The Middle Five · Chapter
A Rebuke explained
On a Saturday, the narrator returns home from the Mission school and joins friends making game sticks.
What happens
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 at the wrongdoing, teaching him that passive presence is complicity. His mother later comforts him with gentle advice about kindness. The chapter ends with the narrator returning to school, reflecting on the meaning of the Lord's Prayer.
Themes in this chapter
Family and Community
The father's rebuke and mother's comfort illustrate the family's role in teaching moral values and community responsibility.
Education and Discipline
The father's lecture serves as a moral lesson, and the narrator's reflection on the Lord's Prayer shows his growing understanding of spiritual teachings.
Cultural Identity and Assimilation
The narrator moves between Omaha village life (making bone slides) and the Mission school (reciting the Lord's Prayer), highlighting the tension between indigenous and white cultures.
Characters to notice
- Me
The narrator returns home, plays bone slides, witnesses the persecution of a Winnebago boy, and is rebuked by his father for his passive presence.
- Ga-imʻ-ba-zhe
The narrator's uncle, who calls him 'Little White-chest' and leads the game stick making.
- Edwin M. Stanton
Edwin waters horses and wrestles with the narrator on the way home.
- Little Bob
Waits for the narrator at the fork of the paths to return to the Mission school.
- Graybeard
Leads the boys in the Lord's Prayer at bedtime.
- Lester
Shares a bed with the narrator and Edwin, and nudges the narrator asking why he is quiet.
Key passages
“He who is present at a wrongdoing, and lifts not a hand to prevent it, is as guilty as the wrongdoers.”
Being a passive witness to an injustice makes you complicit in it.
The father's central moral lesson to the narrator.
“When you see a boy barefooted and lame, take off your moccasins and give them to him. When you see a boy hungry, bring him to your home and give him food.”
If you encounter someone in need, you should help them directly, even if it means sacrificing your own comfort.
The mother's gentle advice on compassion and generosity.