Class 10 English Chapter 5 Question Answer | The Hundred Dresses – I
Welcome to HSLC Guru. In this article, we provide a complete set of questions and answers for Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 5 – The Hundred Dresses – I by El Bsor Estes. This chapter is an important part of the ASSEB (Assam State Board of Secondary Education) Class 10 English syllabus. Here you will find the summary, textbook solutions (Thinking about the Text and Thinking about the Language), additional short and long answer questions, MCQs, extract-based questions, and character sketches to help you prepare thoroughly for your HSLC examination.
Summary of The Hundred Dresses – I
“The Hundred Dresses – I” is the first part of a touching story written by El Bsor Estes. The story revolves around a quiet, poor Polish immigrant girl named Wanda Petronski who attends an American school. Wanda is different from the other children. She has an unusual name that nobody can pronounce correctly, she always wears the same faded blue dress to school, and her feet are usually caked with dried mud because she walks a long distance from Boggins Heights where she lives.
Wanda sits in the last row of Room Thirteen, in the corner where the rough boys who do not perform well in their studies usually sit. She is a very quiet girl who rarely talks and has no close friends in the class. Nobody pays much attention to her except when the girls, led by Peggy, the most popular girl in the class, make fun of her by asking about her dresses.
Wanda always claims that she has a hundred dresses all lined up in her closet. The girls find this claim amusing because she always wears the same faded blue dress every day. Peggy regularly asks Wanda how many dresses she has, and Wanda always gives the same answer – a hundred dresses, all lined up in her closet. She also claims to have sixty pairs of shoes. The girls laugh at her, but Wanda never gets angry or cries. She answers their questions stolidly and with a straight face.
Maddie, Peggy’s best friend, feels uncomfortable about the teasing. Maddie herself is poor and wears hand-me-down clothes given to her by Peggy. She fears that if she speaks up against Peggy, she might become the next target of ridicule. She also fears losing her friendship with Peggy, the most popular girl in school. So, she remains a silent bystander even though she feels it is wrong to tease Wanda.
One day, Peggy and Maddie notice that Wanda has been absent from school. They had been waiting for her to tease her, and when she did not show up on Wednesday, they realized she had been absent since Monday. Nobody else had noticed her absence because Wanda was so quiet and invisible in the class.
Meanwhile, the school holds a drawing and colouring contest. For girls, the contest is about designing dresses, and for boys, it is about designing motorboats. Maddie thinks that Peggy will win the contest because she is the best artist in the class. However, when the results are announced, everyone is surprised. Wanda Petronski wins the girls’ medal. She has submitted one hundred beautiful drawings of dresses, each in a different design and colour. The judges declare that any one of the drawings is worthy of winning the prize. The classroom walls are covered with Wanda’s exquisite drawings, and the children applaud and whistle in admiration. Miss Mason, the teacher, announces the result but also notes that Wanda has been absent from school for some days. The part ends here, leaving the reader in suspense about what will happen next.
Thinking about the Text (Textbook Questions and Answers)
Oral Comprehension Check (Page 65)
Q1. Where in the classroom does Wanda sit and why?
Ans: Wanda sits in the next to the last seat in the last row, in the corner of Room Thirteen. This is the part of the classroom where the rough boys who did not perform well in their studies usually sat. Wanda sat there because her feet were often caked with dried mud from walking to school from Boggins Heights. She was also a quiet and shy girl who preferred to remain isolated rather than mingling with the other children. Nobody really knew the exact reason why she chose to sit there.
Q2. Where does Wanda live? What kind of a place do you think it is?
Ans: Wanda lives up on Boggins Heights. It is not a well-developed or clean area. The place is quite muddy and unkempt, which is evident from the fact that Wanda’s feet are usually caked with dried mud when she arrives at school. It appears to be a place where poor people live, located far away from the school, as Wanda has to walk a considerable distance to reach school every day.
Q3. When and why do Peggy and Maddie notice Wanda’s absence?
Ans: Peggy and Maddie notice Wanda’s absence on Wednesday. They had been waiting for her before school to have fun with her by asking her about her hundred dresses. When Wanda did not show up, they got late for school. It was then that they realized that Wanda had actually been absent since Monday. They noticed her absence only because they missed their daily routine of teasing her. Nobody else in the class had noticed Wanda’s absence because she was such a quiet girl.
Q4. What does “to have fun with her” mean?
Ans: “To have fun with her” means to make fun of Wanda or to laugh at her expense. Peggy and the other girls used to tease Wanda by asking her mocking questions about her hundred dresses. They found it amusing that a girl who wore the same faded blue dress every day claimed to have a hundred dresses in her closet. They would ask her these questions in a polite but mocking tone and then laugh at her answers. This was their way of “having fun with her.”
Oral Comprehension Check (Page 67)
Q5. In what way was Wanda different from the other children?
Ans: Wanda was different from the other children in several ways. Firstly, she had a funny, unusual Polish name that was difficult for the American children to pronounce. Secondly, she was very poor and always wore the same faded blue dress to school that did not hang right, though it was always clean. Thirdly, her feet were usually caked with dried mud because she walked to school from Boggins Heights. Fourthly, she had no friends and always came to school alone. Fifthly, she sat in the last row of the classroom in the corner where the rough boys sat. Despite all this, she claimed to have a hundred dresses all lined up in her closet, which made her even more unusual in the eyes of her classmates.
