Summary & Question-answers of The Chapter:5-The Hundred Dresses-1 with the concerned video

The Hundred Dresses Part 1 Summary

Wanda Petronski was a poor Polish girl. She lived on Boggins Heights. She joined an American school. She was different from other girls in many ways — her name was uncommon, she was a quiet girl and had no friends. She wore the same pale blue dress every day.

Wanda used to sit in the corner on the last but one seat of the classroom where noisy and rough boys, who got low marks, sat. There was a lot of dirt, mud and scuffing of feet in that area.

Peggy and Maddie were close friends. Peggy was pretty, had curly hair and wore beautiful dresses. She was the most liked girl of Wanda’s class. She often made fun of Wanda by asking her questions about her hundred dresses in a mocking, polite voice. Maddie wanted Peggy to stop teasing Wanda but she could never muster (gather) courage to tell her that. She used to feel uncomfortable of that. Perhaps it reminded her of her own poverty.

Wanda, though a quiet girl, spoke a lot about her hundred dresses. She told the girls that her dresses were made of velvet or silk. All had different colours and designs. She specially mentioned her two dresses one pale blue with coloured trimmings and the other bright, green with red sash.

Wanda’s absence from school was not noticed for two days but on the third day Peggy and Maddie who missed the fun of laughing at her, waited for her at the corner of Oliver street where they used to meet her on their way to school. But Wanda did not turn up and they got late for school.Next day, it was drizzling. Peggy and Maddie did not wait for Wanda. They never wanted to be late for the school because they were anxious to know the result of the competition. It was to be announced that day.

As they entered their classroom, they stopped and gasped. Hundred drawings of bright and beautiful and differently designed dresses were displayed all over the room. Everyone, who entered the room, murmured with admiration.

Miss Mason announced the result. Among the boys, Jack Boggles had won and among the girls Wanda Petronski. She asked the students to give her a special applause (though she was not present to enjoy it). She had submitted hundred sketches and every sketch was worth winning the best price.

TEXTUAL EXERCISES

ORAL COMPREHENSION CHECK
(Page 65)

Question 1.
Where in the classroom does Wanda sit and why ? (CBSE 2012)
Answer:
Wanda sits in the next to the last seat in the last row in Room Thirteen. She sits in the comer of the room. There is noise by the scuffling of feet and roar of laughter.

Question 2.
Where does Wanda live 1 What kind of a place do you think it is ? (Imp.)
Answer:
Wanda lives up on Boggins Heights. It is not a clean place. It is muddy. Wanda’s feet are usually caked with mud. She has to walk through it as it is muddy.

Question 3.
When and why do Peggy and Maddie notice Wanda’s absence ?
Answer:
Peggy and Maddie noticed Wanda’s absence when they were not late from school. Wanda had made them late to school. They used to make fun of her for her muddy shoes.

Question 4.
What do you think ‘to have fun with her’ means ?
Answer:
‘To have fun with her’ means to laugh at her or to make a fool of her.

ORAL COMPREHENSION CHECK
(Page 67)

Question 1.
In what way was Wanda different from the other children ?
Answer:
Wanda was different from the other children by her name. Then she always wore a faded blue dress. It didn’t hang right though it was always clean. She didn’t have any friends.

Question 2.
Did Wanda have a hundred dresses ? Why do you think she said she did ? (V. Imp.)
Answer:
Wanda did not have a hundred dresses. She said this to counter the fun of other children. They made fun of her due to her only one dress.

Question 3.
Why is Maddie embarrassed by the questions Peggy asks Wanda ? Is she also like Wanda, or is she different ?
Answer:
Maddie is embarrassed by the questions Peggy asks Wanda. It is so because she is poor, though not exactly, like Wanda. She is like Wanda in temperament though she is an American. She doesn’t want others to make fun of Wanda due to her dress or her ‘funny’ name.

ORAL COMPREHENSION CHECK
(Page 70)

Question 1.
Why didn’t Maddie ask Peggy to stop teasing Wanda ? What was she afraid of?
Answer:
Maddie didn’t ask Peggy to stop teasing Wanda because she lacked courage to say so. She was afraid of losing her friendship with Peggy.

Question 2.
Who did Maddie think would win the drawing contest ? Why ? (Imp.)
Answer:
Maddie thought that Peggy would win the girls’ medal. It was so as she drew better than anyone else in the room.

Question 3.
Who won the drawing contest ? What had the winner drawn ?
Answer:
Peggy’s drawings always won prizes in the past. But now Wanda Petronski was the winner of the girls’ medal. In fact, she had drawn one hundred designs. All were different and beautiful. In the opinion of the judges, anyone of the drawings was worthy of winning the prize. They all had a strange magic about them.

THINKING ABOUT THE TEXT
(Page 70)

Question 1.
How is Wanda seen as different by the other girls ? How do they treat her ?
Answer:
Wanda is seen as different by the other girls. It is because of her origin and dress. She always wears the same dress. Then her feet are usually caked with dry mud. They treat her badly. They make fun of her. They also belittle her.

Question 2.
How does Wanda feel about the dresses game ? Why does she say that she has a hundred dresses ? (Imp.)
Answer:
Wanda feels badly about the dresses game. She says that she has a hundred dresses. It is to counter the fun,’other girls make of her. She feels insulted.

Question 3.
Why does Maddie stand by and not do anything ? How is she different from Peggy ? (Was Peggy’s friendship important to Maddie ? Why ? Which lines in the text tell you this ?)
Answer:
Maddie stands by and does nothing. It is because she doesn’t have the courage to speak to Peggy. She is different from Peggy as she doesn’t make fun of Wanda. She remains silent while Peggy makes fun of Wanda. Peggy’s friendship is important to her. It is because she is the best-liked girl in the whole room. She hopes Peggy would not do anything wrong to anybody.

The lines are : “She was Peggy’s best friend and Peggy was the best-liked girl in the whole room. Peggy could not possibly do anything that was really wrong.”

Question 4.
What does Miss Mason think of Wanda’s drawings ? What do the children think of them ? How do you know ?
Answer:
Miss Mason thinks of Wanda’s drawings as “exquisite”, “all different and all beautiful.” The children think of them as ‘amazing’. They stop short and gasp when they look at their beauty and brilliance. I know this from their reaction. They are taken in surprisingly by their dazzling colours and lavish designs.