The Hundred Dresses II

El Bsor Ester (1906-1988)

The Hundred Dresses II

‘The Hundred Dresses-II’ is a sensitive account of how a poor, immigrant young girl is judged by her classmates. Wanda Petronski is a young Polish girl who goes to school with other American children in an American town. Other children of her school see Wanda as ‘different’ in several ways.  

About the author:

El Bsor Ester (1906-1988) was an American author and librarian famous for children's books. She also created illustrations for this book. Her books, ‘The Middle Moffat’, ‘Rufus M.’, and ‘The Hundred Dresses’ were Newbery Honor Winners. She was awarded the Certificate of Award for Outstanding Contribution to Children’s Literature from the New York Association for Supervision of Curriculum Development in 1968.

Summary

All the students of Room no. 13 are looking at the wonderful drawings done by Wanda Petronski. Miss Mason receives a note from Wanda’s father. He informs that his two children, Wanda and Jake will not attend the school.  They are moving to a big city. No one would judge them for their names there. Miss Mason is shocked and expressed her sadness to the class. Maddie is disturbed by the letter. She wants to say sorry to Wanda. Both the best friends, Peggy and Maddie hope to meet Wanda at her Boggins Heights home before she leaves. But sadly, there is no one in the house.  Maddie thinks herself to be a coward as she couldn’t stand against the wrong. That day she thinks seriously and decides not to let anyone tease someone again. Peggy and Maddie decide to write a letter to Wanda. At first they want to write an apology letter. Finally, they write a friendly letter. They ask her how she likes the new place. They do not get any reply for weeks. One day near Christmas, Miss Mason gets a letter from Wanda. Wanda writes that she misses everyone in room no 13. She gifts one dress each to Maddie and Peggy. Wanda tells them that she has a new lot of hundred dresses lined up in her new house. Maddie and Peggy are happy to receive the gifts. They realize that Wanda has drawn their faces along the dresses. Thus, they both conclude that Wanda likes them.

Questions and Answers

Q1. What did Mr Petronski’s letter say?

A. Mr Petronski’s letter informs Miss Mason that his daughter Wanda and son Jake are not going to attend the school anymore. He says in the letter that they are moving to a big city, where no one will make fun of their strange name, no one will address them as “Pollack”. There will be many people with weird names there and no one will ask them why they have a funny name.

Q2. Is Miss Mason angry with the class, or is she unhappy and upset?

A. No. Miss Mason is not angry with the class. She is upset and unhappy after reading Mr Petronski’s letter. Her students have treated someone badly because they come from a different place and they have an unusual name. Even though she is unhappy and sad, she gives the children of room no.13 the benefit of doubt saying, ‘whatever happened must have happened in thoughtlessness’.

Q3. How does Maddie feel after listening to the note from Wanda’s father?

A. Maddie id sad and feels very bad after listening to the note from Wanda’s father. She feels like a coward for not standing up against other girls who are teasing Wanda. She thinks about how they made Wanda feel and hopes for a chance to make amends.

Q4. What does Maddie want to do?

A. Maddie is sad. She wants to make everything right with Wanda. She hopes for one last chance to make amends and say sorry to her.

Q5. What excuses does Peggy think up for her behaviour? Why?

A. Peggy knows that her behaviour with Wanda is bad. She is unable to make amends as Wanda has moved to another city. She is troubled by guilt. She says that she never called Wanda a foreigner and made fun of Wanda’s name. She is convinced that Wanda is too dumb to understand that they are making fun of her.

Q6. What are Maddie’s thoughts as they go to Boggins Heights?

A. Maddie hopes to find Wanda and make amends with her. She wishes that the Petronski family hasn’t left the town. She wants to say sorry to Wanda and stop her from moving. She wants to assure her that everyone will be nice. She also wants to tell her that everyone at the school thinks that Wanda is a wonderful girl.

Q7. Why does Wanda’s house remind Maddie of Wanda’s blue dress?

A. Wanda’s house is a small house up on Boggins Heights. There is dry grass all around it. There is no sign of life in or around the house. The surroundings looked shabby but clean. Maddie remembers Wanda’s faded blue dress that is clean but shabby.

Q8. What does Maddie think hard about? What important decision does she come to?

A. Maddie cannot stop thinking about never being able to say sorry to Wanda. She cannot sleep and thinks deeply. After hard thinking, she comes to a conclusion that she will never let anyone tease someone because they have an unfamiliar and long name. She decided to stand against all the wrongs.

Q9. What did the girls write to Wanda?

A. Peggy and Maddie decide to write an apology letter to Wanda. But, they end up writing a friendly note telling her that she is the winner of the contest. They ask her how is she likes the new place and they tell her that they miss her a lot.

Q10. Did they get a reply? Who was more anxious for a reply, Peggy or Maddie? How do you know?

A. No, they didn’t get a reply. The letter wasn’t returned also. They concluded that Wanda must have received it. She might be too angry with them to reply to it. Out of the two girls, Maddie was more eager for a reply. She wanted to make everything right with Wanda. This is evident as weeks after sending the letter, Peggy almost forgot about the business while Maddie imagined scenes in which she would defend Wanda from bullying, mean girls.

Q11. How did the girls know that Wanda liked them even though they had teased her?