Q6. Did Wanda have a hundred dresses? Why do you think she said she did?
Ans: No, Wanda did not actually have a hundred dresses. She only had one faded blue dress that she wore to school every day. However, she claimed to have a hundred dresses for several reasons. First, she wanted to hide her poverty and the embarrassment of wearing the same dress daily. She had an inferiority complex about her economic condition and wanted to impress the other girls. Second, she may have been referring to the hundred beautiful drawings of dresses that she had created, which were later displayed during the drawing contest. Her claim of having a hundred dresses was actually her way of expressing her artistic talent and imagination. She had designed a hundred dresses in her drawings, and in her mind, those were her hundred dresses.
Q7. Why is Maddie embarrassed by the questions Peggy asks Wanda? Is she like Wanda, or is she like Peggy?
Ans: Maddie is embarrassed by the questions Peggy asks Wanda because Maddie herself is also a poor girl. She wears hand-me-down clothes, usually the old dresses that Peggy has outgrown, which are altered to fit her. She understands the pain and humiliation that Wanda must feel when being teased about her dresses. She fears that someday Peggy might turn on her and start making fun of her old, altered clothes too. She is neither completely like Wanda nor completely like Peggy. Like Wanda, she is poor and understands the pain of poverty. But like Peggy, she does not have the courage to stop the teasing. She is different from Peggy because she feels guilty about the teasing, and she is different from Wanda because she does not have the courage to stand alone. Maddie is a silent bystander who knows that what is happening is wrong but does not do anything to stop it.
Oral Comprehension Check (Page 70)
Q8. Why didn’t Maddie ask Peggy to stop teasing Wanda?
Ans: Maddie did not ask Peggy to stop teasing Wanda because she was afraid of the consequences. Peggy was the most popular girl in the class, and Maddie feared that if she opposed Peggy, she might lose her friendship. More importantly, Maddie was scared that she herself might become the next target of Peggy’s teasing. Since Maddie was also poor and wore old, hand-me-down clothes, she knew that Peggy could easily make fun of her too. She tried to convince herself that Peggy was not really being cruel and that Peggy could not possibly do anything that was really wrong. So, out of fear and a desire to maintain her social standing, Maddie remained silent.
Q9. Who did Maddie think would win the drawing contest? Why?
Ans: Maddie thought that Peggy would win the drawing contest. She believed this because Peggy was the best artist in the class. Peggy drew better than anyone else in the room, and her drawings were always admired by teachers and classmates alike. No other girl in the class could match Peggy’s artistic talent, or so Maddie thought. Maddie had no idea that Wanda, the quiet girl who sat in the corner, was actually an exceptionally talented artist who would submit a hundred stunning dress designs and win the contest.
Q10. Who won the drawing contest? What had the__(winner) drawn?
Ans: Wanda Petronski won the girls’ drawing and colouring contest, and Jack Beggles won the boys’ contest. Wanda had drawn one hundred beautiful designs of dresses, each in a different style and colour. The drawings were so beautiful and exquisite that the judges declared that any one of her drawings was worthy of winning the prize. The designs were brilliant, colourful, and showed exceptional artistic talent. The classroom walls were covered with her drawings, and all the children applauded and whistled in admiration when the winner was announced. Wanda’s hundred drawings were, in fact, the “hundred dresses” she had always claimed to have.
Thinking about the Text (Page 70)
Q1. How is Wanda seen as different by the other girls? How do they treat her?
Ans: Wanda is seen as different by the other girls because of several reasons. She has an unusual Polish name that the other American children find funny and difficult to pronounce. She is very poor and always wears the same faded blue dress that does not hang right. Her feet are usually covered with dried mud because she walks from Boggins Heights. She is quiet, shy, and has no friends. She sits in the corner of the last row where the rough boys sit. Despite all this, she makes the unbelievable claim of having a hundred dresses all lined up in her closet. The other girls treat her with ridicule and mockery. Led by Peggy, they wait for her before school and ask her mocking questions about her dresses. They laugh at her answers and make her the subject of their daily entertainment. They do not treat her with kindness, respect, or friendship. They see her as an outsider and an easy target for their amusement.
Q2. How does Wanda feel about the dresses game? Why does she say that she has a hundred dresses?
Ans: Wanda feels deeply embarrassed and hurt about the dresses game, though she does not show it outwardly. She answers the questions about her dresses stolidly, without any visible emotion, but internally she must feel humiliated and isolated. She does not cry or get angry, but her quiet demeanour hides her pain. She says that she has a hundred dresses for multiple reasons. First, she wants to cope with the constant humiliation by asserting her self-worth. Second, she may be referring to the hundred dress designs she has drawn, which represent her artistic talent and imagination. Third, she wants to be accepted by the other girls and perhaps hopes that her claim will impress them. Her claim of having a hundred dresses is both a defence mechanism against bullying and an expression of her creative talent, which is later proved when she wins the drawing contest with her hundred dress designs.
