The Last of The Mohicans, James Fenimore Cooper, 1826

 

Introduction

I began reading The Last of The Mohicans during a time of consolidation for my book collection. I’ll be moving from DC to Boston in two months, and transporting three full bookcases is more than I can justify. So, it fell to me to prune down the collection. Happily, there’s “Little Library” book donation cabinets around DC, including a couple near my apartment, which allowed me to think of my pruning as a “good deed.” Incidentally, it would be fascinating to know who picked up any of my donated books and what value they may have found in them. But I digress. Suffice it to say, I looked across my bookshelves, seeking to identify those books that I would likely never really read or otherwise had no more use for. My eyes fell on a copy of Mohicans that I’d had since childhood, and on account of my enjoyment of the Daniel Day-Lewis film adaptation and my warm memories of watching it with my late father, I decided to pick it up. 

I realized that the focus of my reading has been on works in translation. The literary traditions of France, Germany, and most recently Russia, have drawn me more so than the English or American, at least in the undefinable genre of “literary fiction.” My father was not such a fan of translation, for there is arguably an impenetrable wall between the reader and writer. He was delighted that by studying French in school I might have the opportunity to read the original Victor Hugo or Alexandre Dumas. Therefore, in noticing Mohicans I noticed the American literary tradition. I am now embarking on a curriculum of American literature, including on the “Great American Novel,” of which Mohicans is the first consensus candidate. 

Great American Novel

A quick aside on the “Great American Novel” - what is it? As elusive as it is ill-defined, the “GAN” aspires to explore questions like: What is America and who are Americans? The idea was proposed by literary critic John William De Forest in an 1868 essay, in which he defined it as a “tableau” of American society that should “paint the American soul.” This is a nation of many peoples and places, both of which have changed steadily over time. Therefore, the GAN of one time may be quite different than that of another. Some might argue that it was never possible to produce, especially now, but the attempts are instructive and illuminating. Furthermore, there are scathing critiques of the very idea of a GAN, particularly with claims that the GAN (as originally defined or in its continuation) presumes a white, male author or perspective. Others commend the goal for its attempt to capture all of America’s qualities, across racial and other groups. Unfortunately, writing the GAN has become a goal for self-aware American writers, which in my view has damaged the authenticity of the concept. It is perhaps now more likely to find a true candidate in film, TV, or music, rather than literature. 

Setting

The Last of the Mohicans has a simple plot but a complex setting. It takes place during the conflict known as the “French and Indian War” to the English-American colonists (and in U.S. social studies classes today) and the “Seven Years War” in Europe, in 1757 (Mohicans was published in 1826). Two great empires, France and England, fought each other in a global war. The North American theater would determine which would dominate that continent for the coming century, the French from Canada along the Great Lakes and St Lawrence River, the English from the Thirteen Colonies on the Atlantic coast. Fighting alongside the two armies were the colonists and allied nations of American Indians (I will follow the practice of the U.S. Census and government in the use of this term link).

The American Indian nations had their own complex interactions and long histories that did not depend on the Europeans. In the novel, great attention is paid to the nation of the Delawares or Lenape, of which the Mohicans were a distinguished part. The Delewares were an Algonquin people who dominated the area later occupied by the Thirteen Colonies, but at the time of the novel were a decimated and disappearing nation. Other groups included the Iroquois confederation (Mohawks, etc) south of the Great Lakes, and the Huron in Canada. Other Algonquin groups lived in Canada who were allied with the French while those to the south with the English - note that this was determined by geography rather than ethnic or linguistic groupings. American Indian groups continued to make war and peace regardless of European alliance lines - the loose European control of their allied tribes plays a key role in the plot, which I will describe. 

I haven’t studied American Indian history before, so a major followup to this story must be to learn the true history behind the setting described above. Mohicans has sparked my interest and served as an entrypoint for me. There are risks of relying on this kind of material to learn history, but it also has a role to play.

Mohicans primarily takes place along the Hudson River Valley up to near the Canadian border (today’s upstate New York). Only two Mohican warriors still live, Chingachgook and his son Uncas. Their companion is the English-American they call Hawkeye, whose Christian name was Natty Bumpo. 

