A Circular Life ( When The Legends Die)

When the Legends Die, by Hal Borland, is a novel in which traces the life of Tom Black Bull from a young Indian boy to an older, mature adult. Thus meaning When the Legends Die is a bildungsroman. A bildungsroman is a novel in which the protagonist from beginning to the end matures, and in a classic bildungsroman, undergoes a spiritual crisis. His life is filled with many obstacles and affected by many people positively and negatively. Throughout the story he overcomes these obstacles and lives through the people. His attitude is affected with the presence of the other characters.

Soon after the death of Tom’s father, George Black Bull, Tom is left to be the man of the family. Bessie states to Tom after burying his father, “‘Now you are the man.’”(29) That one statement has a lot of meaning. On one hand it means he has to provide for him and his mom. By hunting for food to help him and his mom stay alive and survive. Then he has to be able to catch enough to eventually save for winter. Then, during the winter, his mom dies from sickness. He brings her up to where his father was buried and buries his mom right next to his father, singing the song for going away. Bessie

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Some common words found in the essay are:
Red Dillon, Bessie Tom, Tom Tom, Legends Die, Bull Indian, red dillon, Hal Borland, Bull Tom, legends die, Black Bull, black bull, spiritual crisis, teaches tom,
Approximate Word count = 854
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)