Q3. Why does Maddie stand by and not do anything? How is she different from Peggy? (Was Peggy’s teasing really just fun?)
Ans: Maddie stands by and does not do anything because she is afraid. She fears that if she opposes Peggy, she will lose Peggy’s friendship and become the next target of teasing. Maddie is also poor and wears hand-me-down clothes from Peggy, so she is vulnerable to the same kind of mockery. She tries to convince herself that Peggy is the most popular girl in the class and “could not possibly do anything that was really wrong.” However, deep down, Maddie knows that teasing Wanda is wrong, and she feels guilty about it.
Maddie is different from Peggy in several ways. While Peggy actively initiates and leads the teasing, Maddie is a passive bystander who feels uncomfortable. Peggy seems to enjoy the game without guilt, whereas Maddie feels embarrassed and conflicted. Peggy is popular, confident, and well-off, while Maddie is poor, insecure, and dependent on Peggy. Peggy is insensitive to Wanda’s feelings, but Maddie is sensitive because she can relate to Wanda’s poverty.
Peggy’s teasing was not really just fun. Although Peggy did not intend to be cruel and never made Wanda cry, her constant mocking questions about the hundred dresses were a form of bullying. She was taking advantage of Wanda’s poverty and quiet nature for her own entertainment. The fact that Wanda eventually left the school shows that the teasing had a real and painful impact on her.
Q4. What does Miss Mason think of Wanda’s drawings? What do the children think of them? How do you know?
Ans: Miss Mason, the teacher, is deeply impressed by Wanda’s drawings. She announces that in the opinion of the judges, any one of Wanda’s drawings is worthy of winning the prize. She describes the drawings as beautiful and declares Wanda as the winner of the girls’ medal. Miss Mason’s words clearly show her admiration for Wanda’s exceptional artistic talent.
The children are equally impressed by Wanda’s drawings. When the result is announced and the drawings are displayed on the classroom walls, the children burst into applause and whistling. They admire the exquisite designs, the brilliant colours, and the variety of styles in Wanda’s hundred dress drawings. Even Peggy, who was considered the best artist in the class, acknowledges the beauty of Wanda’s work. The enthusiastic reaction of the children – their clapping, whistling, and admiring exclamations – clearly shows that they think very highly of Wanda’s drawings.
Thinking about the Language (Page 71)
I. Relative Clauses
Q1. Fill in the blanks using the appropriate relative clause:
(i) This is the bus that goes to Agra.
(ii) I would like to buy the shirt that/which is in the shop window.
(iii) You must break your fast when you see the
moon.
(iv) Find a word that/which begins with the letter Z.
(v) Find a person whose name begins with the letter Z.
(vi) Go to a place where there are no people whose name begins with the letter Z.
II. Using Adverbs
Q2. Choose the correct adverb from the options given and fill in the blanks:
(i) Surely, she is the most popular girl in the school. (Undoubtedly/Surely/Incredibly)
(ii) Surprisingly, Wanda had won the drawing contest. (Surprisingly/Fortunately/Luckily)
(iii) Hopefully, Maddie would find Wanda and say sorry. (Hopefully/Evidently/Possibly)
(iv) Luckily, the rain stopped before the match. (Luckily/Fortunately/Incredibly)
(v) Evidently, Wanda was a talented artist. (Evidently/Incredibly/Possibly)
Additional Short Answer Questions (2-3 Marks)
Q1. What was strange about Wanda’s name?
Ans: Wanda Petronski had a long and unusual name that sounded funny to the American children. Her name was of Polish origin and was difficult for the other students to pronounce. Nobody in the class had a name like hers, which made her stand out and become a subject of amusement among her classmates.
Q2. Who was Peggy’s best friend? Describe her briefly.
Ans: Maddie (short for Madeline) was Peggy’s best friend. Maddie was a poor girl who wore hand-me-down clothes, mostly the old dresses that Peggy had outgrown. She was a silent and passive girl who did not have the courage to stand up against Peggy’s bullying of Wanda. She felt guilty about the teasing but remained a silent bystander due to fear.
Q3. What kind of dress did Wanda wear to school?
Ans: Wanda always wore a faded blue dress to school. The dress did not hang right and looked as though it had never been ironed properly. However, it was always clean. She wore this same dress every day, which was one of the reasons the other girls made fun of her.
Q4. Where did Wanda Petronski live? Why were her shoes always muddy?
Ans: Wanda Petronski lived up on Boggins Heights, a poor and muddy area far from the school. Her shoes were always muddy because she had to walk a long distance through muddy roads to reach school every day. The area where she lived was not well-developed and was covered with mud.
Q5. Where did Wanda sit in the class? Why did she sit there?
Ans: Wanda usually sat in the next to the last seat, in the last row, in the corner of Room Thirteen. This was the part of the classroom where the rough boys who were not good at their studies sat. She sat there possibly because her feet were often caked with dried mud and she did not want to attract attention. She was also a quiet, shy girl who preferred isolation.
Q6. What was Wanda’s response when girls asked her about her dresses?
