Dec 23, 2009

When the Legends Die | Themes and Characters

When the Legends Die is a study of character, focusing on the main character's inner-life. Borland uses part of the Utes' culture to organize his study, using names to indicate the state of the character's spirit. Thus, the main character has several different names, each representing a stage of his spiritual life. At first he is "Little Black Bull," son of George Black Bull and Bessie Black Bull. His parents were raised in the old ways and only reluctantly have accepted a life in the new ways. Only five years old at the outset of the novel, in 1912, Little Black Bull plays among...