# Graybeard — The Middle Five character guide > Graybeard in The Middle Five by Francis La Flesche. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** Addressing Graybeard **First appearance:** 0003-i-the-mission ## Snapshot The mission's watchful schoolmaster, whose slow nods, sudden bell-taps, and stern moral pronouncements keep every boy guessing. ## Who they are Graybeard presides over lessons, meals, and punishments with a gravity the boys both mock and dread. He can doze through a recitation, then spring to life when bees swarm, organizing pans, mirrors, and rope with startling energy. When he announces that some pupil has been swearing, his quiet summons to Sherman turns a small schoolroom into a stage for loyalty and fear. ## Relationships ### [Me](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_five_se/characters/me) _family_ Graybeard is the narrator's grandfather, a wise elder who guides and teaches him. ### [Brush](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_five_se/characters/brush) _social_ Brush and Graybeard interact as elder and youth within the community, with Graybeard showing authority over Brush. ### [Lester](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_five_se/characters/lester) _social_ Graybeard and Lester interact as elder and youth within the tribal community. ### [Alexander](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_five_se/characters/alexander) _social_ Alexander and Graybeard interact as elder and youth within the community, with Graybeard as an authority figure. ### [Me](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_five_se/characters/me) _family_ Graybeard is the narrator's grandfather, a wise elder who guides and teaches him. ### [Lester](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_five_se/characters/lester) _social_ Graybeard and Lester interact as elder and youth within the tribal community. ### [Me](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_five_se/characters/me) _family_ Graybeard is the narrator's grandfather, a wise elder who guides and teaches him. ### [Brush](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_five_se/characters/brush) _social_ Brush and Graybeard interact as elder and youth within the community, with Graybeard showing authority over Brush. ### [Brush](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_five_se/characters/brush) _social_ Brush and Graybeard interact as elder and youth within the community, with Graybeard showing authority over Brush. ### [Alexander](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_five_se/characters/alexander) _social_ Alexander and Graybeard interact as elder and youth within the community, with Graybeard as an authority figure. ## In the story ### [I: The Mission](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters/i-the-mission) The gray-haired man who leads prayers and speaks at meals, likely a teacher or superintendent. ### [Edwin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters/iii-edwin) The teacher who welcomes Edwin, registers him under a new name, and leads the prayer session. ### [Little Bob](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters/iv-little-bob) Teacher who punishes Frank by making him stay after school to finish his arithmetic. ### [VI: Lester](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters/vi-lester) Teacher who directs the bee swarm response and forces Lester to climb the tree. ### [The Splinter, the Thorn, and the Rib](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters/vii-the-splinter-the-thorn-and-the-rib) Disciplines the boys for loud talking after being woken up. ### [Fraudulent Holidays](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters/viii-fraudulent-holidays) The teacher who conducts the reading lesson and later dismisses school after the stovepipe incident. ### [IX: William T. Sherman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters/ix-william-t-sherman) The teacher who is hit by Little Tail's popgun and later punishes William T. Sherman for swearing. ### [A New Study](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters/xi-a-new-study) Teacher who is cross and flustered; gets stung by the wasp; mistakenly calls on Abraham Lincoln to answer 'Who discovered America?' ### [XII: Ponka Boys](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters/xii-ponka-boys) Superintendent; gives permission to chase the Ponka boys, tries to maintain order during the distraction. ### [The Secret of the Big Seven](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters/xiii-the-secret-of-the-big-seven) School authority who discovers the secret activities, interrogates the boys, and administers beatings with switches. ### [A Rebuke](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters/xiv-a-rebuke) Leads the boys in the Lord's Prayer at bedtime. ### [XV: Joe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters/xv-joe) The superintendent who harshly beats Joe's hand; later apologizes after Brush speaks to him. ### [The Break](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_five_se/chapters/xvi-the-break) Mentioned as having his door open and close during the night of Brush's death. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_five_se/characters/graybeard - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_five_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_five_se/characters