# A Rebuke explained — The Middle Five

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

## 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.

## Character check-ins

### 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 lines

> 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._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters/xiv-a-rebuke
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_middle_five_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters