THE HUNDRED DRESSES- II
Summary
The lesson begins with a letter received from Wanda’s father informing the school about their moving to a big city where nobody would tease Wanda for her funny name as well her appearance. After getting familiar with the content of the letter through the teacher the whole class got stunned and realized their derogatory remarks and attitude towards Wanda.
Maddie felt so bad that she couldn’t concentrate on her studies after knowing the facts. She wanted to meet Wanda in person to clarify her stand that she never meant to hurt her feelings. When the school was over Maddie and Peggy both went to the residence of Wanda at Boggins Height to meet her but by that time they had already left so their visit was fruitless.
Then they wrote a friendly letter to Wanda telling her she had won the contest but the letter was not responded by Wanda. On Christmas Miss Masion their teacher received a letter from Wanda informing that she was no more in need of those hundred dresses as she had new hundred dresses in her new house hence those should be gifted to the girls especially blue one to Maddie and green one to Peggy.
They accepted and pinned them in their bedrooms .There Maddie gazed for a long time at the picture and found that the face in the drawing was resembling to her own. Then she ran to Peggy’s house to see her drawing also. Peggy was also happy to find same in the drawing. Peggy consoled herself saying that Wanda really liked them. Maddie agreed and blinked away the tears which came every time she thought of Wanda Petronski.
Question & Answers
What did Mr Petronski’s letter say?
Mr Pertronski’s letter said that Wanda would not come to school anymore as they were shifting to another city. He also said that there, nobody would ask them why they had funny names because there were plenty of funny names in the city.
Is Miss Mason angry with the class, or is she unhappy and upset?
Yes, Miss Mason was unhappy and upset on hearing about the ill treatment to Wanda by the students of her class. She didn't approve of the humiliation of a student ,just because of her name, dress and locality of residence .
How does Maddie feel after listening to the note from Wanda’s father?
After listening to the note from Wanda’s father, Maddie had a sick and guilty feeling in her stomach. She could not concentrate on her studies. She had not enjoyed listening to Peggy ask Wanda how many dresses she had in her closet.
What does Maddie want to do?
Maddie wanted to tell Wanda that she had no intention to hurt her feelings.
What excuse does Peggy think up for her behaviour? Why?
Peggy’s excuse for her behaviour is that she never called Wanda a foreigner or made fun of her name. She also said that she never thought Wanda is clever enough to know that they were making fun of her. She realised her mistake, of thinking that Wanda was not bright enough to understand her insult, in the end.
What are Maddie’s thoughts as they go to Boggins Heights?
Maddie is feeling bad about Wanda and herself. She is feeling very sad for not even getting a chance to say sorry to Wanda.
Why does Wanda’s house remind Maddie of Wanda’s blue dress?
Wanda’s blue dress was old, faded but used to be neat and clean. Similarly her house too was small and unkempt but clean. So ,it reminded Maddie of Wanda’s blue dress
What does Maddie think hard about? What important decision does she come to?
Maddie decided once and for all that she will not let such a thing to happen to any one else. She makes a vow that she would protest if anybody misbehaves with anyone in her class. She won’t be a mute spectator the way she did in the case of Wanda. In a way the episode of Wanda’s family leaving that city changed her thinking and behaviour.
What did the girls write to Wanda?
The girls wrote a friendly letter to Wanda telling her that she had won the competition. They also wrote how pretty her drawings were. They asked her if she liked the place where she was living and about her teacher. They wanted to say that they were sorry but did not mention it in the letter. However, they ended up with just writing a friendly letter. They signed it with lots of X’s for love.
Did they get a reply? Who was more anxious for a reply, Peggy or Maddie? How do you know?
No, they did not get a reply. Maddie was more anxious for a reply as she thought a lot about it. She would think about the incident before going to sleep and dream about making speeches about Wanda and defending her from great crowds of girls who were trying to tease her. Before Wanda could press her lips together in a tight line to suppress her discomfort, which she did before answering, Maddie would cry out and ask everybody to stop, and then, everybody would be ashamed for hurting the feelings of Wanda .
Peggy, on the other hand, had begun to forget about the whole affair. This shows that Maddie was more anxious for a reply than Peggy.
How did the girls know that Wanda liked them even though they had teased her?
The girls came to know that Wanda liked them even though they had teased her as she had asked Miss Mason to give the green dress with red trimming to Peggy and the blue one to Maddie as her gift. Later when Maddie looked at the drawing very carefully, she realized that the dress had a face, which looked like her. The face in the drawing given to Peggy too looked just like Peggy. That is how the girls knew that Wanda liked them even though they had been teasing her about her dress and shoes.
Thinking about the Text
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?
Wanda’s family moved to a different city because her father felt bad about the rude behaviour of girls towards Wanda.
Maddie thought her silence was as bad as Peggy’s teasing. Was she right?
Yes, Maddie was right when she thought that her silence was as bad as Peggy’s teasing because she kept quiet while Peggy teased Wanda regularly. A person who sees something wrong happening in front of him/her is as much an offender as the person committing the offence. Maddie was afraid to interfere because she did not want to lose Peggy’s friendship. She too was poor and did not have many dresses, so she feared that they would turn on her and make fun.
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?
Peggy believed that Wanda was dumb as she could not understand why Wanda said she had a hundred dresses, even when everybody knew that she was poor and wore the blue dress every day.
She knew that everyone was laughing at her. Even then, she kept giving the same answer. She even described the dresses she said she had. That is why Peggy thought Wanda was dumb. She changed her opinion later when she saw the hundred dresses Wanda had spoken about. She saw her drawings of hundred dresses and was highly impressed by their beauty. She realized that Wanda is an excellent artist and designer.
What important decision did Maddie make? Why did she have to think hard to do so?
