The Hundred Dresses

Wanda’s one faded blue dress and boots, caked with mud from the walk from Boggins Heights, symbolize her family’s poverty. Her dress is faded because she only has one to wear, despite her wish that she had a wardrobe filled with colorful dresses, shoes, and hats. Wanda’s poverty is one of the things which sets her apart from the other school children; her differences make her a target for bullying.

Maddie and Peggy’s trip to Boggins Heights symbolizes their guilt over their treatment of Wanda, and their desire to make amends. Wanda becomes humanized to the girls when the latter see her drawings of 100 dresses; this, as well as Wanda’s father’s letter attesting to the bullying his family experienced in the town, makes Maddie and Peggy feel remorseful. Boggins Heights is derided by the town’s children as an unfit place to live; Wanda’s home being there signifies her family’s poverty. Maddie and Peggy make the long walk to Wanda’s home because they are ashamed of being cruel to her, and hope to apologize and make amends before she leaves with her family. The undesirability of the area and the length of the walk illustrate the extent of the girls’ regret.