The Hundred Dresses (Class 10th English)

 

The Hundred Dresses (Class 10th English)

Topics Covered:

1- Introduction 

2- Characters 

3- About The Author 

4- Chapter Explanation 

5- Word-Meaning 

6- Textbook Exercises 

7- Important Questions-Answers 

8- To Recapitulate 

1- Introduction 

This Chapter is written by an American author named El Bsor Ester. It is based on true story. Author herself witnessed the bullying in the school life. She portrayed herself as Maddie. We will get to know about Maddie in the Summary part. This Chapter is about Polish immigrant girl named Wanda Petronski. She was teased by her classmates Peggy and Maddie. Wanda was simple girl. She wore same blue colour faded dress. She used to sit in the corner in room number thirteen next to the last seat. When the drawing competition was announced, wanda also took part and won the first prize. She made the sketches of hundred dresses and surprised the classmates.

2- Characters 

• Wanda Petronski - A poor polish girl who always wear same blue faded dress. She was simple girl, who never laughs. 

• Peggy - Wanda's classmate and she was the most popular girl in school. She was pretty as well as a good artist. 

• Maddie - Peggy's best friend. She belongs to poor family and wears Peggy's old clothes. 

• Miss Mason - Wanda's class teacher. She was very much cooperative and always helps the students. 

3- About The Author 

• She was born in West Hevan.

• She was an American children's author and a children's librarian. 

• She won the Newbery medal for her book "Ginger Pye".

• "The Hundred Dresses" is one of her famous Writing. 

• Her notable works include "The Hundred Dresses", "Ginger Pye", and "Pinky Pye".

4- Chapter Explanation 

The story starts with a school scene. Wanda Petronski was a Polish girl in an American school. She used to sit in the corner in room number thirteen next to the last scene. In the corner there was a lot of noise and laughter as notorious boys used to sit there.

Wanda used to sit there because she belonged to Boggin Heights. Nobody in the class thought much about her.

Wanda was absent for two days  (Monday and Tuesday). Nobody noticed her absence. But on Wednesday Peggy and Maddie noticed as they used to tease her on the way to school. 

Wanda - The Simple Girl

Wanda had no friends. She used to wear faded uniform. So, she seemed different from her classmates and was teased by them.  Her name was also different as Americans used to have the name like Thomas, Smith or Allen.

Pronunciation of her name was difficult and her appearance was also strange, so students make fun of her. 

Peggy Popular Girl In School 

Peggy was the most popular girl. She was very pretty and intelligent. Peggy was not cruel by nature as she so many times saved younger students from bullying. She also used to cry if she saw any animal being mistreated. On the other hand, Maddie belongs to poor family and she always wore Peggy's used dresses. 

Wanda Being Mocked By Peggy

Both Peggy and Maddie always asked Wanda about the number of dresses and shoes she had. At this Wanda used to tell them that she had hundred beautiful dresses and sixty pairs of shoes. But in reality, wanda had only one blue colour faded uniform that she used to wear daily. 

Maddie Embarrasement Towards Peggy's Behaviour 

But whenever Peggy teased Wanda, Maddie felt embarrassed as she wanted Peggy to not to tease Wanda. So she decided to write Peggy a note, but later she tore the note. Maddie imagined herself in place of Wanda that if Peggy stopped teasing then she would definitely target Maddie for wearing old dresses given by Peggy's mother. 

Drawing Competition 

A drawing competition was announced in the class. In that competition girls had to design dresses whereas boys had to design motorboats. Maddie thought that Peggy would win the competition as her drawing is best in the class.

On the day of competition result, it was raining lightly. All the students were excited to know about the winners.

Competition Result 

They all were amazed to see about a hundred dresses designs hanging over the walls. Their classteacher Miss Mason announced the competition winners. Jack Beggles was the winner among the boys. But all were surprised to know the winner among the girls. Wanda Petronski was the winner but unfortunately she was absent and could not receive her prize. 

The teacher informed the students that these hundred dresses designs were made by Wanda. It was very much difficult for the judges to chose the best one as all the dresses are well designed. 

All the students applauded wanda's drawings. Peggy and Maddie attitude towards Wanda have changed. They also noticed blue and green colour dresses designs hanging over the wall that Wanda used to talk about. 

5- Word-Meaning 

• Enduring- long lasting

• Immigrants- coming from other countries to settle in a country 

• Notable- known

• Suburbs- outskirts 

• Rough- violent 

• Twisted- moved

• Faded- lost colour 

• Bothering- troubling

• Mock- to make fun

• Accord- wish

• Ledge- outer part

• Lavish- rich

• Assembled- gathered together 

• Sketches- drawings 

6- Textbook Exercises 

i- Where in the classroom does Wanda sit and why? (C.B.S.E. 2019)

Ans- Wanda used to sit next to the last seat in the corner of room number thirteen where all the naughty boys sit.

It was because she belonged to the Biggin heights a poor locality.

ii- Where does wanda live? What kind of a place do you think it is?

