Bessie And Tom Return To Their Lodge example essay topic

When The Legends Die Hal Borland SETTINGS The story begins in Piedra Town, Arboles, on the Southern Ute reservation, in Southwestern Colorado. When Tom, the protagonist, turns five, his parents take him to Horse Mountain. After his parents pass away when he is still young, he is taken back to Piedra Town against his wishes and forced to attend school. He manages to run away to Horse Mountain in order to search for his lost friend, a bear cub. When he finds nothing left of his lodge, he returns to Piedra Town in disappointment. Tom grows up and moves to Bayfield, where he works with Albert Left Hand.

He then joins Red Dillon and trains him to be a bronco rider. His shows take him to various places like Aztec, Bernalillo, Carrizo zo, Socorro, Eastern New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado, El Paso, Fort Stockton, Sonora, Fredericksburg, Uvalde Country, and Odessa, Texas. After Red dies in Odessa, Tom travels alone to Albuquerque, Wolf Point, New York, and Pagosa. He becomes a well-known bronco rider, who is feared by all.

After he has an accident, Tom is forced to retire. He returns to Pagosa and settles down at Granite Peak. CHARACTERS Major Characters Thomas Black Bull / Killer Tom Black The main character and protagonist of the novel. Originally raised by his parents in the wild, he adopts Ute Indian values. When he grows up, he becomes a famous bronco rider. Bessie Tom's mother, who is a Ute Indian.

She is wise and can see people for what they are. She also teaches Tom about all the old Ute traditions and customs. George Black Bull Tom's father, who loves his wife and son dearly. He imparts his knowledge to Tom and teaches him how to survive in the wild.

He is an honest and hard working man. He kills a thief who repeatedly steals his hard-earned money. Blue Elk A member of the Ute tribe who lives in Piedra Town. He is a greedy old man, always seeking to make a profit from any situation. He lies and cheats his own people for monetary gain, claiming to work for their good. Benny Grayback A stocky thirty year old Ute man who works as a vocational instructor in charge of a carpenter shop on the reservation.

He teaches Tom to be practical and adapt to the new ways of the white world. Albert Left Hand A short, fat man who owns a little band of sheep on the flats at the northern edge of the reservation. In need of a helper, he hires Tom when he is only eleven years old. Red Dillon A wiry red-haired man with a crooked nose. Even though he is a gambler and an alcoholic, he owns a ranch in New Mexico, just on the other side of the reservation. He teaches Tom, at the age of eleven, to be a bronco rider.

Tom travels with him to many shows throughout the southwestern United States. Minor Characters Meo Martinez A retired bronco rider. After one of the horses falls on him and hurts his back, he becomes a cook for Red Dillon. Although he is an illiterate Mexican, he understands Tom almost better than anyone.

The two of them become friends. Charley Huckleberry A friend of Tom's father. A member of the Southern Reservation near Arboles, he is a member of the council and in charge of his people. Frank No Deer An Indian with mixed-blood from the Jicarilla Apache Reservation in New Mexico.

He works with Tom's father, but is killed by him for repeatedly stealing money. Sheriff The Sheriff of Piedra Town. Jim Thatcher A kind store owner who trades with the Indians. Luther Spotted Dog A fourteen-year-old boy, who has to share his room with Tom. Neil Swanson The man in charge of the stables and livestock, who allows Tom to keep his bear in the stable. When he hires Tom, he thinks he is not good at his job and is mean to him.

Miss Rowena GllisThe woman in charge of the girl's dormitory, who also teaches English. She is unmarried, slightly plump, and in her early forties. She serves as the unofficial mother to every shy, homesick boy or girl in the school. She is kind to Tom. Ed Porter A half-blood, in charge of the cobbler's shop at the school. He notices Tom's skill at basket making.

Dolly Beaver foot -Ed's wife and the teacher of basketry. She is a Paiute, originally from Utah. Dr. Wilson-A doctor who helps Tom with his arm. Mary Redmond-A nurse in her mid-thirties. She is vivacious, talkative, and slightly plump and has coppery hair and blue eyes. She takes good care of Tom in the hospital.

