सौ पोशाकें – I — by El Bsor Estes
The Hundred Dresses – Part I is a story by El Bsor Estes that explores the themes of bullying, poverty, empathy, and the silence of bystanders. It is set in an American school where a quiet Polish girl named Wanda Petronski becomes the target of daily teasing by her classmates. The story makes us reflect on how even silence can be a form of complicity in cruelty.
Wanda Petronski is a Polish-American girl who lives in Boggins Heights, a poor area on the outskirts of town. She comes to school alone and sits in the seat next to the last row — the corner where noisy, rough boys who did not get good marks sat. She is quiet, rarely speaks, and has no friends. Nobody has ever heard her laugh out loud.
Wanda always wears the same faded blue dress — a clean but clearly old dress that doesn't fit quite right. Despite her poverty, Wanda is dignified and self-contained. She never reacts angrily to the teasing, and she never cries in front of anyone.
One day, Wanda claims that she has one hundred dresses at home, all lined up in her closet. Since she always wears the same faded blue dress, Peggy finds this claim hilarious. She starts a daily routine of asking Wanda, "How many dresses did you say you had?" — and Wanda always replies calmly: "A hundred."
Peggy would then ask about the colors and materials, and Wanda would describe them — all lined up, all different colors: pale blue, red, green, and cerise. The other girls would suppress giggles. This becomes the "Dresses Game" that Peggy and the girls play every day when they wait for Wanda before school.
Maddie is the most conflicted character. She is Peggy's best friend but secretly feels uncomfortable about the teasing. Maddie herself is poor — she wears hand-me-down dresses from Peggy, with the trimmings and belts removed so they don't look recognizable. She fears that if she speaks up, she might become the next target.
Maddie once thought of writing Peggy a note asking her to stop, but she tore it up. She couldn't bring herself to risk her friendship with Peggy or face the possibility of being mocked herself. Her silence makes her complicit in the bullying, even though she never directly teases Wanda.
One day, the class notices that Wanda has been absent for several days. Nobody pays much attention at first — after all, Wanda had no close friends. Then a letter arrives from Wanda's father, Mr. Jan Petronski, addressed to the school. He writes that Wanda will not come to school anymore. The family is moving to a big city where nobody will call them "Pollack" and where nobody will ask why they have funny names.
The letter reveals the depth of pain the teasing had caused. The word "hooted" used by the father shows that the family felt publicly humiliated and mocked.
In this poem, Walt Whitman expresses his admiration for animals and contrasts their simple, contented nature with the complex, anxious, and often dishonest nature of human beings. The poet declares that he could turn and live with animals because they possess qualities that humans have lost.
"I think I could turn and live with animals, they are so placid and self-contain'd."
Whitman lists the reasons why animals are superior to humans in their behaviour:
The poem contrasts the simplicity and contentment of animals with the greed, anxiety, and hypocrisy of humans. Whitman suggests that humans have lost their basic goodness — qualities like satisfaction, honesty, and living in the present — while animals still embody these virtues naturally. It is a critique of human civilization and its obsession with material possessions, social status, and religious pretence.
Wanda sits in the seat next to the last row, in the corner of the room where the noisy, rough boys who did not get good marks usually sat. She sits there because she comes to school from Boggins Heights (a poor area), and her feet are usually caked with dry mud. She probably chose that seat to avoid drawing attention to her muddy shoes and shabby appearance. Nobody noticed her sitting there, which suited her quiet, withdrawn nature.
Wanda lives in Boggins Heights, a rough and muddy area on the outskirts of town. It is a poor neighbourhood — the kind of place where not many people live. The area is described as having dry mud and being generally unkempt. The fact that Wanda's feet are always covered in dry mud indicates the poor condition of roads in that area. Her address itself marks her as an outsider and someone from a lower economic background.
Peggy teases Wanda because Wanda claims to have a hundred dresses at home while wearing the same faded blue dress to school every day. Peggy finds this claim absurd and amusing. She asks Wanda about the dresses every day as a kind of game, expecting the same response.
Peggy does not consider herself cruel — she believes she is only making fun of Wanda's obvious lie, not her poverty. She would never make fun of someone who was poor or who had a funny name. However, in reality, her teasing is cruel because it publicly humiliates Wanda day after day and eventually drives the entire Petronski family out of town.
Maddie feels uncomfortable and guilty about the teasing. She knows that what Peggy is doing is wrong, and it makes her feel cowardly to stand by silently. However, Maddie does not speak up for several reasons:
Maddie's silence makes her a silent bystander and equally responsible for Wanda's pain.
Mr. Jan Petronski's letter to the school reveals the deep hurt and humiliation the family has endured. He writes that his children will not attend school anymore because the family is moving to a big city. In the big city, he says, nobody will make fun of their name and nobody will "hoot" at them.
The word "hooted" is significant — it means to mock and jeer loudly, indicating that the bullying was not subtle but openly humiliating. The letter also shows that the teasing was not limited to the "dress game" — the family was also mocked for their Polish name (being called "Pollack"). The letter is written with quiet dignity, without bitterness, but the pain beneath the words is unmistakable.
a) Who is the poet?
The poet is Walt Whitman.
b) What does "placid" mean here?
"Placid" means calm, peaceful, and not easily disturbed. The poet admires that animals are naturally serene, unlike humans who are constantly anxious.
c) Why does the poet want to live with animals?
The poet wants to live with animals because they are simple, contented, and honest. They do not complain, do not weep for their sins, and do not obsess over material possessions — unlike humans.
a) Why is the Petronski family moving?
The family is moving because they were constantly teased and humiliated for their Polish name and background. Mr. Petronski wrote that in the big city, no one will call them "Pollack" or "hoot" at them.
b) What emotions do the words "Loss? Regret?" suggest?
These words suggest that Maddie (or the narrator) is beginning to feel guilt and regret about not having stood up for Wanda. The loss is not just Wanda leaving — it is the loss of an opportunity to do the right thing.
c) Who wrote the letter announcing the move?
Mr. Jan Petronski, Wanda's father, wrote the letter to the school principal.
Wanda's claim is significant because it becomes the basis of daily teasing by Peggy and other girls. Since Wanda always wears the same faded blue dress, her claim seems like an obvious lie. However, the claim is actually true in a different sense — as revealed in Part II, Wanda has drawn a hundred beautiful dresses, each one unique and colourful. Her claim reflects her artistic imagination and dignity rather than dishonesty.
The story portrays silence as complicity through the character of Maddie. Although Maddie never directly teases Wanda, she stands by silently while Peggy does it every day. She feels uncomfortable and even writes a note to Peggy asking her to stop, but tears it up out of fear. Her silence makes her equally responsible for Wanda's suffering. The story teaches that not speaking up against wrong is also wrong — being a silent bystander makes one complicit in the act of bullying.
Wanda Petronski is a quiet, dignified, and resilient character. She is a Polish-American girl living in poverty in Boggins Heights, attending a school where she has no friends and is daily subjected to teasing.
Her dignity is reflected in several ways:
Wanda's character teaches us that true dignity lies in how we respond to adversity. She faces daily humiliation with grace and uses her talent as her voice. Her quiet strength ultimately makes her tormentors feel ashamed of their behaviour.
