The Hundred Dresses

Peggy and Wanda continue to operate as foils to each other. The class’s confident expectation that Peggy will win the coloring contest alludes to her status as a popular girl: “Peggy drew better than anyone in the room. At least that’s what everyone thought” (38). Estes subtly plants doubt in the reader’s mind by qualifying the statement about Peggy’s superior skills with the phrase “at least that’s what everyone thought”; she implies that perhaps Peggy’s perceived superiority at drawing is simply another symptom of her popularity.

By contrast, Maddie reflects on Wanda’s poor reading skill: “[I]t took her forever to read a paragraph” (36). She reflects, “[W]as she dumb or what?” (36). It is clear to the reader that Wanda struggles with reading because English is not her first language; however, to her peers, she is thought of as a struggling student, and therefore is not considered as serious contest in the drawing contest. Maddie’s reflections on Wanda’s struggles as a student, and Peggy’s probable win, set the groundwork for the unexpected twist of Wanda’s victory in Chapter 5. However, astute readers may have noticed clear hints at Wanda’s creativity in her descriptions of her 100 dresses: one is “a pale blue one with cerise-colored trimmings” and another is “brilliant green with a red sash” (38). Wanda’s gift for description alludes to the recurring theme of The Power of Imagination. Wanda imagines beautiful dresses to escape her life of poverty and isolation, a fact that is revealed to her classmates in Chapter 5.

Wanda is further characterized as a lonely character in these chapters. Her declaration that she has 100 dresses, which is interpreted as a laughable and ridiculous lie by her classmates, is a clear attempt to be included in their group as they admire Cecile’s new dress. However, Wanda’s declaration further establishes her as a social outcast, rather than allowing her entry into the group of girls, due to her imprecise English, “I got a hundred dresses home” (29).

Maddie’s predicament as a bystander to bullying is expounded as well. Estes continues to suggest that bullying harms all involved parties, including the victims, perpetrators, and bystanders. Maddie considers asking Peggy to stop teasing Wanda, but Peggy’s popularity makes her appear incapable of wrongdoing; Maddie starts to question her own perception of the situation instead of trusting her instincts. She continues to avoid interfering out of fear that she will be targeted next; she reflects on her own sparse wardrobe and relative poverty compared to girls like Peggie. Specifically, she imagines Peggy bringing up the fact that her own dress is one of Peggy’s old ones. While Maddie’s reluctance is understandable, it only adds to Wanda’s suffering.