Plot

At the start of the novel, a band of English-Americans travels to Fort Willian Henry on the Horican, also known as Lake George, manned by a small force led by Munro and under siege by a larger French force led by Montcalm. The group includes Munro’s two daughters, Cora and Alice, their escort Duncan Heyward, Munro’s deputy, and a naive singing preacher named David. While Munro waits at William Henry for a large English relief force, Cora, Alice, Heyward, and David  seek to reach Munro guided by an American Indian named Magua. It turns out on their trail, that Magua deceives and betrays them and is loyal to the French. But, the group meets the Mohicans who help them and take them to Fort William Henry. They arrive just in time to witness Munro’s honorable yet decisive surrender to Montcalm. Montcalm allows the English to retreat, yet soon after they leave the fort, they are attacked and massacred by Montcalm’s American Indian allies. Cora and Alice are taken captive by Magua who leaves to head to Canada, so that Magua may rejoin the Hurons. Heyward (who loves Alice), David, and Munro survive the attack and enlist the help of Hawkeye, Chingachgook, and Uncas to pursue Magua and save Alice and Cora. They discover and follow the hidden trail to a pair of camps, one Huron, one Canadian-Delaware, both allied to the French, near Canada. The group manages to free the two daughters of Munro, but in a decisive final battle, Magua kills Uncas and Hawkeye kills Magua.

Overall the plot is very modern - it reads like a classic chase thriller or action novel, despite the dated language. Much of the time not spent in action and chase is spent on discussions of the local natural environment and political situation, as well as the American Indian traditions and customs. It must be said that at times this focus on cliffhangers and chases gets a bit boring, and there is much less psychological and emotional depth and inquiry than from authors like Dostoevsky. 

I think some of the (literal) cliffhangers are genuine rather than cheap, but the action is repetitive. However, near the end of the story, Cooper presents a thrilling and dramatic scene that doesn’t resort to violence or action. After the heroes have successfully saved Cora from the Huron village (pretending to be a bear or shaman by wearing a bearskin for disguise, among other ruses), the whole group seeks and receives help in the nearby Delaware village, hiding there anonymously. In pursuit, Magua suspects that Chingachgook and Uncas would go to the village due to their shared kinship. He demands that the Delawares return his prisoners, provoking what amounts to a trial by the Delaware chiefs to determine what to do. An ancient Delaware chief named Tamenund emerges and hears the petitioners, during which the Mohicans’ auspicious identity and kinship with the tribe are revealed. Uncas counters Magua’s claims and Tamenund largely sides with Uncas - however, Tamenund grants Magua’s claim on Cora. The scene had a lot of gravitas and suspense. 

Characters and Stereotypes

Before profiling some of the main characters, I must be explicit about the perspectives of the author. Cooper writes with a kind of appreciation for the Native American culture and history, and seems to want to explain and express these things to the reader. There are also routine instances of admiration for their many skills and quirks, particularly physical feats they demonstrate in the forests. However, this novel is the source of the “noble savage” stereotype, specifically popularized by Uncas, whose physical form, skill, demeanor, and composure are described as honorable and heroic. This honor and heroism is nonetheless paired with an idea of a general “savagery” and a lack of civilization common to all the Natives, which ranges from at best the tragic and stunted nobility of the Mohicans to at worst the vicious and despicable, almost subhuman treachery of the “Mingos”, the Mohicans’ nemesis tribe. The Natives are described as less than the Whites, although the shortcomings of the colonists and their culture are often called out as well. It is important to study that common stereotypes about American Indians derive from this novel.

I already mentioned the “noble savage” stereotype embodied by Uncas. Another classic, seen in movies like Dances With Wolves or Avatar, is the White man who “goes native,” leaving behind White civilization in favor of the Native, embodied by Hawkeye. Novelistically he serves as a useful link between the two worlds, through whose explanations the reader learns about the Natives. Heyward is a simple brave man, and David serves as some comedic relief. 

Cora, Magua, and Identity

Two characters are much more interesting than the rest of the cast - Cora and Magua. It turns out that Cora’s mother was from the West Indies and of partial African ancestry, which in the racial hierarchy of the day served as a cloud over Cora’s prospects for success and happiness in the White world. Cora is shown as a tragic figure, willing to sacrifice herself for Alice by volunteering to go with Magua to be his wife. This is not totally out of love and selflessness, for Cora knows she is “doomed” because of her appearance and background, impacting her decisions. 

