Last of the Mohicans Authenticity
The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimoore Cooper is one of the most acclaimed and best-selling books about the American Frontier to be ever written. It is and was hailed as a masterpiece due to its more human characterizations of the Native American warriors and tribesman for that time period. The Last of the Mohicans is viewed as the first popular book that portrayed Native Americans in a more positive manner rather than as crude savages who were resolutely determined on killing ‘the white man’ and then proceeding to cutting of their scalp. Yet, are all of the descriptions in The Last of the Mohicans of Native Americans correct? Or were they blurred and magnified to fit within the basis of this romantic novel of the French and Indian War? The Last of the Mohicans is set in 1757 near Lake George of upstate New York during the French and Indian War. The premise of this book is about the fall of Fort William Henry and how they affected a few of the people related to the Massacre of William Henry. The five main tribes of Native Americans that are portrayed in this book are the Delaware Indians, the Mohicans, the Mohawk, and the Iroquois. The former two groups and the latter two groups are shown in a stark contrast. The Delaware and the Mohicans are portrayed as peaceful, calm, and kind Native Americans. While the Mohawks, Iroquois, and Huron Native Americans along with being deceitful, are shown as bloodthirsty, and vengeful human beings. While many people praise Cooper for inserting humanizing aspects of Native Americans in his narrative, many people forget to cite him for reducing the Mohawks, Iroquois, and Huron to a little more than cannibalistic fiends. Cooper writes “More than 2,000 raving savages broke from the forest at the signal, and threw themselves across the fatal plain with instinctive alacrity. We shall not dwell on the revolting horrors that succeeded. Death was everywhere, and in his most terrific and disgusting aspects.