Ans: Whenever the girls asked Wanda about her dresses, she would calmly and stolidly reply that she had a hundred dresses, all lined up in her closet. She said this without any visible emotion, neither getting angry nor crying. She also claimed to have sixty pairs of shoes. She answered these questions with a straight face every time, no matter how many times they were asked.
Q7. How many designs did Wanda create for the drawing contest?
Ans: Wanda created one hundred designs of dresses for the drawing contest. Each design was different in style and colour. They were all beautifully drawn and were so exquisite that the judges declared any one of them was worthy of winning the prize. These hundred dress designs were the “hundred dresses” that Wanda had always claimed to have.
Q8. What was the drawing contest about? What were the categories?
Ans: The drawing contest was a colouring and designing competition held in the school. For girls, the contest consisted of designing dresses, and for boys, it consisted of designing motorboats. The students had to submit their drawings, which would be judged by a panel of judges. The winner of the girls’ category was Wanda Petronski, and the winner of the boys’ category was Jack Beggles.
Q9. Why did Maddie feel uncomfortable about the “dresses game”?
Ans: Maddie felt uncomfortable about the “dresses game” because she herself was also a poor girl. She wore hand-me-down clothes from Peggy that were altered to fit her. She understood the humiliation that Wanda must feel because she could relate to poverty. She was also afraid that someday Peggy might turn on her and start making fun of her old, altered clothes. The teasing of Wanda made her feel guilty and anxious about her own situation.
Q10. How did Peggy justify her teasing of Wanda?
Ans: Peggy justified her teasing of Wanda by claiming that she was not being cruel. She pointed out that she never made Wanda cry and that she always asked the questions in a polite voice. Peggy also believed that she was not doing anything wrong because she protected smaller children from bullies and was always the first to speak against cruelty to animals. She felt that asking Wanda about her dresses was just harmless fun, not bullying.
Q11. What was Maddie’s full name? How did she dress?
Ans: Maddie’s full name was Madeline. She was a poor girl who could not afford new clothes. She dressed in hand-me-down clothes, mostly the old dresses that Peggy had outgrown and given to her. These dresses were altered and fixed up to fit Maddie. Although the clothes were decent, they were clearly not new and showed signs of being repaired and adjusted.
Q12. Why did nobody notice Wanda’s absence from school?
Ans: Nobody noticed Wanda’s absence from school because she was a very quiet and inconspicuous girl. She had no friends, did not participate in class activities, and sat in the corner of the last row. She never drew attention to herself and was mostly ignored by the other children. The only ones who noticed her absence were Peggy and Maddie, and that too only because they missed their daily routine of teasing her about her dresses.
Additional Long Answer Questions (5-6 Marks)
Q1. Give a detailed character sketch of Wanda Petronski.
Ans: Wanda Petronski is the central character of the story “The Hundred Dresses – I.” She is a young Polish immigrant girl living in America. She lives with her father and brother on Boggins Heights, a poor and muddy area far from her school.
Appearance: Wanda is a quiet, plain-looking girl who always wears the same faded blue dress to school. The dress is always clean but does not hang right and looks as if it has never been ironed properly. Her feet are usually caked with dried mud because she walks a long distance to school.
Personality: Wanda is extremely quiet, shy, and reserved. She has no close friends in the class and always comes to school alone. She sits in the corner of the last row and rarely speaks unless spoken to. Despite being teased regularly, she never gets angry, cries, or complains. She answers the mocking questions about her dresses calmly and stolidly.
Talent: Wanda possesses exceptional artistic talent. She creates one hundred beautiful drawings of dresses, each in a different design and colour, and wins the school’s drawing and colouring contest. Her talent surprises everyone, including Peggy, who was considered the best artist in the class.
Resilience: Despite facing constant teasing and social isolation, Wanda shows remarkable resilience. She does not break down or become bitter. Instead, she channels her emotions into her art. Her claim of having a hundred dresses is not a lie but a reflection of her creative imagination and inner world.
Wanda represents the suffering of those who are marginalized, bullied, and misunderstood. Her character teaches us that true talent and worth lie within a person, not in their appearance or social status.
Q2. Compare and contrast the characters of Peggy and Maddie.
Ans: Peggy and Maddie are best friends in the story, but they are very different from each other in their personalities, attitudes, and actions.
Peggy is the most popular girl in the class. She is pretty, has curly auburn hair, and wears fashionable clothes. She comes from a well-off family. Peggy is the one who initiates and leads the teasing of Wanda. She asks Wanda mocking questions about her hundred dresses in a polite but sarcastic tone. She does not feel guilty about the teasing because she believes she is not being cruel – she never makes Wanda cry and she always speaks politely. Peggy is also a talented artist and was expected to win the drawing contest. She is confident, popular, and somewhat insensitive to the feelings of others who are different from her.
Maddie, on the other hand, is a poor girl who wears hand-me-down clothes from Peggy. She is Peggy’s closest friend and follower. Unlike Peggy, Maddie feels deeply uncomfortable about the teasing of Wanda. She understands Wanda’s pain because she herself is poor and could be the next target. However, she lacks the courage to speak up against Peggy for fear of losing her friendship and becoming a target herself. Maddie is more sensitive and empathetic than Peggy, but she is also weaker and more dependent.
