Chapter 5 The Hundred Dresses–I Solutions
Question - 1 : - Where in the classroom does Wanda sit and why?
Answer - 1 : - Wanda Petronski used to sit in the seat next to the last seat in the last row in Room Thirteen. She sat in the corner of the room where the rough boys who did not make good marks sat. She was a poor and shy girl and she sat at that place because her feet were usually caked with dry mud. She did not want to be laughed at for her appearance by others so she preferred to sit alone in the corner.
Question - 2 : - Where does Wanda live? What kind of a place do you think it is?
Answer - 2 : -
Wanda used to live inBoggins Heights. That place was very far away from her school and it was muddyall around which indicated that there were no proper roads on that place andusually the poor people lived there.
Question - 3 : - When and why do Peggy and Maddie notice Wanda’s absence?
Answer - 3 : - Wanda was absent from school on Monday and Tuesday, but nobody noticed her absence as she had no friends in the class. Peggy and Maddie noticed Wanda’s absence on Wednesday as they were waiting to make fun of her after the school hours. They waited for a long time, but she was nowhere to be seen.
Question - 4 : - What do you think “to have fun with her” means?
Answer - 4 : - “To have fun with her” means to ridicule her or make fun of Wanda’s imperfections. She was a shy and quiet girl and her classmates would often taunt her for her name and appearance. She was a source of amusement for them as she had claimed that she had a hundred dresses and sixty pairs of shoes in her closet.
Question - 5 : - In what way was Wanda different from the other children?
Answer - 5 : -
Wanda Petronski was a Polish girl whose parents had shifted to America from Poland. She was a source of amusement because of her name which her classmates had never heard before and they found it difficult to pronounce as Americans did not have such names. Hence, she was treated differently by her classmates.
She came to school all by herself and her feet were always caked with mud. She had no friends in the class. She preferred to sit in isolation as she feared of being ridiculed by others. She had only one blue faded dress but she claimed of having a hundred dresses and sixty pairs of shoes when asked by Peggy and Maddie. These are some of the reasons which sets her apart from other children.
Question - 6 : - Did Wanda have a hundred dresses? Why do you think she said she did?
Answer - 6 : -
Wanda was teased every single day by her classmates after school hours. She used to wear a blue faded dress to school regularly. They used to make fun of her dress, appearance and her name. Hearing all the teasing and taunting every day, she got fed up and claimed of having a hundred dresses and sixty pairs of shoes in her closet, but nobody believed her.
Generally speaking, Wanda was a strong and determined girl for whom the number of dresses were not the main concern, but the inner talent that mattered the most.
Question - 7 : - Why is Maddie embarrassed by the questions Peggy asks Wanda? Is she also like Wanda, or is she different?
Answer - 7 : - Maddie was embarrassed by the questions Peggy asked Wanda because she was poor herself and empathized with Wanda’s mental condition. She also wore somebody else’s clothes that were handed down to her. She came from a poor family too and understood Wanda’s state of mind. She could feel for Wanda but was not sorry for Wanda for the hundred dresses claimed by her. Meanwhile, she also wished Peggy would stop teasing Wanda for her looks and name.
Question - 8 : - Why didn’t Maddie ask Peggie to stop teasing Wanda? What was she afraid of?
Answer - 8 : - Maddie didn’t ask Peggy to stop teasing Wanda because Peggy was her best friend and the most popular girl in the school. Maddie thought that Peggy was a nice girl but she treated Wanda differently, otherwise she had a helpful nature. Although she wanted Peggy to stop teasing Wanda, she didn’t ask her to do so as she feared that if she objected, she would be Peggy’s next target of mockery.
Question - 9 : - Who did Maddie think would win the drawing contest? Why?
Answer - 9 : - Maddie always had a strong belief that Peggy would win the drawing contest as she was good in drawing and she was loved by everyone in school. She was well-known and had a good impression on her teachers and classmates. She was so good at drawing that she could copy a picture in a magazine or draw any celebrity’s face easily. Considering all this, Maddie felt that Peggy definitely had very good chances of winning the drawing and colouring contest among girls.
Question - 10 : - Who won the drawing contest? What had the winner drawn?
Answer - 10 : - Among the boys, Jack Beggles won the contest for his design for an outboard motor that was on exhibition in Room Twelve. Among the girls, Wanda Petronski won the drawing contest by drawing hundred sketches of beautiful dresses which were all very colourful and beautiful. Miss Mason mentioned that each of them was capable to win the contest individually. Wanda had drawn all the hundred dresses which she had claimed to have had when asked by her classmates. Everybody was awestruck and impressed at her talent and applauded her.