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What Happens in Part 4
After the bright, cruel morning, Maddie cannot stop thinking about the game. That night she lies awake, troubled, knowing in her heart that it is wrong. She decides she will do something at last: she will write a note to Peggy — not a bold one, just a gentle note asking whether they might stop teasing Wanda. But then a cold fear creeps in. She imagines Peggy’s surprise turning to scorn, and the whole class laughing at poor Maddie in her faded hand-me-down clothes. What if she became the next target? Frightened, she never sends the note. She tells herself that Peggy is a good person who would never really do wrong, and tries to push the whole thing out of her mind. Maddie has become a bystander: she sees the wrong clearly, wishes with all her heart that it would end — and is still too afraid to speak.
What We Will Learn
Focus
What It Means
Theme
The story’s big idea — the cost of staying silent, the meaning of courage
Foreshadowing
An early hint of what is to come — the note Maddie cannot send
Tone
The author’s attitude toward Maddie — gentle, honest, never mocking
Chapter Summary
Chapter
Key Events
Ch. 3 — A Bright Blue Day (continued)
Troubled by the teasing, Maddie decides to write a note asking Peggy to stop — but fear stops her. She imagines becoming the next target and never sends it, telling herself Peggy means no real harm. She has become a bystander: she sees the wrong but stays silent.
💭 Before You Read · Warm-Up (not scored)
There are no wrong answers here — just think, guess, and talk:
Have you ever wanted to speak up about something unfair but felt too afraid? What held you back?
Maddie writes a note but never sends it. Is wanting to do right the same as doing it? Why or why not?
Predict: what do you think will finally push Maddie to act — and will it come in time?
Copyright Notice
This is an independent study guide created by Garden Heights Academy to support reading comprehension and literary analysis. It contains original analysis questions and does not reproduce any text from the novel. The Hundred Dresses is a work by Eleanor Estes. This guide is not affiliated with, authorized by, or endorsed by the author or any associated rights holder.
Part 1
Vocabulary
Study 10 key words from Chapter 3, then answer each question.
🧠Knowledge Bank · The One Who Watches
Psychology · The Bystander EffectAny episode of bullying holds three roles, not two: the child causing harm, the child receiving it, and the far larger group of bystanders who see and say nothing. Studies of school playgrounds find onlookers are present for most incidents, and that their reaction decides how long an incident lasts. Fear is what usually holds them still — fear of losing a friend, fear of becoming the next target. Maddie carries both, plus a third: she is poor herself, so she knows how the teasing would feel. Silence is not neutral, though. To everyone in the circle it reads as quiet approval, and it leaves the target completely alone.
consciencen.Ch.3
The inner sense of right and wrong
“Maddie’s conscience troubled her.”
guiltyadj.Ch.3
Feeling that you have done wrong
“She felt guilty for laughing along.”
couragen.Ch.3
The strength to do right though afraid
“It takes courage to speak up.”
cowardn.Ch.3
A person who gives in to fear
“She feared being a coward.”
defendv.Ch.3
To stand up for someone
“No one would defend Wanda.”
loyaladj.Ch.3
Faithful to a friend
“Maddie was loyal to Peggy.”
tremblev.Ch.3
To shake, often from fear
“The thought made her tremble.”
ashamedadj.Ch.3
Feeling bad about what you did
“Maddie felt ashamed of herself.”
decisionn.Ch.3
A choice that you make
“She could not make the decision.”
whisperv.Ch.3
To speak very softly
“She could barely whisper it.”
1Your ‘conscience’ is —Ch.3
2To feel ‘guilty’ is to feel —Ch.3
3Fill in each blank with the correct word.Ch. 3
Word choices:couragedefendloyaldecision- some words will not be used
The strength to do right though afraid is .
To stand up for someone is to them.
4A ‘coward’ is a person who —Ch.3
5To be ‘loyal’ to a friend is to turn against them.Ch.3
6To ‘tremble’ is to —Ch.3
7Fill in each blank with the correct word.Ch. 3
Word choices:ashamedwhisperguiltyloyal- some words will not be used
To feel bad about what you did is to feel .
To speak very softly is to .
