Last of the Mohicans
Analysis of The Last Mohicans
James Fenimore Cooper was an American author born 1789 in Burlington, New Jersey. He wrote over thirty-two novels, five travel books, a history of the US Navy, as well as a couple of major works that gained social criticism, but was greatly known for his novels of the Leatherstocking series; The Last of the Mohicans, The Pioneers, The Prairie, The Pathfinder, and The Deerslayer. Cooper wrote in an extremely romanticized style, which is expressed in the Leatherstocking series. His novels explored the radical, social, and majestic issues that were taking place as the colonist began to settle and build in America. The perfect example of how James Fenimore Cooper uses romanticism in his writing is chapter three of The Last of the Mohicans, the motif of the story being subjectivity over objectivity.
Romantic literature often focuses on the love of nature, exotic places, exotic people and respect for primitive ways of life. The beginning of chapter three, The Last of the Mohicans, describes the serene landscape of America in July. From the “vast canopy of woods”, to the “roar of a distant water-fall” describes an almost photographic picture of this beautiful America forest. Two men almost as exotic as the land stood on the bank of a river, one a white man and the other an Indian. Chingachgook, the Indian, was half naked; he had a tomahawk, scalping knife, and an old short rifle with him. Hawk-Eye, the white man, wore a hunting shirt and leggings; he had a knife, horn, and the most dangerous, long rifle with him. The men stood there on the bank and discussed their forefathers, as well as how Chingachgook and his son Uncas are the last of the Mohican tribe.
Chingachgook spoke of how the white man wrote books of their life experiences and voyages, and he believed that this could allow a cowardly boaster to pose as a hero. He believed that stories of conquests and bravery should be spoken and passed down from person to person
James Fenimore Cooper was an American author born 1789 in Burlington, New Jersey. He wrote over thirty-two novels, five travel books, a history of the US Navy, as well as a couple of major works that gained social criticism, but was greatly known for his novels of the Leatherstocking series; The Last of the Mohicans, The Pioneers, The Prairie, The Pathfinder, and The Deerslayer. Cooper wrote in an extremely romanticized style, which is expressed in the Leatherstocking series. His novels explored the radical, social, and majestic issues that were taking place as the colonist began to settle and build in America. The perfect example of how James Fenimore Cooper uses romanticism in his writing is chapter three of The Last of the Mohicans, the motif of the story being subjectivity over objectivity.
Romantic literature often focuses on the love of nature, exotic places, exotic people and respect for primitive ways of life. The beginning of chapter three, The Last of the Mohicans, describes the serene landscape of America in July. From the “vast canopy of woods”, to the “roar of a distant water-fall” describes an almost photographic picture of this beautiful America forest. Two men almost as exotic as the land stood on the bank of a river, one a white man and the other an Indian. Chingachgook, the Indian, was half naked; he had a tomahawk, scalping knife, and an old short rifle with him. Hawk-Eye, the white man, wore a hunting shirt and leggings; he had a knife, horn, and the most dangerous, long rifle with him. The men stood there on the bank and discussed their forefathers, as well as how Chingachgook and his son Uncas are the last of the Mohican tribe.
Chingachgook spoke of how the white man wrote books of their life experiences and voyages, and he believed that this could allow a cowardly boaster to pose as a hero. He believed that stories of conquests and bravery should be spoken and passed down from person to person