Ques:What did Mr. Petronski’s letter say?
Answer: Mr. Pertronski’s letter said that Wanda would not come to school anymore as they were moving to the big city. He also said that in the big city, nobody would ask them why they had funny names because there were plenty of funny names in the city.
Ques: Is Miss Mason angry with the class, or is she unhappy and upset?
Answer: Miss Mason was unhappy and upset. She believed that none of the boys and girls of Room Thirteen would purposely hurt anyone’s feelings. She thought that what was said by the boys and girls was just thoughtlessness. She thought of it as a very unfortunate incident and wanted everybody in the class to think about it.
Ques: How does Maddie feel after listening to the note from Wanda’s father?
Answer: After listening to the note from Wanda’s father, Maddie felt very sick at the bottom of her stomach. She could not concentrate on her lessons. Although she didn’t enjoy it when Peggy asked Wanda how many dresses she had in her closet but she always stood by silently. She thought that she was as bad as Peggy. She had thought that they were being mean. She could put herself in Wanda’s shoes. Later, she even called herself a coward.
Ques: What does Maddie want to do?
Answer: Maddie wanted to tell Wanda that she had not meant to hurt her feelings. She had the feeling that Wanda might not have moved away as yet. She thought to climb the Boggins Heights with Peggy, and together, they would tell Wanda that she had won the contest and her hundred dresses were beautiful.
Ques: What excuses does Peggy think up for her behaviour? Why?
Answer: Peggy had told Maddie with pretended casualness that both of them should go and see if Wanda had left the town or not. The excuse that Peggy thought up for her behaviour was that she never called Wanda a foreigner or made fun of her name. She also said that she never thought Wanda had even the sense to know that they were making fun of her. She thought Wanda was too dumb. However, she appreciated the fact that Wanda could draw so well. She was making such excuses because she was feeling bad about what had happened, thinking that it probably was her teasing because of which Wanda left the school.
Ques: What are Maddie’s thoughts as they go to Boggins Heights?
Answer: Maddie hoped that they would find Wanda and would apologize for picking on her. She wanted to tell her how wonderful the whole school thought she was. She also thought of requesting her not to leave the school.
Ques: Why does Wanda’s house remind Maddie of Wanda’s blue dress?
Answer: Wanda’s house looked shabby but clean. It reminded Maddie of Wanda’s blue dress because it was also very shabby and faded, but clean.
Ques: What does Maddie think hard about? What important decision does she come to?
Answer: Maddie was not happy as she could not find Wanda at her home. She could not sleep that night and kept thinking about Wanda, her faded blue dress, and the little house she lived in. She also thought about the hundred glowing pictures, which were all lined up in the classroom. At last, Maddie thought really hard and after a long time, she reached an important decision. She decided that she would never stand by and say nothing again. If she ever heard anybody picking on someone because they were funny-looking or because they had strange names, then she would speak up. She did not even mind losing Peggy’s friendship over it. She knew she could not make things right with Wanda. However, she had decided that in the future, she would never make anybody else unhappy again.
Ques: Why do you think Wanda’s family moved to a different city? Do you think life there was going to be different for their family?
Answer: Wanda and other members of her family would have faced ridicule and mockery because of their long and different names. Wanda’s family moved to a big city as in the city everybody had funny names, so they would not face trouble in this regard. However, life could still be difficult for them as they could be teased about various other things.
Ques: Maddie thought her silence was as bad as Peggy’s teasing. Was she right?
Answer: Maddie was right when she thought that her silence was as bad as Peggy’s teasing because even though she felt bad about it and never teased Wanda herself, she did not say anything to stop it. A person who sees something wrong happening in front of him/her is as much an offender as the person committing the offence. Maddie acted cowardly because she did not want to lose Peggy’s friendship. Also, she was poor herself, so she feared that everybody would make fun of her too.
Ques: Peggy says, “I never thought she had the sense to know we were making fun of her anyway. I thought she was too dumb. And gee, look how she can draw!” What led Peggy to believe that Wanda was dumb? Did she change her opinion later?
Answer: Peggy believed that Wanda was dumb as she could not understand why Wanda said she had a hundred dresses, even when everybody knew that she was poor. She knew everybody was laughing at her. Even then, she kept giving the same answer. She even described the dresses she said she had. That is why Peggy thought Wanda was dumb. She changed her opinion later when she saw a hundred dresses Wanda had talked about. She saw the drawings and was highly impressed by their beauty. She realized that Wanda was a very good artist.
Ques: What did the girls write to Wanda?
Answer: The girls wrote a friendly letter to Wanda telling her that she had won the contest. They also wrote how pretty her drawings were. They asked her if she liked the place where she was living and if she liked her new teacher. They wanted to apologize to her but ended up writing a friendly letter. They signed it with lots of Xo for love.
Ques: Did they get a reply? Who was more anxious for a reply, Peggy or Maddie? How do you know?
Answer: They did not get a reply from Wanda. Maddie was more anxious for a reply as she thought a lot about it. She would put herself to sleep making speeches about Wanda and defending her from great crowds of girls who mocked her. Before Wanda could press her lips together in a tight line, which she did before answering, Maddie would cry out and ask everybody to stop and then, everybody would feel ashamed the way she felt. Peggy, on the other hand, had begun to forget about the whole ordeal. This shows that Maddie was more anxious for a reply than Peggy.
Ques: How did the girls know that Wanda liked them even though they had teased her?
Answer: The girls came to know that Wanda liked them even though they had teased her as she had asked Miss Mason to give the green dress with red trimming to Peggy and the blue one to Maddie. Later when Maddie carefully looked at the drawing she realized that the dress had a face that looked like her own self. The head and face in the drawing given to Peggy looked just like Peggy. That is when the girls knew that Wanda liked them even though they had teased her.
Ques: What important decision did Maddie make? Why did she have to think hard to do so?
Answer: Maddie made an important decision that she would take a stand if she ever heard anybody picking on someone because they were funny-looking or because they had strange names. She did not even mind losing Peggy’s friendship over it. She knew she could not make things right with Wanda. However, she had decided that in the future, she would never make anybody else unhappy again.
She was unhappy that she could not find Wanda at her home. She felt guilty for not saying anything when everybody else was teasing Wanda. It was her guilt that made her think very hard and arrive at the important decision.