8A ‘decision’ is —Ch.3
9To ‘defend’ someone is to —Ch.3
10To feel ‘ashamed’ is to feel proud and pleased with yourself.Ch.3
Part 2
Comprehension
How well do you understand this part of Chapter 3?
📚Knowledge Bank · Following a Character’s Choice
Reading Skill · Tracking DecisionsPlots turn on decisions, so a reader who tracks decisions is reading the machinery of a story. One useful habit is to name three things at every important moment: what the character wants, what she fears, and what she finally does. Maddie wants the teasing to end, fears losing Peggy and her own safe place, and settles on an act that costs her nothing in public. Notice that she does something and then undoes it, which is a reversal and tells us more than either half alone. Watch what she says to herself afterward, because the excuse a character offers reveals just what she is trying not to see.
1What keeps Maddie awake at night?Ch.3
2What does Maddie decide to write?Ch.3
3What does the note ask Peggy to do?Ch.3
4Why does Maddie never send the note?Ch.3
5Write the numbers 1–5 in the boxes to show the order of Maddie’s choice. Number 1 = what happens first.Ch. 3
She decides to write a gentle note to Peggy.
Fear of being teased next stops her hand.
She never sends it, and stays a silent bystander.
Maddie lies awake, troubled by the game.
Her conscience tells her the teasing is wrong.
6What does Maddie fear will happen if she speaks up?Ch.3
7What does Maddie tell herself to feel better?Ch.3
8What is a ‘bystander,’ which Maddie has become?Ch.3
9Maddie sends the note and bravely defends Wanda.Ch.3
10Maddie knows in her heart that the dresses game is wrong.Ch.3
Part 3
Literary Elements
Understanding HOW and WHY Eleanor Estes tells the story in Chapter 3.
🎭Knowledge Bank · A Gentle Voice for a Hard Failure
Literary Craft · Tone and ForeshadowingAn author’s attitude toward her own characters leaks into every sentence, and that attitude is tone. Estes could have written Maddie as a coward, using sharp words that invite a reader to look down on her. Instead the sentences stay patient and unhurried, which asks us to recognize ourselves in her rather than judge her, and that choice is why the chapter stings. A writer also plants small signals pointing at trouble ahead, a technique called foreshadowing; anything a character fails to do can serve, since it hangs over the pages that follow. Together, voice and hint carry a book’s real theme.
📚 Literary Devices in This Part · definitions & examples
Theme is the story’s big message (silence has a cost; courage means doing right while afraid). Foreshadowing is an early hint of what is coming (the note Maddie cannot send hints at the regret ahead). Tone is the author’s attitude toward the subject (Estes writes about Maddie gently, with understanding).
1The idea that staying silent has a cost is the story’s —Ch.3
2Foreshadowing is an early hint of what is to come.Ch.3
3Fill in each blank with the correct word.Ch. 3
Word choices:themeforeshadowingrhymeindex- some words will not be used
The big idea about silence and courage is the .
The unsent note hinting at future regret is .
4The gentle, kind way the author writes about Maddie is the story’s —Ch.3
5Tone is the author’s attitude toward the subject.Ch.3
6Fill in the blank with the correct word.Ch. 3
Word choices:tonerhymesetting- some words will not be used
The kind, honest attitude the author takes toward Maddie is the .
7Why does Estes let Maddie fail to send the note?Ch.3
8The unsent note is a hint of trouble ahead. That storytelling tool is —Ch.3
9Fill in the blank with the correct word.Ch. 3
Word choices:themerhymeplot- some words will not be used
The lesson that courage means doing right while afraid is a .
10The story’s theme in this part is best stated as —Ch.3
Part 4
Think Deeper
Four deeper challenges — no single-word recall. Read, weigh the evidence, and reason it through.
💭Knowledge Bank · Conscience Against Fear
Ethics · Moral CouragePhilosophers separate two things that feel identical from the inside. Conscience is the part of a person that already knows what is right; courage is the separate strength needed to act on it. Maddie’s conscience works perfectly, which is exactly why her failure hurts — she does not lack knowledge, she lacks the second thing. Ethicists have argued for centuries that bravery is not the absence of fear but action taken while afraid, and that its everyday form is small: staying beside someone, declining to laugh, walking away from a joke. Doing nothing feels safe. It is not, because a wrong allowed to continue is a wrong chosen.
