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1. Discuss the language Estes uses to portray the act of bullying and her purpose for using this language.

Throughout the book The Hundred Dresses, Estes refers to the act of bullying someone as having "fun with" (2) them. Her use of this language creates a bit of mystery at the start of the narrative, since we have not yet received many clues about the nature of this "fun" (2) the other students like to have with Wanda. The reader suspects that there is something sinister about this use of terminology, and Estes quickly proves this hypothesis to be correct before the end of the first chapter.

2. What is ironic about the phrase Estes always uses to denote the bullying of Wanda?

The phrase Estes uses throughout the book as a euphemism for bullying is "having fun with" (34). Obviously, this choice is meant to be ironic and to underscore the way in which the phrase used is the complete opposite of what is actually happening in the girls' encounters with Wanda. Wanda would love to be welcomed as a member, or at least as an observer, of the group of girls in Room 13. So when they alternately bully and ignore Wanda, before referring to their abysmal treatment as "having fun with" (34) her, Estes' intention to highlight the negative effects of bullying becomes clear.

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