The important decision that Maddie made was that she would never stand by and say nothing again when someone made fun of others because they were funny-looking or had strange names. She decided to intervene and speak up. She did not even mind losing Peggy’s friendship over it. She knew that she could not make things right with Wanda since she left them. However, she decided that in future, she would never make anyone else unhappy again.
She was unhappy that she could not find Wanda at her home. She could not sleep that night. She thought about Wanda, her faded blue dress, and the little house she lived in. It was her guilty feeling that made her think very hard and arrive at this important decision.
Why do you think Wanda gave Maddie and Peggy the drawings of the dresses? Why are they surprised?
Wanda gave Maddie and Peggy the drawings of dresses because they made fun of her hundred dresses. They believe her to be a liar. They were surprised because they always made fun of here dresses and insulted her, but she had gifted them with those beautiful designs.
Do you think Wanda really thought the girls were teasing her? Why or why not?
Yes, Wanda knew that girls were teasing her. She would have known that the students intended to make fun of her on her being poor and laughing at her when she spoke about her dress and shoes. She just took it lightly even though she was unhappy and irritated.
What excuse does Peggy think up for her behaviour? Why?
Peggy’s excuse for her behaviour is that she never called Wanda a foreigner or made fun of her name. She also said that she never thought Wanda is clever enough to know that they were making fun of her. She realised her mistake, of thinking that Wanda was not bright enough to understand her insult, in the end.
What are Maddie’s thoughts as they go to Boggins Heights?
Maddie is feeling bad about Wanda and herself. She is feeling very sad for not even getting a chance to say sorry to Wanda.
Why does Wanda’s house remind Maddie of Wanda’s blue dress?
Wanda’s blue dress was old, faded but used to be neat and clean. Similarly her house too was small and unkempt but clean. So ,it reminded Maddie of Wanda’s blue dress
What does Maddie think hard about? What important decision does she come to?
Maddie decided once and for all that she will not let such a thing to happen to any one else. She makes a vow that she would protest if anybody misbehaves with anyone in her class. She won’t be a mute spectator the way she did in the case of Wanda. In a way the episode of Wanda’s family leaving that city changed her thinking and behaviour.
What did the girls write to Wanda?
The girls wrote a friendly letter to Wanda telling her that she had won the competition. They also wrote how pretty her drawings were. They asked her if she liked the place where she was living and about her teacher. They wanted to say that they were sorry but did not mention it in the letter. However, they ended up with just writing a friendly letter. They signed it with lots of X’s for love.
Did they get a reply? Who was more anxious for a reply, Peggy or Maddie? How do you know?
No, they did not get a reply. Maddie was more anxious for a reply as she thought a lot about it. She would think about the incident before going to sleep and dream about making speeches about Wanda and defending her from great crowds of girls who were trying to tease her. Before Wanda could press her lips together in a tight line to suppress her discomfort, which she did before answering, Maddie would cry out and ask everybody to stop, and then, everybody would be ashamed for hurting the feelings of Wanda .
Peggy, on the other hand, had begun to forget about the whole affair. This shows that Maddie was more anxious for a reply than Peggy.
How did the girls know that Wanda liked them even though they had teased her?
The girls came to know that Wanda liked them even though they had teased her as she had asked Miss Mason to give the green dress with red trimming to Peggy and the blue one to Maddie as her gift. Later when Maddie looked at the drawing very carefully, she realized that the dress had a face, which looked like her. The face in the drawing given to Peggy too looked just like Peggy. That is how the girls knew that Wanda liked them even though they had been teasing her about her dress and shoes.
Thinking about the Text
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?
Wanda’s family moved to a different city because her father felt bad about the rude behaviour of girls towards Wanda.
Maddie thought her silence was as bad as Peggy’s teasing. Was she right?
Yes, Maddie was right when she thought that her silence was as bad as Peggy’s teasing because she kept quiet while Peggy teased Wanda regularly. A person who sees something wrong happening in front of him/her is as much an offender as the person committing the offence. Maddie was afraid to interfere because she did not want to lose Peggy’s friendship. She too was poor and did not have many dresses, so she feared that they would turn on her and make fun.
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?
Peggy believed that Wanda was dumb as she could not understand why Wanda said she had a hundred dresses, even when everybody knew that she was poor and wore the blue dress every day.
She knew that everyone was laughing at her. Even then, she kept giving the same answer. She even described the dresses she said she had. That is why Peggy thought Wanda was dumb. She changed her opinion later when she saw the hundred dresses Wanda had spoken about. She saw her drawings of hundred dresses and was highly impressed by their beauty. She realized that Wanda is an excellent artist and designer.
What important decision did Maddie make? Why did she have to think hard to do so?
The important decision that Maddie made was that she would never stand by and say nothing again when someone made fun of others because they were funny-looking or had strange names. She decided to intervene and speak up. She did not even mind losing Peggy’s friendship over it. She knew that she could not make things right with Wanda since she left them. However, she decided that in future, she would never make anyone else unhappy again.
She was unhappy that she could not find Wanda at her home. She could not sleep that night. She thought about Wanda, her faded blue dress, and the little house she lived in. It was her guilty feeling that made her think very hard and arrive at this important decision.
Why do you think Wanda gave Maddie and Peggy the drawings of the dresses? Why are they surprised?
Wanda gave Maddie and Peggy the drawings of dresses because they made fun of her hundred dresses. They believe her to be a liar. They were surprised because they always made fun of here dresses and insulted her, but she had gifted them with those beautiful designs.
Do you think Wanda really thought the girls were teasing her? Why or why not?
Yes, Wanda knew that girls were teasing her. She would have known that the students intended to make fun of her on her being poor and laughing at her when she spoke about her dress and shoes. She just took it lightly even though she was unhappy and irritated.
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