1Claim: “Maddie knows the game is wrong but is too afraid to stop it.” — choose the two details that best prove it.Claim & Evidence
2Shows Maddie’s guilty conscience and fear, or just a detail? Tap each item to send it left or right.Sort into two
◄ Conscience and fearJust a detail ►
3Match each cause to its result. For each cause, pick its result.Cause & Effect
Maddie takes part in the game→
She lies awake at night→
She wants to make it stop→
She fears losing her friend→
4Fill both blanks to complete the reasoning.Build the Argument
Maddie’s sleepless guilt shows that , which means that .
Part 5
Standardized Test
The Bystander’s Choice — SAT & TOEFL-style practice
🎯 You already have the skills from the sections above — this is just a fun way to meet real SAT & TOEFL-style questions. Read the passage (the highlighted words are tested below), then answer the questions below. Tap an answer to select it, then tap it again to confirm — you can change your choice until you confirm.
When someone is treated unkindly, there are usually three kinds of people present: the one doing the harm, the one being harmed, and the many who simply watch. Those who watch are called bystanders, and they matter far more than they think. A bystander often feels that the trouble is not really their concern, and that staying quiet is the safe, sensible choice. But quiet has a price, and the person being harmed is the one who pays it. Silence can look, to everyone watching, like agreement, and agreement from a whole group is what makes unkindness feel allowed. Studies of school life show something hopeful, though: when even one bystander speaks up — a single voice saying ‘stop’ — the unkindness very often ends. It takes real courage, because the one who speaks risks being laughed at too. Yet that one brave choice can rescue another person from a great deal of pain.
Original passage written for Garden Heights — not a quotation from the novel.
1According to the passage, who are the ‘bystanders’?TOEFL · Factual Information
2A bystander often feels the trouble is not their “concern,” meaning not their —SAT · Words in Context
3What does the passage say silence can look like?TOEFL · Factual Information
4What hopeful thing do studies of school life show?TOEFL · Factual Information
5To speak up takes real “courage,” meaning the strength to —SAT · Words in Context
6Why is speaking up risky, according to the passage?TOEFL · Factual Information
7To “rescue” another person means to —SAT · Words in Context
8What is the passage mainly about?TOEFL · Rhetorical Purpose
9This passage connects to Part 4 because Maddie —TOEFL · Rhetorical Purpose
10Insert Text (TOEFL). Look at the four squares [1]–[4] in the excerpt below. They show where this sentence could be added: “And so, saying nothing at all, Maddie became part of the very unkindness she wished would stop.”
A bystander is someone who sees a wrong but does not act. [1] Maddie knew the dresses game was cruel, and she longed for it to end. [2] Yet she was afraid — afraid that Peggy might turn on her next. [3] So she kept her mouth shut and looked away. [4]
Where would the sentence fit best?TOEFL · Insert Text
Part 6 · Optional
Creative Writing
A bonus challenge to practice your English. Take your time and have fun with it.
About This Section
This writing task is optional and is not part of your auto-graded score. The feedback below checks only the basics — length, spelling, and grammar — not whether your ideas are right or wrong. It is meant for classroom discussion and creative practice, so feel free to use your imagination!
Writing Task — Part 4 “The Note Maddie Never Sent”
Maddie writes a note to Peggy but is too afraid to send it. Write the note you think Maddie wanted to send. What would she say to Peggy about the game and about Wanda? Be honest and kind, the way Maddie wishes she could be. Write at least 40 words.
You can start with: “Dear Peggy, I have been thinking about the game we play…”
0 / 40 words minimum
🗣 Teach It · Just for Fun (optional)
No right or wrong — close the screen and tell someone nearby what a ‘bystander’ is, and why Maddie stays silent even though she knows the game is wrong. Can’t find anyone? Tell yourself out loud. The moment you teach it, you truly understand it.
Part 4 Complete!
You finished Chapter 3 of The Hundred Dresses.
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Your Writing
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Independent study guide by Garden Heights Academy. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the author or any rights holders. Contains original analysis only; no text from the novel is reproduced.
