When the Legends Die: The Timeless Coming-of-Age Story about a Native American Boy Caught Between Two Worlds

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urn:oclc:32365093 Republisher_date 20121013233957 Republisher_operator [email protected] Scandate 20121013222032 Scanner scribe8.shenzhen.archive.org Scanningcenter shenzhen Usl-grade-level 8-12 Usl_hit auto Worldcat (source edition) I am glad I waited until I was older to read this. I don’t think it would be quite as relatable to children under maybe 13. Probably a little older. It’s pretty heavy stuff in my opinion. I first read this book as a Freshman in High School, some 32 years or so ago. I always remembered that I liked it, and as I am following the Literary Life Podcast's reading challenge of #20for2020 this year, and they have a "Reread a Book You Read in High School" category, I thought it would be a fitting reread. Aside from the challenge, I wondered if it would be appropriate for my nearly 14 year old son. The story is told from the point of view of an omniscient narrator. This narrator is privileged to see the unfolding of the tale through several different characters. This gives the story a well-rounded but sometimes shallow perspective. Though the reader is witness to many variations of opinions, none of the characters is revealed in depth. In the end, it is Thomas's alienation from himself that he must face. Although he seeks out his homeland on a subconscious level, it takes him awhile to remember that this is the place of his roots. At first, he believes that he has come home to recuperate from his accident. Slowly, it dawns on him that he has truly come home. In the last moments of the novel, Thomas learns to bridge the alienation that exists in his own head.

It's a profession and skill that he is beating the white man at his own game and making some good money in the process. It offends his sense of honor though, when Widmark now asks him to lose a few contests to make the odds better when he rides for real. It's the start of a break in their relationship. The woman in charge of the girl's dormitory, Rowena also teaches English. She serves as the unofficial mother to the schoolchildren and acts kindly toward Tom. Ed Porter I watched this on the Encore Western Channel. I didn't expect much going in, based on the description on the channel guide, and the film started off slow, but I found myself more interested as the film went on, and half-expected to find out it was based on a true story. When The Legends Die is a 1963 American novel, written by Hal Borland; and a 1972 American Western film released in DeLuxe Color by Twentieth Century-Fox.

When the Sheriff approaches the family's home, Bessie must negotiate his line of questioning. This matter challenges her sense of morality, and, while those of the Ute tribe despise lying, they also possess a strong sense of loyalty toward their families. Bessie ultimately determines that she would rather lie than betray her husband, and further issues of honesty recur throughout the novel. He was a stranger here. He had always been a stranger. All he had here ws a hatful of memories. And what did the memories mean? Nothing. Less than nothing. They were like scars. You looked at them and remembered old hurts that had healed over." In the next episodes, Thomas dons the white man’s clothes, has his braids cut off, and tries to learn the skills of farming and the language of his oppressors. He learns to ride horses and herd and sheer sheep, skills that will be of benefit to him in the future. One day, while visiting a nearby city to sell sheepskins, a cowboy tries to tease Thomas by promising to give him money if he can find his horse and ride it into town, knowing that his horse does not like strange riders. Thomas, thinking that the moneymaking proposition sounds easy, follows the man’s instructions and rides the horse. Disbelieving that the boy can repeat his success, the cowboy offers Thomas more money to bring yet another horse to him. The next horse is even meaner than the first, but Thomas is successful. I related greatly to Tom’s difficulty in figuring himself out, and to his realizing that he had been led astray by others, instead of blazing his own trail.

Moreover, there is very little use of symbol or metaphor in the narration. Rather, the tale unfolds through a series of actions, with almost half of the story involved with the activity at rodeos.Nowadays, I wonder what the life of old Meo was about. What were his thoughts? What were his realizations? Who did he understand himself to be? Did he forgive and understand others, or was he a stunted, degenerate person who didn't think much about anything?

A kind store owner who trades with the Indians. Jim Thatcher repeatedly stands up for Bessie's and Tom's interests. Luther Spotted Dog

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The most prominent theme of the novel involves Tom's lifelong struggle to find meaning, happiness, and peace in his life. While all human beings struggle with this search, Tom's position, as a Ute Native American and as a child whose parents have both died young, renders his path toward meaning particularly difficult. Tom must negotiate countless societal pressures as he leaves the wilderness and enters the civilized world. As a Ute Native American living in the beginning of the twentieth century, the new life he begins in Pagosa forces him to reconsider his entire value system as well as the details of his daily patterns. The next phase of his life, in which he becomes a wild bronco rider in the rodeo, does not provide the peace and sense of accomplishment he has expected. Despite his fame, success, and relatively comfortable existence, Tom finds himself continually dissatisfied, angry, and in search of greater meaning in his life. After years of struggling with fundamental questions about his identity, Tom finally comes to terms with himself when he accepts a job herding sheep in the same area in which he spent his childhood. By facing his fears and painful memories, he overcomes them and learns that an embrace of his heritage and a new, simple lifestyle in the wilderness can provide him with the most contentment he has felt since his childhood. Because this theme provides the novel's central conflict, the novel concludes as soon as his search for his identity concludes. Richard Widmark plays Red Dillon, the old rodeo cowboy who becomes Forrest's manager/trainer. A whole lot like the way Robert Mitchum takes on young Arthur Kennedy in The Lusty Men. But we have a far bigger cultural and generational gap than there was in The Lusty Men. Despite his good old boy upbringing, Widmark develops a real affection for Forrest so their break up is pretty painful on both sides. Widmark in his performance as Dillon shows a seamier side of rodeo than other films about the sport never have. Of course Mr. Widmark shows it with style.