The Mohicans were the inhabitants of the region first occupied by the Europeans, and consequently they were the first to be dispossessed of their lands.
The Last of the Mohicans is a defining
work with regards to the encounter between two civilizations – that of the American Indian and the European. (Much as Uncle Tom’s Cabin is a defining work with regards to the African American experience.)
As we get better acquainted with the American Indian, we understand that there is an innate nobility in the savage. And that the savage, though differing in custom and culture, is not the
savage that one would have been lead to believe. Though the tide of
history has been unfair to him, and the American Indian has a bleak future ahead; perhaps the underlying message of this
novel is one of hope – a clash of civilizations is not inevitable and, if circumstances allow, the American Indian can learn to coexist with the European in peace and with honour.
The main characters of this novel are Chingachgook (the last chief of the Mohican tribe), his son Uncas, and the American scout “Hawkeye”. The three companions are escorting the Munro sisters – Cora and Alice Munro – and Major Heyward to the safety of Fort William Henry. The Munro sisters are the daughters of Colonel Munro, who is in overall command of the British
forces in the Fort.
The backdrop of this novel is the strife and bloodshed which occurred during the Anglo-French wars to gain control over America. The six nations (or tribes) of the American Indians have allied themselves with the French, thus making their passage to the Fort all the more difficult and dangerous. Trapped in the wilderness, the party takes shelter in a hidden cave, where they await their rescue by Colonel Munro’s forces…
The American author, James Fenimore Cooper, went on to achieve lasting fame with this work, which was first published in the year 1926. The outstanding feature of this novel (besides its portrayal of the clash of cultures) is the beautiful description of nature. If one wants a feel of these virgin territories, if one wants to imbibe the unspoiled atmosphere of the nineteenth century – in brief, if one wishes to share the authentic experience of the American Frontier – one could not have chosen a better book, and a more accomplished guide and narrator.
The tragedy of the American Indians is that they have disappeared from the wilderness, from the regions in which their fathers dwelled, and in some cases they have altogether disappeared from the earth. Their fate is the fate shared by those who have given way to the advance of “modern” civilization…
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