Magua is the other. From his perspective, his is a story of struggle, failure, and redemption. Once a Huron chief, Magua was captured by their enemies, the Mohawks. He joins the Mohawk tribe as a warrior and ally to the English, but lapses into alcoholism, for which he is lashed by Munro. He later learns that his wife, believing him dead, has taken a new husband. In the novel, as mentioned before, he betrays the English and leaves the Mohawks, captures Alice and Cora, wishing to take a new wife and get revenge on Munro, and rejoins the Hurons and their French allies. 

Magua is shown to be an incredible orator, likened by Cooper to a crafty politician or diplomat, as well as a leader and fighter.  He convinces the Hurons to follow him as he strives to regain his lost place as a chief or sagamore. He is portrayed as cunning, ambitious, devious, even cruel, in stark contrast to the righteous, selfless, and honorable Uncas - it is no accident that the two opposite fight at the climax of the story and kill each other. 

While Magua’s motivations could be seen as simple and evil from the perspective of the novel’s heroes, but it’s clear that circumstance and tragedy have left their mark on Magua, to some extent rendering him a victim and sympathetic figure. An alternate story told from his perspective might convincingly focus on his redemptive arc.

Alcohol

Let us pause on the issue of alcohol and American Indians. There is a historiographical debate about the European practice of trading and giving alcohol to American Indians, including whether it was done to intentionally harm them, since liquor did not exist in America before European settlement. Even in the 21st century, American Indians die of alcohol abuse at rates least twice to as high as four times the rate of the general U.S. population. There are stereotypes that American Indians are more likely to be alcoholics or susceptible - at the cultural level, this was certainly true during the time of Mohicans. 

In both of these characters, one of the major concepts that is explored is the complexity of identity when one’s own identity groups overlap imperfectly or are in mutual conflict. The issue of identity and its impact on individuals is among the quintessential American issues, perhaps the defining American issue, due to role of race in our history. The novel poses very important questions about identity, belonging, individualism, and loyalty - how do we define these concepts for ourselves and those around us, particularly when we never exist in isolation? There are forces acting on us from around us, from society, through history, and within our interpersonal relationships, which may force us into categories that may not fit. These may or may not be in conflict with the strivings and directions that come from within us and might define us absent the external forces. 

Inner Worlds

Despite the above, the lack of exploration of the characters’ inner worlds, their psychologies, the relative absence of probing the great questions of human meaning and purpose, was somewhat disappointing - although my perspective is skewed by my recent experience with Dostoevsky may have anchored my focus somewhat. We don’t fully see the internal struggles and feelings of the characters as they deal with these issues. This may in large part be due to the more extensive use of a third person narrator perspective, limiting the chance for reflective internal monologues and the like.

Natural World

One of the highlights for me was reading about the natural environment. Cooper’s descriptions were vivid, clear, and chock full of details. The Hudson River, Lake George, and tube full extent of the wild forests and woods all count among the most prominent characters in the book. My copy of Mohicans had a printing of a Hudson Valley school landscape painting, a great choice to express the beauty of the setting and its importance. In some ways the descriptions act as a time capsule for what these lands were like before much of it was destroyed by the settlers, intentionally and otherwise by ax and pest. 

In the last year or so I’ve visited several regions of Appalachia, including the Catskills, which is not so far from the setting of Mohicans. I’ve been slowly learning the native trees, including those lost to pests like the American chestnut. I recall one scene when Hawkeye gathers several chestnut shoots to form a makeshift bed for Cora and Alice, and I felt some dark humor in this, considering that it's impossible today.

Writing Style

James Fenimore Cooper has a special distinction for having drawn a particularly cutting rebuke from fellow American writer Mark Twain, who criticized nearly all aspects of Cooper’s writing, from the prose to the plot. The style is definitely noticeably dated, with its fair share of circumlocution. I was able to get accustomed to the style quickly and I didn't find it distracting - by no means was this experience like that of reading Shakespeare in grade school.