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NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 5 The Hundred Dresses – I

Physics Wallah Academic Expert

November 28, 2024

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 5 The Hundred Dresses – I:- Struggling with The Hundred Dresses – I from Class 10 English Chapter 5? This heartwarming chapter explores themes of kindness, empathy, and the impact of prejudices through the story of Wanda Petronski and her classmates. To help you master this lesson, we've crafted detailed Class 10 English Chapter 5 question answers that clarify every concept and enhance your understanding. Whether you're tackling the Class 10 English lesson 5 question answers or revising key ideas, our comprehensive NCERT Solutions make learning engaging and effective.

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Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 5 The Hundred Dresses – I

The CBSE Class 10 Board Exams are scheduled to start on 15th February 2025, making it essential to speed up your preparation. For those focusing on Class 10 English Chapter 5, The Hundred Dresses – I, PW offers detailed solutions to help you understand the story and its deeper meanings. Whether you need assistance with Class 10 English Chapter 5 question answers, PW provides clear and concise explanations. These solutions are designed to make your learning process easy and effective, helping you excel in Ch 5 English Class 10 with confidence!

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 5 The Hundred Dresses – I

Check out the NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 5 The Hundred Dresses – I below:-

Oral Comprehension Check (Page 65)

Question 1: Where in the classroom does Wanda sit and why?

Answer: Wanda Petronski always sat in the seat at the back of Room Thirteen, right next to the last row. This spot was tucked away in the corner, where the rougher boys who struggled with their grades usually sat. Wanda was a shy and poor girl, often with dry mud caked on her shoes. She didn’t want others to laugh at her for her appearance, so she chose to sit alone in the corner. This way, she hoped to avoid drawing attention to herself and the condition of her shoes.

Question 2: Where does Wanda live? What kind of a place do you think it is?

Answer: Wanda lived in Boggins Heights, a distant neighborhood from her school. The area was surrounded by mud, suggesting the absence of proper roads and infrastructure. Boggins Heights was known to be home to poorer families, indicating the socioeconomic status of the residents. The muddy surroundings reflected the challenges faced by the people living there, including Wanda and her family, who likely struggled with their living conditions.

Question 3: When and why do Peggy and Maddie notice Wanda’s absence?

Answer: Wanda was absent from school on Monday and Tuesday, yet her absence went unnoticed by her classmates. This was because Wanda didn’t have any friends in the class, so nobody paid much attention to her. However, on Wednesday, Peggy and Maddie, who often made fun of Wanda, noticed her absence as they waited after school to tease her. Despite waiting for a long time, Wanda didn’t show up, leaving Peggy and Maddie puzzled and perhaps realizing the impact of their actions.

Question 4: What do you think “to have fun with her” means?

Answer: “To have fun with her” indeed meant to ridicule or make fun of Wanda’s imperfections. As a shy and quiet girl, Wanda was an easy target for her classmates’ taunts about her name and appearance. Her classmates found amusement in teasing her, often making jokes about her claims of owning a hundred dresses and sixty pairs of shoes, which they considered far-fetched. This constant teasing made Wanda feel isolated and embarrassed, further highlighting the cruelty of her classmates’ actions.

Oral Comprehension Check (Page 67)

Question 1: In what way was Wanda different from the other children?

Answer: Wanda Petronski stood out in her American classroom as a Polish girl with a name unfamiliar to her classmates. They struggled to pronounce it, and this made her an object of curiosity and sometimes mockery. Wanda’s solitary arrival at school, with her feet often caked in mud, further set her apart.

Lacking friends, she chose isolation to avoid potential ridicule. Wanda’s claim of owning a hundred dresses and sixty pairs of shoes, though likely untrue, added to her perceived differences. These factors combined to make her distinctly different from her classmates and contributed to her feelings of alienation.

Question 2: Did Wanda have a hundred dresses? Why do you think she said she did?

Answer: Wanda endured relentless teasing from her classmates every day after school, enduring mockery about her appearance, dress, and even her name. Despite wearing the same faded blue dress regularly, she faced ridicule without end.

Frustrated by the constant taunting, Wanda made an improbable claim of owning a hundred dresses and sixty pairs of shoes, though nobody believed her. Despite this, Wanda’s true strength lay not in material possessions but in her inner resilience and determination. For her, the number of dresses was inconsequential compared to her inner talents and qualities.

Question 3: Why is Maddie embarrassed by the questions Peggy asks Wanda? Is she also like Wanda, or is she different?

Answer: Maddie felt embarrassed by the questions Peggy asked Wanda because she empathized with Wanda’s situation. Coming from a poor family herself, Maddie understood the stigma and embarrassment associated with being unable to afford new clothes. Like Wanda, Maddie also wore hand-me-downs, which made her relate to Wanda’s predicament.

While Maddie could sympathize with Wanda’s struggles, she didn’t necessarily believe Wanda’s claim of owning a hundred dresses. However, Maddie wished Peggy would stop teasing Wanda for her appearance and name, recognizing the cruelty and unfairness of such behavior.

