The Painful Life of Tom in “When the Legends Die”

543 Words2 Pages

I would hate to be Thomas Black Bull. Tom the main character of the story is often forced into many of his situations; such as losing his parents, throwing many rodeo titles, or being used or pushed around by other people. This book fits many of the bildunsroman genre because of the protagonist, the theme of the story, and the amount of external conflicts Tom is forced to face with.

In the beginning of the story Tom loses both his parents at a very young age. Since Tom’s father died in the avalanche, he was forced to take the role of a man as a boy. This shows that Tom did not have a man to guide and teach him how to do things especially in the Ute ways. This must have made a big impact on him because he often had to teach himself or have his mother teach him how to do many things like hunting or fishing. Tom’s mother, Bessie, died of being sick but was able to teach Tom many of the old Ute ways before she died. Tom will often show that he carries a memory of his mother because he will often remember the old songs that he used to sing with her in the text. This shows th...

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