A Circular Life(When The Legends Die) When the Legends Die, by Hal Borland, is a novel in which traces the life of Tom Black Bull from a young Indian boy to an older, mature adult. Thus meaning When the Legends Die is a bildungsroman. A bildungsroman is a novel in which the protagonist from beginning to the end matures, and in a classic bildungsroman, undergoes a spiritual crisis. His life is filled with many obstacles and affected by many people positively and negatively. Throughout the story he overcomes these obstacles and lives through the people. His attitude is affected with the presence o