Check out: CBSE Class 10th Sample Papers

Oral Comprehension Check (Page 70)

Question 1: Why didn’t Maddie ask Peggie to stop teasing Wanda? What was she afraid of?

Answer: Maddie struggled with the situation regarding Peggy’s teasing of Wanda. Despite wanting Peggy to stop, Maddie hesitated to intervene because Peggy was her best friend and the most popular girl in school. Maddie admired Peggy and considered her to be a nice person, but she couldn’t ignore Peggy’s mistreatment of Wanda.

However, Maddie feared that if she objected to Peggy’s behavior, she would become Peggy’s next target for ridicule. This fear of becoming the focus of Peggy’s teasing prevented Maddie from speaking up, even though she knew it was the right thing to do. Despite her helpful nature, Maddie found herself caught between loyalty to her friend and standing up for what was right.

Question 2: Who did Maddie think would win the drawing contest? Why?

Answer: Maddie held a strong belief that Peggy would emerge victorious in the drawing contest. Peggy’s talent for drawing was widely recognized, and she was admired by everyone in school. With a stellar reputation and a knack for art, Peggy had made a lasting impression on both teachers and classmates alike.

Maddie knew firsthand of Peggy’s skill, witnessing her ability to effortlessly replicate images from magazines or draw celebrity portraits with ease. Given Peggy’s talent, popularity, and favorable impression, Maddie was confident that Peggy had a significant advantage in the drawing and coloring contest among the girls.

Question 3: Who won the drawing contest? What had the winner drawn?

Answer: In the contest, Jack Beggles emerged victorious among the boys with his design for an outboard motor, which was displayed in Room Twelve for exhibition. Among the girls, the unexpected winner was Wanda Petronski, whose remarkable talent shone through in her drawings. Wanda’s entry consisted of a hundred sketches of stunning dresses, each one vibrant and beautiful.

Miss Mason, the teacher, was so impressed that she remarked that each painting had the potential to win the contest on its own. It was revealed that Wanda had indeed drawn all the hundred dresses she claimed to own when asked by her classmates. The entire school community was awestruck and filled with admiration for Wanda’s incredible talent, and they showered her with applause and recognition.

Check out: CBSE Class 10th Question Banks

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 Petronski, a Polish immigrant, lived with her parents in America, in the neighborhood of Boggins Heights where roads were scarce. Every day, she trudged to school from a distant location, her feet always coated in mud. Wanda wore the same worn-out blue dress, drawing attention to herself. Her classmates struggled to pronounce her name, different from typical American names, and teased her for it. They also mocked her appearance, further isolating her. Enduring relentless teasing, Wanda eventually claimed to own a hundred dresses and sixty pairs of shoes, a response born out of frustration and hurt.

Question 2: How does Wanda feel about the dresses game? Why does she say that she has a hundred dresses?

Answer: Wanda was a shy and reserved girl who felt self-conscious about her appearance. Despite enduring constant snickering from her classmates, she remained silent and isolated herself by sitting in the corner of the room with the rough boys. Despite being the subject of ridicule, she never spoke up or complained. In a bid to deflect the constant taunts and humiliation, Wanda made an audacious claim that she owned a hundred dresses and sixty pairs of shoes. However, to everyone’s surprise, she proved her talent by drawing sketches of all the hundred dresses for a drawing competition. Her exceptional skill earned her the first prize among the girls, showcasing her hidden talent and resilience in the face of adversity.

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: Peggy held the title of the most popular girl in the class, and she shared a close bond with Maddie, who was her best friend. Despite Maddie’s own financial struggles, Peggy never subjected her to the same teasing as she did with Wanda. Maddie, convinced that Wanda’s teasing stemmed from her claim of owning a hundred dresses, chose to support Peggy to avoid jeopardizing their friendship. Maddie feared losing Peggy’s companionship, so she remained silent whenever Peggy teased Wanda, unwilling to risk upsetting Peggy. The line, “Peggy was the best-liked girl in the whole room. Peggy could not possibly do anything that was really wrong,” highlights Maddie’s unwavering loyalty to Peggy, as she continuously stood by her side.

Check out: CBSE Class 10th Previous Year Papers

Thinking about Language (Page 71-72)

Question I: Look at these sentences

(a) She sat in the corner of the room where the rough boys who did not make good marks sat, the corner of the room where there was most scuffling of feet, …

(b) The time when they thought about Wanda was outside of school hours …

These italicised clauses help us to identify a set of boys, a place, and a time. They are answers to the questions ‘What kind of rough boys?’ ‘Which corner did she sit in?’ and ‘What particular time outside of school hours?’ They are ‘defining’ or ‘restrictive’ relative clauses. (Compare them with the ‘nondefining’ relative clauses discussed in Unit 1.)

Combine the following to make sentences like those above.