After some resistance, Tom ends up liking her. Dr. Ferguson -A doctor at the hospital who advises Tom never to ride broncos again. Jim Woodward-The owner of a flock of sheep at Pagosa. He hires Tom as a herder after his accident. CONFLICT The novel is really the coming of age story of Thomas Black Bull. He does not have a single antagonist, but must fight many adversaries as he grows up on the reservation and in the white man's world.

Protagonist The protagonist of the novel is Thomas Black Bull, a young Indian man from the Ute tribe. He is raised by his parents in the wilderness. After their deaths when he is still young, he is taken back to the reservation against his wishes and forced to attend school for the first time. The transition back to civilization is difficult for him and influences his later life. Eventually he trains to be a bronco rider and takes his anger out in the ring; because he is tough and seems fearless, he becomes well-known. Symbolically, Tom stands for all the Indians who were displaced from their natural habitat to live in a strange, difficult, materialistic world controlled by white people.

He also stands for all people who have lost and then search for their own identity. Antagonist Tom's antagonist is growing up, which is made more difficult when he is forced to return to the reservation and then live in the white man's world. As he matures, he must face and overcome many obstacles and adversaries. One particularly difficult person he must deal with is Blue Elk, a Ute Indian, who lives apart from the tribe.

He claims to have his people's best interests at heart, but in reality, he is greedy for money and will take advantage of anyone and any situation to make a profit for himself. He is the one who forces Tom out of the wilderness and who steals everything in his lodge. In the white' man's world, Tom grows very angry and frustrated, feeling that everyone is trying to control him, especially Red Dillon. He takes out his anger on the broncos that he rides in the ring. Climax The climax occurs after Tom has his accident and retires from being a bronco rider. Working as a sheep herder, he spends a lot of time in the mountains and thinks about his past and who he is.

One day he falls asleep and has a dream about the Indian All- Mother. She calls to him and says Tom is her son. He then makes peace with himself and again adopts the old Ute ways of his parents. No longer running from his past or his true identity, he accepts who he is and proudly embraces his heritage. Outcome The story ends in comedy, for Tom finds himself.

After he is forced at a young age from his lodge on Granite Peak, Tom spends much of his life denying his roots. When an accident causes his early retirement from bronco riding, he seeks and finds himself. He apologizes to the All-Mother for denying his past and running from the place he belongs. Finally accepting his identity and finding peace, he builds another lodge on Granite Peace and lives off the land, following Ute custom. PLOT (Synopsis) The novel tells the coming of age story of Tom, a Ute Indian who is raised in the wilderness by his parents.

When they die when he is still young, he adopts the old Ute ways and builds a lodge for himself and lives off the land. Blue Elk, however, forces him to go back to the reservation, where he must attend school for the first time. In truth, Blue Elk had no interest in Tom's well-being; he really just wanted to steal the things in Tom's lodge. Living back in civilization is very alien to Tom, and he finds life on the reservation and in the white man's world very difficult, largely because people are always telling him what to think, feel, and do.

Because of the control he experiences, Tom feels constantly frustrated and suppressed; he even believes he has lost his own identity. In response, he grows very angry. Tom's anger leads him to a rough career. Seeing his toughness, Red Dillon offers to train Tom as a bronco rider.

He spends most of his life touring with Dillon. Even after his mentor dies, Tom continues in bronco riding and becomes well-known. When he has a major accident, he is forced into early retirement from the ring. He returns to Pagosa and accepts a job as a sheep herder. Spending much of his time alone in the mountains with the sheep, he questions who he really is. One day he has a dream in which the Indian All-Mother calls him her son; it changes his life.

Tom makes peace with himself; he then apologizes to the All- Mother for forgetting his Ute roots and running from the place where he belongs. In response, he builds another lodge on Granite Peak and makes everything he needs to live. He vows never again to forget the ways his parents have taught him. He will live the rest of his life with pride in his heritage. THEMES Major Theme The major theme of the novel is the frustration of growing up and finding one's place in life.

For Tom, the maturation process is made more difficult because he is dislodged from his natural environment and made to adopt the ways of the white man. It was difficult for him to know who he was during adolescence, for all the things he had known earlier in life were pulled out from underneath him. Never acclimating to the white man's world, he accepts Dillon's offer to become a bronco rider. Even though he stays in this career for years, he never really feels it was meant for him; he never settles down, but constantly travels from place to place. When he is injured and must retire from bronco riding, he returns to his roots and becomes a sheep herder, spending many hours alone in the mountains. One day, in a dream, he hears the Indian All-Mother speak to him and call him her son.