Similarities: Both are part of the same social group, both participate in the dresses game (Peggy actively and Maddie passively), and both are eventually impressed by Wanda’s artistic talent.
Differences: Peggy is the leader, Maddie is the follower. Peggy is rich, Maddie is poor. Peggy is insensitive, Maddie is sensitive. Peggy feels no guilt, Maddie is tormented by guilt. Peggy is confident, Maddie is insecure.
Together, they represent two types of people involved in bullying – the active bully and the passive bystander. The story shows that both are equally responsible for the harm caused to the victim.
Q3. “The Hundred Dresses – I” is a story about bullying and its effects. Discuss.
Ans: “The Hundred Dresses – I” by El Bsor Estes is indeed a powerful story about bullying and its effects on the victim, the bully, and the bystander.
The Victim – Wanda: Wanda Petronski is the victim of bullying. She is teased daily by her classmates because she is poor, has an unusual name, and wears the same dress every day. The bullying takes the form of mocking questions asked in a polite but sarcastic tone. The effect on Wanda is devastating – she becomes isolated, has no friends, and eventually leaves the school. Her claim of having a hundred dresses is a coping mechanism to deal with the humiliation. However, she channels her pain into her art and creates a hundred beautiful dress designs that win the contest.
The Bully – Peggy: Peggy represents the active bully. She initiates and leads the teasing. She does not consider her actions as bullying because she never makes Wanda cry and speaks politely. This shows how bullying can be subtle and how bullies often do not recognize their own cruelty. Peggy’s behaviour is driven by a sense of superiority and a desire for entertainment at someone else’s expense.
The Bystander – Maddie: Maddie represents the silent bystander who knows that bullying is wrong but does not have the courage to stop it. She is complicit in the bullying because her silence enables it to continue. Her internal conflict shows that bystanders also suffer guilt and anxiety, but their failure to act makes them equally responsible.
The story teaches us that bullying is never “just fun.” It causes real pain and has serious consequences. It also shows that silence in the face of bullying is not innocence – it is complicity. The story urges readers to stand up against bullying and to treat everyone with kindness and respect, regardless of their background or appearance.
Q4. Describe the significance of the drawing contest in the story.
Ans: The drawing contest is one of the most significant events in the story “The Hundred Dresses – I.” It serves as the turning point that reveals the truth behind Wanda’s claim of having a hundred dresses.
The contest requires girls to design dresses and boys to design motorboats. Before the results are announced, everyone, including Maddie, expects Peggy to win because she is considered the best artist in the class. However, when Miss Mason announces the results, everyone is shocked to learn that Wanda Petronski has won the contest by submitting one hundred beautiful drawings of dresses.
The significance of the contest lies in several aspects. First, it reveals that Wanda’s claim of having a hundred dresses was not entirely a lie. She did have a hundred dresses – not real ones, but beautifully drawn designs that showed her exceptional artistic talent. Her “hundred dresses” existed in her imagination and on paper. Second, the contest proves that Wanda was not just a poor, quiet girl to be laughed at. She was actually more talented than anyone else in the class, including the popular Peggy. Third, the contest changes the way the children see Wanda. Instead of mocking her, they now admire and applaud her talent. Fourth, the contest makes Peggy and Maddie realize the injustice of their behaviour. They had been making fun of a girl who was actually superior to them in talent. Fifth, the contest symbolizes the idea that true worth is not measured by wealth, appearance, or popularity, but by talent, creativity, and character.
Q5. What role does Miss Mason play in the story?
Ans: Miss Mason is the teacher of Room Thirteen where Wanda, Peggy, and Maddie study. Although she does not play a very prominent role in Part I of the story, her presence is significant. She is the one who announces the results of the drawing and colouring contest. She declares that in the opinion of the judges, any one of Wanda’s drawings is worthy of winning the prize, and she names Wanda Petronski as the winner of the girls’ medal. She also notes that Wanda has been absent from school for some days. Through her announcement, Miss Mason brings Wanda’s extraordinary talent to light and makes the entire class recognize the value and beauty of Wanda’s work. Her appreciation of Wanda’s drawings shows that she is a fair and just teacher who judges students on the basis of their talent and not their background. Miss Mason represents the voice of authority and fairness in the story.
Extract-Based Questions (with Answers)
Extract 1
“Today, Monday, Wanda Petronski was not in her seat. But nobody, not even Peggy and Maddie, the girls who started all the fun, noticed her absence.”
Q(a). Where did Wanda usually sit?
Ans: Wanda usually sat in the next to the last seat, in the last row, in the corner of Room Thirteen.
Q(b). Who were Peggy and Maddie?
Ans: Peggy and Maddie were two best friends in Wanda’s class. They were the girls who started all the fun by teasing Wanda about her hundred dresses.
Q(c). What kind of “fun” did Peggy and Maddie have with Wanda?
Ans: Peggy and Maddie used to tease Wanda by asking her mocking questions about her hundred dresses. They would ask her how many dresses she had, and when Wanda replied with “a hundred,” they would laugh at her because she always wore the same faded blue dress.
Q(d). Why did nobody notice Wanda’s absence?