Ans- Wanda lived in a poor locality named Boggin heights where polish Immigrants used to live.

According to me, the place is shabby without any proper roads.

iii- When and why do Peggy and Maddie notice Wanda's absence? (C.B.S.E. 2019)

Ans- They noticed her absence after two days i.e. on Wednesday. They used to wait for her on the way to school as they used to tease wanda.

iv- What do you think "to have fun with her" means?

Ans- It means to laugh at her. As Wanda was a source of fun for her classmates. 

v- In what way was wanda different from the other children?

Ans- She was different in many ways. She was a polish girl in an American school. Her name was difficult to pronounce. She also had no friends. 

vi- Did wanda have a hundred dresses? Why do you think she said she did?

Ans- No she did not have a hundred dresses. 

She said that she had hundred dresses because she had drawn the design of hundred dresses. 

vii- Why didn't Maddie ask Peggy to stop teasing wanda? What was she afraid of?

Ans- Maddie imagined herself in place of wanda that if Peggy stopped teasing Wanda then she would definitely target Maddie, who also belongs to poor family and wore the old dresses of Peggy.

viii- Who won the drawing competition? What had the winner drawn?

Ans- Among the boys, Jack Beggles and among the girls, Wanda Petronski won.

Jack Beggles had designed motorboat whereas Wanda Petronski designed hundred dresses. 

ix- How is Wanda seen as different by the other girls? How do they treat her? (C.B.S.E. 2019)

Ans- Wanda was a polish girl. Her name was different and difficult to pronounce. She belongs to poor locality named Boggin heights. 

They made fun of wanda. They also teased her for her hundred dresses. 

Thinking About Language 

1- Combine the following to make sentences.

i- This is the bus (what kind of bus). It goes to Agra.(Use which or that)

Ans- This is the bus which goes to Agra.

ii- I would like to buy(a) shirt(which shirt?). (The) shirt is in the shop window. (Use which or that).

Ans- I would like to buy the shirt that is in the shop window. 

iii- You must break your fast at a particular time (when?). You see the moon in the sky.(use when).

Ans- You must break your fast when you see the moon in the sky.

iv- Find a word(what kind of word?). It begins with the letter Z.(use which or that)

Ans- Find a word which begins with the letter Z.

v- Niw find a person (what kind of person?). His or her name begins with the letter Z. (Use whose)

Ans- Now find a person whose name begins with the letter Z. 

vi- Then go to a place(what place?). There are no people whose name begins with Z in that place.(use where)

Ans- Then go to a place where there are no people whose name begins with Z.

2- Use the adverbs to fill in the blanks:

• Surprisingly, he finished his work on time.

• Hopefully, it will not rain on the day of the match.

• Evidently, he had been stealing money from his employer. 

• Television is evidently to blame for the increase in violence in society. 

• The children will hopefully learn from their mistakes. 

• I can't possibly lend you that much money. 

• The thief had apparently been watching the house for many days.

• The thief probably escaped by bribing the jailor.

• Surprisingly, no one had suggested this before. 

• The water was incredibly hot.

7- Important Questions-Answers 

i- Why did Maddie write a note to Peggy and then tore it? ( C.B.S.E. 2019)

Ans- Maddie write a NOTE to ask her to stop teasing wanda.

She tore it because she imagined herself in place of Wanda as Maddie herself used to wear used dresses of Peggy. 

ii- Explain two dresses of Wanda Petronski in brief.(C.B.S.E. 2016)

Ans- In the competition when all the designs of hundred dresses were displayed over the wall, Peggy and Maddie were attracted towards two dresses particularly. First was of pale blue and the second one of green colour. 

iii- Do you think Peggy meant to bully Wanda?

Ans- No, because Peggy thought that wanda was telling lies about the hundred dresses. She just want to prove Wanda's claims were ridiculous. 

iv- What lesson does this Chapter teach children about what they should stand up for? (C.B.S.E. 2016)

Ans- The Chapter clearly teach us that always stand for your rights. Right path is always difficult to follow. But be firm and listen to your inner voice.

v- Why did Peggy and Maddie not wait for Wanda? (C.B.S.E. 2020)

Ans- They didn't wait for Wanda because it was drizzling outside and they didn't want to be late for school. They were also anxious to know the result of drawing competition. 

vi- Draw the character sketch of Wanda Petronski. 

Ans- Wanda Petronski was a polish girl whose family had shifted to America. She belongs to the poor family and lived in Boggin heights. She was a quiet girl who had no friends. She always wore faded dress if blue colour which seemed clean but was not ironed.

It also seemed that wanda claimed of having hundred dresses and sixty pairs of shoes. In reality she had sketches of hundred dresses that proves she was a brilliant artist. 

8- To Recapitulate 

Hope this Article would be helpful in your upcoming Exams. If any doubts you can reach me through the comment section box and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Thank You. 

ALL THE BEST FOR YOUR EXAMS....