Suddenly he realizes that he must be true to his heritage instead of trying to run from it and deny it. Minor Themes Another important theme in the novel, which is closely related to the major theme, is the pain of displacement. Tom is forced from his environment and placed in an alien atmosphere, where he must submit to strange ways and the control of others. He is made to change the way he dresses, speaks, eats, and spends his time.

The new ways are completely unnatural to him and cause him great frustration, which he cannot vent. As a result, he grows up to be an angry adult who takes out his repressed emotions on the broncos that he rides. Another important theme is man's cruelty to his fellow man. Blue Elk tricks Tom and then steals everything from his lodge for his own profit. In town, Tom is treated cruelly, being taunted and teased for his heritage. When he fights back, he is always blamed for the trouble.

When he agrees to join Red Dillon, he is terrible used and abused by Red so that he can gain money on his bets. Throughout his life, Tom is exposed to being treated cruelly by his fellow man. MOOD The mood is largely angry, for Tom is upset that he has been forced from his natural environment and placed on a reservation against his will. Publicly, Tom is unable to express his anger, so he eventually becomes a bronco rider and takes out his frustration and anger on the horses in the arena. He makes them submit to him through force, the same way he was made to submit to his new life, where he was totally controlled by others. The bronco busting, however, never really gives Tom pleasure.

He continues to feel angry to the point that he sometimes cannot bear to live with himself. He is so negative that he treats others rudely and can never develop any close human relationships. Towards the end of the novel, when Tom becomes a sheep herder and spends time thinking in the mountains, the mood shifts from angry to reflective and finally to peaceful, as Tom finds and accepts himself and his heritage. PART I: Bessie CHAPTER 1 Bessie is an intelligent and observant woman from the Ute tribe.

She is married to George Black Bull, who has killed Frank No Deer in a fight, because he repeatedly stole from him. Before he can be arrested for murder by the Sheriff, Black Bull leaves for Horse Mountain; he tells his wife to join him there later. When the Sheriff and a man from the sawmill come to the house, they search for Black Bull, but do not find him. After they depart, Bessie packs her belongings and leaves the house with her young son after dark.

It is not easy for her to leave the house behind, for she has shared it with Black Bull for two years. CHAPTER 2 Bessie thinks of what happened two years ago, in 1910, and describes the circumstances that brought her family and their friends to Pagosa. Charley Huckleberry, a member of the council, decided to go fishing at the Piedra reservation line with a group of his Indian friends, including Black Bull. They traveled further and further up the river to catch fish and hunt deer. Soon they were intercepted by Blue Elk, who told them they were in trouble for fishing and hunting without permits. He stated that they would have to pay a fine.

Since the group had no money, he told them they could work in the sawmill for two dollars a day. It would take them two months of labor to accumulate enough money for the fine. Since the Indians did not know Blue Elk and his greedy nature, they did not question the fine or the remedy. They willingly went into Pagosa, where they were made to sign documents stating that they would not quit their jobs in the sawmill as long as they were in debt. Of course, they were already in debt for the fine; and they had to go deeper in debt to pay their rent, their food, and their purchases at the company store.

It seemed there would never be an escape from Pagosa. CHAPTER 3 Bessie reflects on how Blue Elk tried to control the lives of her family. When he finds out that Bessie and Black Bull are not husband and wife, even though they have a son who is almost three years old, he talks them into getting married; he also persuades them to have their son, Tom, baptized. It is obvious that Blue Elk wants them to follow the customs and beliefs of white, civilized society so that they will be less 'savage. ' Even though Black Bull works very hard and strives to save money, he can never get out of debt. As a result, he cannot leave Pagosa as he wants to do.

When Frank No Deer, a fellow worker, steals some of his hard-earned money on three different occasions, Black Bull explodes and challenges him to a fight. In the fighting, No Deer is killed. CHAPTER 4 Bessie awakens her young son in the middle of the night so that they can leave without attracting attention. Carefully, she departs with the boy, unseen and unheard by anyone. She stops three different times for her son to rest on the way to Horse Mountain; each time she carefully chooses an appropriate spot to avoid being seen.