Ans: Nobody noticed Wanda’s absence because she was a very quiet and inconspicuous girl who had no friends and never drew attention to herself. She sat in the corner and was largely ignored by the class.
Extract 2
“She always wore a faded blue dress that didn’t hang right. It was clean, but it looked as though it had never been ironed properly. She didn’t have any friends, but a lot of girls talked to her.”
Q(a). Who is ‘she’ referred to in the extract?
Ans: ‘She’ refers to Wanda Petronski, the quiet Polish immigrant girl who is the central character of the story.
Q(b). What kind of dress did she wear?
Ans: She always wore a faded blue dress that did not hang right. It was clean but looked as though it had never been ironed properly.
Q(c). Why did a lot of girls talk to her even though she had no friends?
Ans: A lot of girls talked to Wanda not out of friendship but to have fun with her. They enjoyed asking her mocking questions about her hundred dresses and laughing at her answers. Their conversations with her were a form of teasing, not genuine friendship.
Q(d). What does this extract tell us about Wanda’s economic condition?
Ans: This extract tells us that Wanda was very poor. She could afford only one dress, which was old, faded, and not properly maintained. Her poverty is further highlighted by the fact that despite wearing the same dress every day, she had no friends and was socially isolated.
Extract 3
“Sometimes, when Peggy was asking Wanda those questions in that mocking polite voice, Maddie felt embarrassed and studied the marbles in the palm of her hand, rolling them around and saying nothing herself.”
Q(a). What questions did Peggy ask Wanda?
Ans: Peggy used to ask Wanda mocking questions about her dresses. She would ask her how many dresses she had in her closet, what colour they were, and whether they were all silk or velvet. These questions were designed to humiliate Wanda.
Q(b). Why did Maddie feel embarrassed?
Ans: Maddie felt embarrassed because she herself was also a poor girl who wore hand-me-down clothes from Peggy. She understood Wanda’s pain and feared that she could become the next target of such teasing. The situation made her feel guilty and uncomfortable.
Q(c). What does “mocking polite voice” suggest about Peggy’s behaviour?
Ans: “Mocking polite voice” suggests that Peggy’s politeness was not genuine. She pretended to be polite while actually making fun of Wanda. This shows that Peggy’s bullying was subtle and calculated – she used a polite tone to disguise her cruelty, making it harder for anyone to accuse her of being mean.
Q(d). Why did Maddie say nothing herself?
Ans: Maddie said nothing because she was afraid. She feared that if she spoke up against Peggy, she would lose her friendship and become the next target. She chose to remain silent and look away, even though she felt it was wrong to tease Wanda.
Extract 4
“Thinking about Wanda and her hundred dresses all lined up in the closet, Maddie began to wonder who was going to win the drawing and colouring contest.”
Q(a). What was the drawing and colouring contest about?
Ans: The drawing and colouring contest required girls to design dresses and boys to design motorboats. The best designs would be judged and winners would receive medals.
Q(b). Who did Maddie think would win the contest?
Ans: Maddie thought that Peggy would win the contest because she was considered the best artist in the class. No other girl could draw as well as Peggy, or so Maddie believed.
Q(c). Why does Maddie think of Wanda’s hundred dresses?
Ans: Maddie thinks of Wanda’s hundred dresses because the contest is about designing dresses. The thought of dresses naturally reminds her of Wanda’s claim of having a hundred dresses. This connection is ironic because Wanda’s “hundred dresses” turn out to be the winning entries in the contest.
Q(d). Who actually won the contest?
Ans: Wanda Petronski actually won the girls’ drawing and colouring contest by submitting one hundred beautiful drawings of dresses, each in a different design and colour.
Extract 5
“In the opinion of the judges, any one of the drawings is worthy of winning the prize. I am very happy to say that Wanda Petronski is the winner of the girls’ medal. Unfortunately, Wanda has been absent from school for some days.”
Q(a). Who is the speaker of these lines?
Ans: Miss Mason, the teacher of Room Thirteen, is the speaker of these lines.
Q(b). What did the judges think of Wanda’s drawings?
Ans: The judges thought that Wanda’s drawings were exceptionally beautiful. They felt that any one of her hundred drawings was worthy of winning the prize. This shows the outstanding quality and beauty of Wanda’s artistic work.
Q(c). Why was Wanda absent from school?
Ans: Though the exact reason is not mentioned in Part I, Wanda had been absent from school for several days. It is suggested that the constant teasing and bullying she faced from her classmates may have been a reason for her absence.
Q(d). What is the irony in Wanda winning the contest?
Ans: The irony is that the girl who was constantly mocked for claiming to have a hundred dresses proved that she actually did have a hundred dresses – in the form of beautiful drawings. The very thing the girls laughed at turned out to be her greatest talent. The girls who ridiculed her were now forced to admire her work.
Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
Q1. Who is the author of “The Hundred Dresses”?
(a) Liam O’ Flaherty
(b) Frederick Forsyth
(c) Roald Dahl
(d) El Bsor Estes
Ans: (d) El Bsor Estes
Q2. The two best friends in the story were:
(a) Peggy and Maddie
(b) Wanda and Peggy
(c) Maddie and Wanda
(d) Willie and Wanda
Ans: (a) Peggy and Maddie
Q3. Where did Wanda sit in the classroom?
