverty. She remained silent as she feared that Peggy might pick on her if she opposed. Thus, Peggy and Maddie’s inseparable friends had different personalities.

4. What made Maddie feel uncomfortable and uneasy when Peggy and other girls made fun of Wanda Petronski?

Ans. Peggy and other girls used to make fun of Wanda by asking her about her hundred dresses. In fact, Wanda said that she had a hundred dresses but wore the same faded blue dress every day. Maddie who was herself poor and wore hand-me-down clothes mostly of Peggy with a little alteration, felt uncomfortable when others teased Wanda. Perhaps it reminded her of her own poverty. She could not see Wanda in that miserable condition. She thought it was cruel to make fun of anyone’s poverty. She used to feel uneasy but remained a silent spectator. She feared that if she opposed she could be the next target.

5. What does this story tell us about Wanda Petronski?

Ans. Wanda Petronski was a Polish girl. Her family had immigrated to America. She studied in a school with other American students. She belonged to a very poor family. Daily she came to school in a faded blue dress. It was clean but not properly ironed. She used to sit in the corner of room number thirteen in the last row. This was a corner where the rough boys, who did not make good marks, sat. Wanda did not sit there because she was rough and noisy. On the contrary, she was very quiet. But she came on foot from Boggins Heights area and brought a lot of dirt with her shoes. She was a reserved girl and did not speak much in the class. No one had ever heard her laugh.

6. Who were Peggy and Maddie? How did they and other girls make fun of Wanda?

Ans. Peggy and Maddie were the two classmates of Wanda. Peggy was the most popular girl in the school. She was pretty and had curly hair. She belonged to a rich family. She had many pretty clothes. Maddie was her closest friend. Peggy and Maddie were not bad girls but they used to have some fun with Wanda

Petronski. The students in Wanda’s class found her name funny. Wanda was always alone in her class. Peggy made fun of Wanda and asked her how many dresses she had in her closet. Wanda replied that she had one hundred dresses. Then Peggy would ask her whether the dresses were of silk or velvet. Wanda would reply that she had dresses of velvet as well as silk. The girls would ask her how many pairs of shoes she had. At this Wanda would tell them that she had sixty pairs of shoes. The girls would suppress their laugh while talking to her. But as soon as Wanda’s back was turned, they would burst into peals of laughter.

7. What do you know about Maddie?

Ans. Maddie was one of the classmates of Wanda. She was Peggy’s best friend. Maddie herself was a poor girl. She used to wear clothes given by other persons. So she was sympathetic to Wanda. She and Peggy were fast friends. That is why she never said anything when Peggy made fun of Wanda. But she herself never laughed at Wanda. She did not like Peggy’s asking Wanda about the dresses. Whenever Peggy mocked at Wanda, Maddie felt bad. She wished that Peggy would stop teasing Wanda Petronski. Maddie decided to write a note for Peggy asking her to stop making fun of Wanda but she could not muster the courage to give the note to her.

8. When did Peggy and Maddie notice Wanda’s absence from school?

Ans. Wanda did not come to school on Monday. But nobody noticed her. She did not come on Tuesday also. But when she missed the school on Wednesday also. Peggy and Middie noted her absence. They wondered why she had not come to school. Maddie remembered Wanda talking about one of her dresses which was pale blue with coloured trimmings. Then Maddie thought about the drawing and colour contest in the school. The girls were to design dresses and the boys were to design motorboats. Muddle thought that Peggy would win the contest as she was very good at design.

9. Describe the scene where Wanda’s dress drawings are displayed? Who won the drawing contest for the girls?

Ans. The next day it was drizzling. Peggy and Maddie hurried to their school as Miss Mason would announce the results of the drawing contest. They did not wait for Wanda. When the girls reached their school they were surprised. There were hundreds of designs of dresses displayed in the room. Then Miss Mason announced the names of the winners. Jack Beggles had won for the boys. She said that all the hundred designs of dresses had been made by one girl and she had won the Medal. Her name was Wanda Petronski. But Wanda was absent. The children clapped their hands in joy. Maddie asked Peggy to look at the blue dress about which Wanda had told them earlier. They appreciated the drawings made by Wanda.

