The Last of the Mohicans
96. James Fenimore Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans
The French and Indian War is the backdrop for this novel of adventure, romance, and the complicated relationships between American Indians and European settlers in North America. Cora and Alice Munro, the daughters of a British general, must travel through the wild American forests to join their father at a military fort. Accompanying them are a young soldier named Duncan Heyward and an Indian guide, Magua. But when Magua betrays the group and kidnaps the women, it’s up to Hawkeye, an Englishman who lives and hunts with the Delaware Indian tribe, and his Mohican companions to save the day.
I have to say, I wasn’t terribly impressed by this book. I think I agree with Mark Twain’s assessment of Cooper’s writing style; the book is pretty cliché-laden and melodramatic, and most of the characters seem like cardboard cutouts. The most interesting person in the book, to me, was the villain! Although Magua was clearly supposed to be evil, I almost pitied him in places, and I wanted to hear more of his story rather than following the tiresome Hawkeye around. The repetitive plot also bothered me - the group of protagonists would make its way through the forest, get captured, escape, fight the enemy Indians, and then begin the cycle again. It was interesting to see the different viewpoints toward the American Indians in this book; while a lot of the natives’ characters seem very shallow and stereotypical, Cooper also goes out of his way to talk about how the Europeans oppressed them. Aside from this sociological aspect, however, I found nothing particularly interesting about this book.