(a) In the end corner of the last row
(b) In the middle of the room
(c) In the front row
(d) Near the teacher’s desk
Ans: (a) In the end corner of the last row
Q4. What was the number of Wanda’s classroom?
(a) Room Fifteen
(b) Room Thirteen
(c) Room Twelve
(d) Room Eleven
Ans: (b) Room Thirteen
Q5. Who was the most popular girl in the school?
(a) Wanda
(b) Maddie
(c) Peggy
(d) Miss Mason
Ans: (c) Peggy
Q6. Why did the classmates wait for Wanda before school?
(a) Because they liked her
(b) To make fun of her
(c) Because they cared about her
(d) To walk to school together
Ans: (b) To make fun of her
Q7. What kind of dress did Wanda always wear?
(a) A bright red dress
(b) A new dress every day
(c) A faded blue dress
(d) A green silk dress
Ans: (c) A faded blue dress
Q8. Which of the following is true about Wanda’s dress?
(a) It was faded blue
(b) It was not ironed properly
(c) It was clean
(d) All of the above
Ans: (d) All of the above
Q9. How many shoes did Wanda claim to have?
(a) 50 pairs
(b) 100 pairs
(c) 10 pairs
(d) 60 pairs
Ans: (d) 60 pairs
Q10. Why did Maddie feel embarrassed when Peggy teased Wanda?
(a) Because she cared about Wanda
(b) Because Peggy was too harsh
(c) Because she feared being the next target
(d) All of the above
Ans: (d) All of the above
Q11. What was Maddie’s full name?
(a) Madgeline
(b) Madeline
(c) Maddeline
(d) Madison
Ans: (b) Madeline
Q12. Where did Wanda Petronski live?
(a) Baker Street
(b) Boggins Heights
(c) Oliver Street
(d) Downtown
Ans: (b) Boggins Heights
Q13. What was the drawing contest about for girls?
(a) Designing motorboats
(b) Designing dresses
(c) Designing sceneries
(d) Designing houses
Ans: (b) Designing dresses
Q14. What was the drawing contest about for boys?
(a) Designing dresses
(b) Designing motorboats
(c) Designing cars
(d) Designing aeroplanes
Ans: (b) Designing motorboats
Q15. Who did Maddie think would win the drawing contest?
(a) Wanda
(b) Maddie herself
(c) Peggy
(d) Miss Mason
Ans: (c) Peggy
Q16. Who actually won the girls’ drawing contest?
(a) Peggy
(b) Wanda Petronski
(c) Maddie
(d) None of the above
Ans: (b) Wanda Petronski
Q17. How many drawings did Wanda submit for the contest?
(a) 10
(b) 50
(c) 100
(d) 150
Ans: (c) 100
Q18. Who won the boys’ drawing contest?
(a) Tommy
(b) Jack Beggles
(c) Willie Bounce
(d) None of the above
Ans: (b) Jack Beggles
Q19. What is the meaning of the word “stolidly”?
(a) Angrily
(b) Sadly
(c) Calmly, with little visible emotion
(d) Happily
Ans: (c) Calmly, with little visible emotion
Q20. What is the meaning of the word “exquisite”?
(a) Ugly
(b) Ordinary
(c) Extremely beautiful and well-made
(d) Expensive
Ans: (c) Extremely beautiful and well-made
Q21. What is Wanda’s full name?
(a) Wanda Polenski
(b) Wanda Petronski
(c) Wanda Patrick
(d) Wanda Peterson
Ans: (b) Wanda Petronski
Q22. How many dresses did Wanda claim to have?
(a) 50
(b) 60
(c) 100
(d) 200
Ans: (c) 100
Q23. Why did Maddie not write a letter to Peggy to stop teasing Wanda?
(a) She feared becoming the next target
(b) She thought Peggy was right
(c) She did not care about Wanda
(d) She believed Wanda deserved it
Ans: (a) She feared becoming the next target
Q24. Which evidence shows that Peggy was not intentionally cruel?
(a) She protected small children from bullies
(b) She opposed cruelty to animals
(c) She never made Wanda cry
(d) All of the above
Ans: (d) All of the above
Q25. What is the meaning of the word “incredulously”?
(a) Happily
(b) Showing unwillingness to believe
(c) Eagerly
(d) Sadly
Ans: (b) Showing unwillingness to believe
Character Sketches
1. Character Sketch of Wanda Petronski
Wanda Petronski is the protagonist of the story “The Hundred Dresses – I.” She is a young Polish immigrant girl who lives with her father and brother on Boggins Heights, a poor and muddy area. She attends school in Room Thirteen where she sits in the last row, in the corner, away from the other children.
Physical Appearance: Wanda always wears the same faded blue dress to school. The dress is clean but does not hang right and looks as though it has never been ironed properly. Her feet are usually caked with dried mud from walking to school through muddy roads.
