Summary Of When The Legends Die

As humans, we strive for change, and at other times, we change even when not needed. What is the force that drives us to do the things we do? This, we may never know, but something that we all want in life, is a meaning. In When The Legends Die by Hal Borland, Thomas, a little boy who’s 5-years old, wanted meaning too, and did many things to fit in with a different culture. He grew up in the old Ute ways and was forced and then gave in to the new Ute ways. This caused many conflicts, but in the end, it reflected who Tom was as a person. Beginning Thomas’s training in school, he did not enjoy it at all. The new Ute ways made him feel like a replica of an Indian. He tried running away multiple times, but his guardians would always somehow catch him, till one day where he had finally escaped. When he walked up the mountains and found what was left of his lodge, this marked a turning point for him. Blue Elk had burnt down the lodge Tom built with his departed family. Tom became numb and gave up on trying to run away. He returned to school “the next morning and put on his shoes instead of his moccasins and not once after he

“He spoke to no one except when he was spoken to, but when he did speak it was an English.” (Page 71) Pursuing that, in part 4 of the book, “unconsciously, he was trying to make contact with somebody, something.” (Page 178) This is important because in Part 4 of the book called “The Mountains”, Tom goes from having so much resentment, to wanting to figure it all out. This is one of the first steps in his recommencement with his self. His changes are very similar in part 2 “School” and part 4 “Mountains”, because of his transitions in becoming “Tom Black” and himself now, “Tom Black Bull”. Although he was living in the new Ute ways, everytime he comes to the mountains, he includes his old Indian self again, by putting on his moccasins, hunting for food to eat, and bathing in the pool of