1. This is the bus (what kind of bus?). It goes to Agra. (use which or that)

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

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

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

5. Now find a person (what kind of person). His or her name begins with the letter Z. (use whose)

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

Answer:

1. This is the bus that goes to Agra.

2. I would like to buy a shirt that is in the shop window.

3. You must break your fast at a particular time when you see the moon in the sky.

4. Find a word that begins with letter Z.

5. Now find a person whose name begins with letter Z.

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

Question II: The Narrative Voice

This story is in the ‘third person’. That is, the narrator is not a participant in the story. But the narrator often seems to tell the story from the point of view of one of the characters in the story. For example, look at the italicized words in this sentence

Thank goodness, she did not live up on Boggins Heights or have a funny name.

Whose thoughts do the words ‘Thank goodness’ express? Maddie’s, who is grateful that although she is poor, she is yet not as poor as Wanda, or as ‘different’. (So she does not get teased; she is thankful about that.)

1. Here are two other sentences from the story. Can you say whose point of view the italicised words express?

(i) But on Wednesday, Peggy and Maddie, who sat down front with other children who got good marks and who didn’t track in a whole lot of mud, did notice that Wanda wasn’t there.

(ii) Wanda Petronski. Most of the children in Room Thirteen didn’t have names like that. They had names easy to say, like Thomas, Smith or Allen.

2. Can you find other such sentences in the story? You can do this after you read the second part of the story as well.

Answer:

1. (i) The italicised words in the given sentence express the point of view of Peggy and Maddie.

(ii) The italicised words in the given sentence express the point of view of the narrator about the names of other children in Wanda’s class.

2. Activity to be done by yourself.

Question III: Look at this sentence. The italicised adverb expresses an opinion or point of view.

Obviously, the only dress Wanda had was the blue one she wore every day. (This was obvious to the speaker.)

Other such adverbs are apparently, evidently, surprisingly, possibly, hopefully, incredibly, luckily. Use these words appropriately in the blanks in the sentences below. (You may use a word more than once, and more than one word may be appropriate for a given blank.)

1. _________________________________________________, he finished his work on time.

2. __________________________________________, it will not rain on the day of the match.

3. _____________________________________, he had been stealing money from his employer.

4. Television is ____________________________to blame for the increase in violence in society.

5. The children will ________________________________________learn from their mistakes.

6. I can’t _____________________________________________ lend you that much money.

7. The thief had ________________________________been watching the house for many days.

8. The thief __________________________________________ escaped by bribing the jailor.

9. _____________________________________________, no one had suggested this before.

10. The water was _______________________________________________________ hot.

Answer:

1. Surprisingly, he finished his work on time.

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

3. Possibly, he had been stealing money from his employer.

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

5. The children will hopefully learn from their mistakes.

6. I can’t possibly lend you that much money.

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

8. The thief luckily escaped by bribing the jailor.

9. Surprisingly, no one had suggested this before.

10. The water was incredibly hot.

Check out: CBSE Class 10th Revision Books

CH 5 English Class 10

Chapter 5 of Class 10 English, The Hundred Dresses – I, written by Eleanor Estes, is a poignant story about prejudice, bullying, and the power of kindness. The story revolves around Wanda Petronski, a shy and poor Polish girl who lives in Boggins Heights and attends school with her wealthier classmates. Wanda is often ridiculed by her peers, particularly Peggy and Maddie, for her peculiar name and claim of owning "a hundred dresses," even though she wears the same faded blue dress daily.

Despite Wanda’s calm demeanour, the teasing persists, revealing the insensitivity of her classmates. Maddie, though uncomfortable with Peggy's actions, remains silent out of fear of becoming a target herself. The chapter ends with Wanda's unexplained absence from school, leaving her classmates to reflect on their behaviour.

This chapter teaches a valuable lesson about empathy, the harm of casual bullying, and the courage it takes to stand against wrongdoing, setting the stage for the emotional revelations in Part II.

Theme of The Hundred Dresses – I

The primary theme of The Hundred Dresses – I is prejudice and bullying, highlighting the emotional impact of exclusion and ridicule. Wanda Petronski becomes a victim of mockery due to her socio-economic background and her unique name, symbolising how differences are often met with insensitivity.

Another significant theme is empathy and moral courage. While Maddie feels uneasy about the teasing, her silence reflects the fear of speaking up, showcasing the internal conflict between right and wrong. The story also underscores the importance of kindness and understanding, urging readers to reflect on their actions and their effects on others.

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 5 The Hundred Dresses – I FAQs

Who is the author of The Hundred Dresses – I?
The story is written by Eleanor Estes.
What is the main theme of the chapter?
The main theme revolves around prejudice, bullying, empathy, and the importance of kindness.
Why do Peggy and Maddie tease Wanda Petronski?
They tease Wanda because of her claim of owning a hundred dresses, her Polish name, and her socio-economic background.
Why does Wanda claim to have a hundred dresses?
Wanda makes this claim to cope with the ridicule and create an imaginative escape from her reality of poverty.
Where does Wanda Petronski live?
Wanda lives in a poor area called Boggins Heights.