The book The Hundred Dresses is about a girl named Wanda Petronski who is bullied at school because of her differences, last name, and the fact that she wears the same dress to school everyday. Now there is an art contest at school where the person who can design the best dress gets a prize. Wanda is teased so much that her father decides that they are moving away and only then do the kids realize how their bullying impacted Wanda. The winner of the contest is Wanda who drew a hundred dresses. After they leave, Wanda's friends, Peggy and Maddie, send her a letter and she writes back. This story conveys an important message that you should accept people who are different and don’t participate in bullying. Through the character of Wanda, we can realize the harmful effects of bullying.
Bullying usually involves intention teasing and aggressive behavior which is repeated over time toward a specific victim who can’t easily defend themselves. The hundred dresses show us different forms of bullying. One type is called verbal bullying which involves name calling and hurtful teaching. In the book although Peggy is Wanda’s friend she still verbally bullies her about her shabby dress. The second type is social bullying where the victim was purposefully excluded from a group of people. Peggy tried to isolate Wanda from all of her classmates. The girls also gossiped about Wanda and turned her peers against her. There are two other forms of bullying not mentioned in the book, cyberbullying and physical bullying. Cyber Bullying is common today where someone is bullied online. Physical bullying is when bullies physically hurt or intimidate their victim. No matter the type, bullying can involve both physical and verbal bullying to harm others or socially isolate the victim through rumors and gossip.
At the start, bullies will not seem that much of a problem such as name calling but it will later cause harmful effects and consequences. The hundred dresses shows us how different types of bullying can eventually become a big problem. Verbal bullying through teasing and name calling can result in embarrassment, anxiety, and self-denial. Wanda feels ashamed and shy towards others. Social bullying will lead towards isolation and exclusiveness towards the victim which destroys their social connection with their peers. Spreading rumors about the victim will turn his or her peers against the victim. This will ruin the victims' friendships. As in the book, the various bullying that Wanda faced eventually led to her having to leave the school altogether by moving away. Although not mentioned in the book, physical bullying is the most severe type and can result in physical injuries which can last a long time. Cyber bullying is also not mentioned in the book and is one of the most common types of bullying today which can lead to public humiliation because the internet is open to everyone. It can also damage their reputation and relationships. Even if bullies start small, they will grow and eventually cause lifelong consequences.
There are important actions you can take in order to support the victim or even yourself. We can speak up, comfort the victim, and raise awareness in order to reduce bully behaviors. First, we need to recognize if a victim is being bullied like verbal, physical, and cyber bullying so we can stop it. After you're sure the victim is being bullied, bystanders should stand up for the victim rather than just being silent and watching it happen. Now, you need to tell a trusted adult who the bully is, along with when and where it happened. Peers can also offer comfort and encouragement to the victim in front of the bully to show your attitude towards bullies. If the situation is safe, then you could try to talk your way out of being bullied or you could just brush it off with humor. If the situation is not safe then you should not be physical and instead run away and report the bully to the closest trusted adult. Everyone should look out for bullying and support the victim.
The hundred dresses by Eleanor Estes shows just how severe bullying can be and it can really hurt kids such as Wanda. Wanda felt discouraged and shy when she was being bullied and because no one stood up for Wanda, the bullying never stopped. A bully does not harm just one person, the bully could even harm bystanders because they might feel guilty about not standing up for the victim. Wanda's experience shows that no one deserves the pain that is inflicted by a bully. A bully has many forms such as verbal, physical, and social bullying which will harm the victim in multiple ways. At first, it won’t seem like the bully is hurting anyone but they are actually making tremendous damage if unchecked to the victim. So we need to create a culture of courage to speak out against bullies and lend hands to victims.
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