10. What did Peggy and other girls think about Wanda Petronski? How was she different from other girls?

Ans. Peggy and other girls hardly noticed Wanda Petronski’s presence or absence in the class. Wanda sat in the seat next to the last seat in the last row in the class. Only ‘rough boys’ who never got good marks and made a lot of noise sat in that corner. A lot of dirt and mud could be found on the floor there. Nobody knew why she sat there. Perhaps she lived at Boggins Heights and brought a lot of dry mud with her from there. Girls found her coming to school and going home alone. She had no friends. Peggy, Maddie and others talked to Wanda only when she was outside the class. Peggy particularly enjoyed having fun with her. In mocking tone, she teased Wanda asking her uncomfortable questions about her hundred dresses and sixty pairs of shoes No one believed that a poor girl who. usually wore a faded blue dress could have a hundred dresses. Peggy thought that Wanda was telling a lie. So, she teased her by asking such embarrassing questions about her dresses. Maddie was different. She didn’t like Peggy making fun of Wanda. She wished Peggy would stop teasing Wanda in that manner.

11. Why did Peggy tease Wanda Petronski with uncomfortable and embarrassing questions about her one hundred dresses? Was she really cruel?

Ans. Peggy and Maddie didn’t notice Wanda’s presence in the class. Wanda rarely uttered even a word in the classroom. Only outside, they would wait for Wanda on the corner of Oliver Street to have some fun with her. They found her Polish name quite funny. Sometimes, they surrounded her in the schoolyard. Peggy would tease Wanda by asking. “How many dresses did you say you had hanging up in your closet?” Wanda would say: “A hundred. They were of all colours and all were of silk”. When Peggy asked: “How many shoes did you say you had?” Wanda would reply: “Sixty pairs.”

Peggy was not actually cruel. She protected small children from bullies. She cried hours if she saw an animal illtreated. But Wanda’s case was different. Peggy could never believe that a poor girl living at Boggins Heights could have a hundred dresses and 60 pairs of shoes. Wanda was always seen in a faded blue dress. So Peggy had her own reasons to believe that Wanda was telling a lie.

12. Compare and contrast two friends, Peggy and Maddie. Why couldn’t Maddie stop Peggy from teasing Wanda Petronski?

Ans. Peggy and Maddie were two close friends. They came from two different financial and cultural backgrounds.

Peggy was pretty. She had many pretty clothes. Her hair was curly. Madeline or Maddie, on the other hand, belonged to a poor family. Peggie used to hand down her old clothes to Maddie. Maddie’s mother tried to disguise those old clothes with new trimmings. She did it so that her classmates would not recognise them. Peggy was the most popular girl in the class. Both of them sat in the front row where only those who got good marks sat. Peggy was very good at drawing. Everybody thought that Peggy would win the girls’ medal in the drawing and colouring competition.

Maddie knew that Peggy was not really cruel. She protected small children from bullies. But in the case of Wanda, she was different. She teased and embarrassed her by asking uncomfortable questions about her hundred dresses. Maddie wished Peggy would stop teasing Wanda. She couldn’t muster the courage to stop her from doing so. Being a poor girl, she realised that one day she could become a target of Peggy and other girls. But Maddie became helpless before her closest friend and benefactor, Peggy.

13. What was the drawing and colouring contest? Who was the favourite and who won the girls’ medal in the contest? How did it affect boys and girls in the class?

Ans. The class organised a drawing and colouring contest for boys and girls separately. For girls, the contest consisted of designing dresses. For boys, the contest consisted of designing motorboats. Everyone thought that Peggie would win the prize among girls. She drew better than anyone else in the class. She could copy a picture in a magazine. She could draw the head of some film star and anyone could tell who it was. Maddie was sure that Peggy would win.

The next day when Peggy and Maddie entered the room, they were highly surprised. There were drawings all over the room. As soon as the class assembled, the teacher, Miss Mason announced the winners. Jack Beggles had won for the boys. For the girls, most of them had sent one or two sketches. Only one girl submitted a hundred drawings. They were all of different designs and colours. In the opinion of the judges, any one of the drawings was worthy of winning the prize. Wanda Petronski was declared the winner of the girls’ medal. Miss Mason was sad that Wanda was not in the class to receive the honour. The students filed around the room to look at the drawings. The boys were not interested in dresses. They enjoyed the occasion by whistling. Peggy and Maddie could spot the blue and the green dresses there which Wanda used to talk about.