Thesis Statement: The morality of the main character is one that represents a spiritual communion with nature, a firm opposition to discrimination, and an exaggerated state of divine morality.

I. Natty's morality is guided by nature.

A. His morality is all-inclusive when it comes to

B. Nature is religion because it represents the divine.

II. Natty's morality derives from the pure morality of nature.

A. His morality is free of discrimination.

B. His pro-nature morality is accepting the good and

III. Natty's morality is exaggerated.

A. His divine morality conflicts with the events of the

B. His morality is one that can resist temptation.

As much as any American writer, James Fenimore Cooper's work, is representative of the American frontier and the struggles of Native Americans and pioneers who took the advice of Horace Greeley and "went West." While many criticize the writing style and syntax of Cooper, almost no one denied the value of his work as being representat

Certainly such characterizations as Natty must be understood to represent the "ideal" of morality, not necessarily a level to which any human can hope to achieve in every aspect every moment of their lives. However, it is an ideal worthy of aspiration, and the closer we come to achieving it, the closer we come to communing with nature and the Divine. Modern society still has a long way to go before being able to commune as one with nature; after all, we still trash the environment and abuse African Americans, Native Americans and other minorities as if it were a national pastime. The unfortunate thing is that many people believe Cooper's version of morality is some romanticized notion of decency and the Divine.

The morality of Natty is not pro-Indian, pro-American, or pro-anything other than pro-nature of the all-inclusive acceptance of the good and a rejection of the bad. Whenever a white man is a good man, he is an ally on whom the Native American can depend; likewise, when the Native American is a good man, he is an ally on which the white man can depend. Anyone who is not a good man is someone on whom no one can depend, nor are his ways, manners, or methods to be adopted as they are in opposition of an all-inclusive and Divine nature.

British they fight against the French and the French-backed

his morality is as pure as that of the men whose unaffected religion he is so fond of pourtraying [sic].

spirituality of nature, a nature that is not rejected by the Native American. The Native American appreciates nature as the ultimate spiritual guide and the ultimate method and manner through which men can commune with the Divine. The Native Americans have taught Natty a respect for nature as the ultimate source of the Divine. Cooper's version of the moral white man and the moral "red" man both involve a communion with nature first and man second. "The romanticized image of the strong, fearless, and ever resourceful frontiersman . . . as well as the stoic, wise, and noble 'red man' . . . was borne more from Cooper's characterizations than any other source" (Federici 1).

writings of Fenimore Cooper. The gentleness of his own mind, its lofty appreciation of every thing that was good, its innate poetry breathed forth in his graphic descriptions of nature, in the love with which he regards the forests, the broad prairies, and the sunlighted valleys. (6-7)

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Approximate Word count = 1692
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)