Chapter 4-5

In Chapter Five, Marty O'Brian, the captain of the baseball team, brings up the issue of protected free speech. Even if the message is disagreeable to some people, he argues, it should not be censored. The Council calls a vote on issuing a statement without calling for any punishment, and it passes with everyone but O'Brian voting in favor. O'Brian abstains, prompting Walker to openly ask him if he is the one distributing the papers. O'Brian does not admit or deny it.

It is in this chapter that the character of Marty O'Brian is established, and he will become the main oppositional character in the novel once it is learned that he is the one responsible for distributing the racist newspapers. This has not yet been revealed to the characters, although Walker suspects that O'Brian sympathizes with the message of the papers after an interchange during the Athletic Council meeting. Once the facts are known, O'Brian appears hypocritical in retrospect.