A. During Christmas time, Miss Mason received a letter from Wanda saying how much she missed everyone in room no. 13.  She asked the teacher to give the drawing of the blue dress to Maddie and the green dress to Peggy as her gifts. This makes clear that Wanda liked them even though they teased her. 

Q12. Why do you think Wanda’s family moved to a different city? Do you think life there was going to be different for their family?

A. Wanda’s family moved to a different city because in a big city there would be many other Polish immigrants. The natives would not find Wanda’s family strange. They would not make fun of them. Wanda and her brother Jake could attend school without feeling bad. Yes, life in the big city would be different for the family because their community would have more people. They would feel comfortable there.

Q13. Maddie thought her silence was as bad as Peggy’s teasing. Was she right?

A. Maddie was right when she realized that remaining silent while Peggy teased Wanda was a mistake. Yes. She was right. She too was a part of the bad deed because she remained silent and let Peggy tease Wanda.

Q14. Peggy says, “I never thought she had the sense to know we were making fun of her anyway. I thought she was too dumb. And gee, look how she can draw!” What led Peggy to believe that Wanda was dumb? Did she change her opinion later?

A. Peggy is a rich and popular girl in room no 13. She has a low opinion on Wanda. Wanda’s calmness and indifference to her teasing lead her to believe that Wanda is too dumb to understand that the girls are making fun of her. Yes. She changes her opinion later and realizes that Wanda is a talented girl.

Q15. What important decision did Maddie make? Why did she have to think hard to do so?

A. When they learned that the Petronski’s had finally moved away, Maddie couldn’t stop thinking about never being able to say sorry. She couldn’t sleep that night as she was thinking too deeply. As a result of deep thinking, she came to a conclusion that she will never let anyone tease someone because they have an unfamiliar and long name. She decided to stand against all the wrongs.

Q16. Why do you think Wanda gave Maddie and Peggy the drawings of the dresses? Why are they surprised?

A. Wanda gifted the drawings of the dresses to Maddie and Peggy. Both the girls were surprised as the drawings had their faces on them. The girls realized that Wanda had the intention to gift these drawings even before winning the contest. This clearly indicates that Wanda liked them although they teased her.

Q17. Do you think Wanda really thought the girls were teasing her? Why or Why not?

A. Yes, I think that Wanda knows all about teasing. Wanda was aware that the girls were teasing her. The note from her father clearly indicated that the students made fun of her name.

The theme of the story

 ‘A Hundred Dresses’ tells us about racial discrimination. Racial discrimination is prevalent in many societies. The story brings to light the sorrowful state of poor children who are victims of bullying and teasing. Underprivileged children are being treated differently. In this story, the central character, Wanda Petronski becomes an object of fun for the other girls. Wanda’s name is different and funny. She is poor and she is not like the other girls. She always wears a faded blue cotton dress which is shabby but clean. Other children believe that Wanda is boasting about possessing a hundred dresses. They do not know that she was a great artist and could indeed design a hundred different dresses. The story drives home the message that it is not correct to be judgmental about anyone without actually knowing them. 

Character Sketches

Wanda Petronski

Wanda Petronski doesn’t appear in person in the story. However, a lot has been told about her by means of other characters. Wanda Petronski is a Polish girl. She has migrated to America with her family. Because of her origin and her long, funny name, the American students of her school find her different.

Wanda appears to be a very calm and introvert girl. She always takes a seat in a far corner of room no.13, her classroom. She never responds to the teasing of the other girls about the hundred dresses she claims to have. By the end of the story, Wanda comes across as a very humble and forgiving girl. She writes a letter to Miss Mason saying that she missed all the students of room no.13. Moreover, she gifts the drawings of the dresses to the girls. Her liking for Peggy and Maddie is evident in her action as she has drawn their faces in the dress designs gifted for them.

Peggy

Peggy is one of the classmates of Wanda. She is not like Wanda. She is the exact opposite of Wanda. She is an easy-going girl whereas Wanda is an introvert. She is a native of America. Unlike Maddie, Peggy belongs to a wealthy family. She is a pretty girl and she sports curly hair. She is a popular girl in the school. She always sits in the front benches of the class along with her best friend Maddie and other children who get good marks. 

She wants to have fun with Wanda as she has a long and funny name. She teases Wanda as Wanda tells her about the hundred dresses. When she comes to know that Wanda indeed possesses a hundred dresses she realizes her mistake. With her best friend Maddie, Peggy tries to meet Wanda. She agreed with Maddie to make amends with Wanda. Peggy even acknowledges Wanda as a better artist than herself.

Maddie

Maddie or Madeline is Peggy’s best friend and a classmate of Wanda. She is a very sensitive girl. Unlike her friend Peggy, she is not rich. Though she is one of the girls who teased Wanda, she is not comfortable with it. Maddie comes from a poor family. So, she understands Wanda’s plight. But peer pressure dominates her. She often feels guilty for making fun of Wanda.

She is unable to decide whether to encourage Peggy in teasing or to support Wanda. She keeps thinking of Wanda even after Wanda’s moving out of the city. She feels like a coward as she doesn’t stop the girls making fun of Wanda. She realizes her mistake and takes a firm decision to stand up for anyone who is bullied and to never make anyone unhappy. She is happy to receive Wanda’s gift of drawing. She is the one who recognizes their faces on the dress drawings. She knows that Wanda has forgiven them.