After sleeping in the wild on the first night, she fishes so her son will have something fresh to eat. After waiting to make certain that nobody is following her, she proceeds to the foot of Horse Mountain. Then she waits two more days to confirm that she is not being tracked. When she finally reaches her destination and finds her husband, they decide to travel further to Bald Mountain. There they stop and build a shelter beside a spring. CHAPTER 5 In order to have meat to eat, Bessie and Black Bull hunt in the old-fashioned way without guns.

They are careful to gather and cure enough for the winter, which lies ahead. The innovative Bessie makes storage bags to hold the supplies; she also makes leggings and shirts for the family. She and Black Bull both take care to teach Tom the old Ute ways of surviving in the wilderness. As winter approaches, Bessie and Black search for a warmer site. When they find the perfect place, Black Bull builds a lodge.

It will be the family's home for several years. CHAPTER 6 Winter passes and the woods grow green with spring. Tom is also growing in size and knowledge. Soon he is as tall as Bessie; he is also able to manage for himself in the wilderness, having learned the Ute ways.

When the next winter arrives, it is very harsh. Black Bull has to go down to the lower valley to find any deer. As he hunts, he is killed by an avalanche. When he does not return to the lodge, Bessie and Tom follow his tracks and find him covered in snow and ice.

They bury him in the old-fashioned Ute manner, placing his dressed body in a cave with food for his journey to the next world. They also sing funeral songs for him. After the burial, Bessie reminds Tom that he is now the man of the family. CHAPTER 7 Feeling that he is a man, Tom chooses the name of Bear Brother for himself. Through hard work, he and his mother are able to survive the harsh winter after Black Bull's death, even though they are sometimes hungry.

They are delighted when spring arrives and life grows easier. During the summer, Bessie breaks their axe while chopping wood. She knows she must have a new one before the advent of winter. As a result, she decides that she and Tom must go into Pagosa to purchase one. When Bessie and Tom arrive in town, the people stare at them. Not bothered by the looks, Bessie goes straight to the store.

When she enters, Jim Thatcher recognizes her and asks about the whereabouts of Black Bull. He also tells her that his name has been cleared in the murder, for it was decided he acted in self- defense. He suggests that the family return to Pagosa to live. Bessie does not answer Jim, pretending not to understand.

Instead, she busies herself with trading two of her hand-made baskets for a box of ammunition, an axe, a knife for Tom, and some candy. When their business is complete, Bessie and Tom return to their lodge. CHAPTER 8 After returning to Bald Mountain, Bessie repeatedly thinks about what Jim Thatcher has told her. The next summer, she decides she wants to return to Pagosa to confirm what she has been told. She tells Tom that she must go on a journey alone. When she departs, she takes another two baskets to trade with Jim Thatcher.

In the store, Bessie chooses calico for a skirt, cloth for a blouse and a blue coat with brass buttons for Tom; she pays for the purchases with her baskets. She also confirms what Jim Thatcher had told her about Black Bull last year. As she is departing Pagosa, Bessie encounters Blue Elk in the street. He asks her for money, saying he was responsible for settling the matter of her husband. She tells him that her husband is dead and refuses to give him anything.

Even though Blue Elk asks her many questions, she does not answer them. Blue Elk then brings up Tom and says he should be in school in Pagosa. When Bessie disagrees with him, he snatches her purchases, claiming that she certainly owes him that much. She manages to grab the coat away from him and then turns and runs away. CHAPTER 9 By the next summer, Tom has grown into a stocky young Indian.

Bessie is very proud of his abilities, for he has fully mastered the Ute ways in the wilderness. She knows that he belongs on Bald Mountain with her, not in school in Pagosa, as Blue Elk has suggested. Bessie again travels alone to Pagosa. As she enters the town, she asks some women about the whereabouts of Blue Elk and is relieved to learn that he is not in town. She goes to the store and trades more baskets with Jim Thatcher. She also tells him how Blue Elk treated her the last time she was in town.

Thatcher is angry that he claimed to have helped clear her husband's name; he assures Bessie that Blue Elk had no hand in settling Black Bull's matter. After her business in the store is finished, Bessie returns home to Bald Mountain and proudly gives Tom the new red b.