Personality Traits: Wanda is extremely quiet, shy, and reserved. She does not have any friends and always comes to school alone. She rarely speaks and never participates in the conversations of the other girls. When teased, she does not get angry or cry. She answers stolidly and with a straight face. She is a girl of remarkable patience and inner strength.
Artistic Talent: Despite her quiet exterior, Wanda possesses extraordinary artistic talent. She creates one hundred beautiful drawings of dresses, each in a different design and colour, and wins the school’s drawing contest. Her talent surprises and impresses everyone, including the teachers and judges.
Resilience and Dignity: Wanda endures daily teasing and mockery with dignity and grace. She never stoops to the level of her tormentors and never complains. Instead, she channels her emotions into her art. Her claim of having a hundred dresses reflects both her desire to be accepted and her creative imagination.
Wanda represents the countless children who are bullied and marginalized because of their poverty, background, or appearance. Her character teaches us that true worth lies in talent and character, not in material possessions or social status.
2. Character Sketch of Peggy
Peggy is the most popular girl in Room Thirteen. She is pretty, has curly auburn hair, and always wears fashionable clothes. She comes from a well-off family and is considered the best artist in the class.
Personality: Peggy is confident, popular, and socially dominant. She is the leader of her group and the one who initiates the “dresses game” with Wanda. She regularly asks Wanda mocking questions about her hundred dresses in a polite but sarcastic tone.
The Bully: Peggy represents the active bully in the story. She does not consider her behaviour as bullying. She justifies her actions by saying that she never makes Wanda cry, that she speaks politely, and that she protects smaller children and animals. However, her consistent mocking of Wanda is a form of subtle bullying that causes real harm.
Insensitivity: Peggy is insensitive to Wanda’s feelings. She does not understand or care about the pain her teasing causes. She finds it amusing that Wanda claims to have a hundred dresses while wearing the same faded blue dress every day. Her inability to see beyond appearances and social status makes her a flawed character.
Talent: Peggy is a talented artist, but her talent is overshadowed by Wanda’s extraordinary abilities. When Wanda wins the drawing contest, Peggy acknowledges the beauty of Wanda’s work, showing that she can appreciate talent even in someone she has bullied.
Peggy’s character reminds us that even well-meaning people can be bullies without realizing it. Her story teaches the importance of empathy, sensitivity, and treating everyone with respect regardless of their background.
3. Character Sketch of Maddie
Maddie (full name Madeline) is Peggy’s best friend and an important character in the story. She plays the role of the silent bystander who witnesses bullying but does not have the courage to stop it.
Economic Background: Maddie is a poor girl who cannot afford new clothes. She wears hand-me-down dresses that Peggy has outgrown, which are altered and fixed up to fit her. Her economic condition is similar to Wanda’s, though perhaps not as severe.
Internal Conflict: Maddie’s character is defined by her internal conflict. She knows that teasing Wanda is wrong and she feels embarrassed and guilty about it. However, she does not have the courage to speak up against Peggy. She fears losing Peggy’s friendship and becoming the next target of teasing. This conflict between her conscience and her fear makes her a complex and relatable character.
Empathy: Unlike Peggy, Maddie can understand Wanda’s pain because she herself is poor. When Peggy asks Wanda mocking questions, Maddie looks away and studies the marbles in her hand. She is uncomfortable and anxious, but she remains silent.
Passivity: Maddie’s greatest flaw is her passivity. She wants to do the right thing but lacks the courage to act. She once thinks of writing a letter to Peggy asking her to stop teasing Wanda but never actually writes it. She convinces herself that Peggy is not really being cruel, even though she knows better.
Maddie’s character teaches us that silence in the face of bullying is not innocence – it is complicity. Being a bystander who does nothing is almost as harmful as being the bully. Her story urges us to find the courage to stand up for what is right, even when it is difficult.
Important Word Meanings
1. Scuffling – Making a noisy, dragging movement of the feet on the ground.
2. Incredulously – Showing an unwillingness or inability to believe something.
3. Stolidly – In a calm manner with little visible emotion or animation.
4. Lavish – Gorgeously rich, elaborate, or luxurious.
5. Exquisite – Extremely beautiful and delicately made.
6. Reckon – To be of the opinion; to think.
7. Appreciative – Feeling or showing gratitude or admiration.
8. Drizzle – Light rain falling in very fine drops.
9. Faded – Having lost its brightness or colour over time.
10. Trimmings – Decorative additions or embellishments on clothing.
11. Disgusted – Feeling strong disapproval or dislike.
12. Lined up – Arranged in a row or line.
13. Nudge – A light push or touch to get someone’s attention.
14. Courteous – Polite and respectful in manner.
15. Bulldog jaw – A determined, stubborn expression on the face.
Conclusion
“The Hundred Dresses – I” is a deeply moving story that addresses the themes of bullying, social exclusion, poverty, empathy, and the power of art. Through the characters of Wanda, Peggy, and Maddie, the story explores how bullying affects not just the victim but also the bully and the bystander. It teaches important lessons about treating everyone with kindness and respect, the courage to stand up for what is right, and the idea that a person’s true worth is determined by their character and talent, not by their appearance or material possessions. This chapter is essential reading for Class 10 students preparing for the HSLC examination under the ASSEB board.
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