# The Middle Five — Chapters explained

> Chapter companions for The Middle Five by Francis La Flesche.

- [Dedication](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters/dedication.md): The book is dedicated to the universal boy, a figure representing all boys and their shared experiences.
- [The Middle Five](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters/the-middle-five.md): The chapter introduces the experiences of Indian boys at a mission school, focusing on their daily lives, friendships, and the blending of cultural identities as they navigate education and discipline.
- [I: The Mission](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters/i-the-mission.md): The narrator recounts his first day at the Presbyterian Mission boarding school for Omaha children, describing the overwhelming experience of entering a strange world of stone buildings, bells, and unfamiliar customs. He
- [II: Brush](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters/ii-brush.md): Brush wins a horse race for the narrator's father, earning his respect. Later, a mother brings her two sons to the mission school, and Brush and Frank help them settle in. The chapter also includes a visit to the narrato
- [Edwin](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters/iii-edwin.md): Edwin, a young Omaha boy, is brought to the mission school by his father. He is renamed Edwin M. Stanton, given new clothes, and struggles to adapt to the school's customs, particularly during prayer, which he compares t
- [Little Bob](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters/iv-little-bob.md): After being punished by Graybeard for neglecting his arithmetic, Frank stays after school to complete his work. He is interrupted by a chase between a little boy and a larger boy, and Frank intervenes, getting into a fig
- [V: Warren](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters/v-warren.md): Warren Brush, a skilled whittler, finishes carving a wooden plough, which the Middle Five boys examine and critique. Their discussion is interrupted by Jim, a troublemaker, who provokes Warren into accepting a fight with
- [VI: Lester](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters/vi-lester.md): The chapter recounts a summer afternoon at the mission school where a bee swarm disrupts class. Warren spots the swarm, and the boys, led by Graybeard, chase it with noise and mirrors. Lester is forced to climb a tree to
- [The Splinter, the Thorn, and the Rib](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters/vii-the-splinter-the-thorn-and-the-rib.md): The boys exchange stories about creation, comparing an Omaha legend of a thorn turning into a girl with the biblical story of Adam and Eve. Their storytelling is interrupted by Graybeard's discipline and later by the sup
- [Fraudulent Holidays](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters/viii-fraudulent-holidays.md): The chapter recounts various schemes by the boys to create holidays and escape schoolwork, including a pig chase engineered by Warren and the narrator's terrifying solo trip to shut off the hydraulic ram at night, which 
- [IX: William T. Sherman](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters/ix-william-t-sherman.md): A new boy, Little Tail, visits the school and decides to stay. He disrupts class by shooting a popgun at Graybeard. Later, William T. Sherman saves a boy named Job from drowning, but is punished for swearing after imitat
- [X: A Runaway](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters/x-a-runaway.md): During the summer buffalo hunt, the narrator and his friends Lester and Warren run away from the mission school to join the hunt. They hide from Brush, who is on horseback, and find refuge with a family in the Wood-eater
- [A New Study](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters/xi-a-new-study.md): On a hot September afternoon, the school is disrupted by a wasp incident involving Frank, followed by a surprise visit from the Agent and other officials. The visitors test the students on their knowledge, leading to hum
- [XII: Ponka Boys](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters/xii-ponka-boys.md): The chapter describes the arrival of winter and the schoolboys' excitement over snow. The superintendent announces that each boy can build his own sled, leading to a flurry of activity in the carpenter's shop. Ponka boys
- [The Secret of the Big Seven](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters/xiii-the-secret-of-the-big-seven.md): The Middle Five are allowed to stay up late for the first time, joining the Big Seven around the fire. The leader of the Big Seven, Alexander, proposes that the two groups unite in a secret society. They perform a ritual
- [A Rebuke](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters/xiv-a-rebuke.md): On a Saturday, the narrator returns home from the Mission school and joins friends making game sticks. He witnesses a Winnebago boy being cruelly persecuted by a mob. Called home, his father rebukes him for being present
- [XV: Joe](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters/xv-joe.md): A new boy named Joe is brought to the mission school by his elderly grandmother, who can no longer care for him. Joe is orphaned and helpless, becoming a target for bullying. After Joe accidentally injures another boy wi
- [The Break](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters/xvi-the-break.md): The narrator excitedly searches for Brush to invite him to visit his family, who have returned from the hunt, but Brush declines due to feeling unwell. The narrator spends the day with his family and playmates, engaging 
- [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters/endnotes.md): This chapter provides endnotes that clarify terms, names, and cultural references from the narrative, including explanations of Omaha language phrases, tribal bands, and geographical locations.
- [List of Illustrations](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters/list-of-illustrations.md): This chapter lists the illustrations included in the book, including sheet music for the children's song 'Follow My Leader.'

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters