Last of the Mohicans: A Dying Generation

The Last of the Mohicans is one of five novels in the Leatherstocking Series, all of which

were written by James Fenimore Cooper. Cooper is known to be “one of the nineteenth century’s

most popular story tellers” because he “presented a simpler, idealized view of America’s

westward migration” (Charles 392). Cooper was a pioneer of American literature. Writing

during the early to mid 1800’s, Cooper is said to have “originated the American historical novel

and the tale of frontier life” (Haney 70). The Last of the Mohicans is categorized as a historical

romance because it incorporates the elements of a romance into the context of a historical event.

Throughout the novel Cooper explores such broad subjects as heredity and how it affects the

relationships between the characters. Also discussed in the novel are the interracial relationships

between Indians and whites and how these relationships have caused many of the characters to

loose a place in their culture and even brought entire races, such as the Mohican tribe, to

extinction. Binary Oppositions, such as pure blood versus mixed blood, noble Indian versus

savage Indian, and forest versus civilization are also apparent throughout t

. . .
Some common words found in the essay are:
Stanley Milne, Cooper Cooper, Indian-like Hawkeye, Indians Hawkeye, West Hawkeye, British War, Fenimore Cooper, Native American, English French, British Indians, james fenimore, james fenimore cooper, fenimore cooper, stanley milne, munro sisters, native americans, american literature, mohican tribe, repr stanley milne, chingachgook uncas, repr stanley, fort william, fenimore cooper american, fort william henry, york charles scribners,
Approximate Word count = 3096
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)