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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is the ringleader of the group that bullies Wanda?

2. On what day of the week does the narrative begin?

3. Who is Mr. Heany?

4. The girls who wait for Wanda on Oliver Street and elsewhere engage in what kind of activity once Wanda appears?

5. Wanda is said to enjoy watching the little girls play what game in the school yard?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the significance of the chapter title for "A Bright Blue Day" (19)?

2. What does Maddie suspect about the motivation for Wanda's announcement about her 100 dresses?

3. How does the sound motif appear within the chapter entitled "A Bright Blue Day"?

4. Discuss the symbolism of Wanda's comment to Jake when she tells him, "I want to stay here" (24).

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

6. What is symbolized by the piece of broken mirror with which Maddie plays while listening to the girls talk about Cecile's dress?

7. How does the use of an omniscient narrator allow Estes to point out differences between Maddie and Peggy?

8. What evidence does the narrator provide for the claim that Peggy is "not really cruel" (14)?

9. Discuss the significance of names within the narrative.

10. What evidence suggests that English may not be Wanda's first language?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What ultimate message is Estes sending about the nature and value of compassion?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Estes’s use of metaphor, simile, imagery, and other literary devices as a means to send particular thematic messages within the narrative of The Hundred Dresses.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Estes’s use of the motif of sound within her children’s book The Hundred Dresses.

(see the answer keys)

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