About this title: The classic frontier adventure story: Deep in the forests of New York State, the woodsman Hawkeye (a.k.a. Natty Bumppo) and his loyal Mohican friends become involved in the bloody French and Indian War.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
"This is the second, and most popular, volume in Cooper's famed Leatherstocking series which follows the adventures of the early American pioneer Natty Bumppo. In Last of the Mohicans, Bumppo is a middle aged man known to the reader as Hawkeye. The story takes place in the midst of the French and Indian Wars. Hawkeye and his two Mohican Indian cohorts, friendly to the English cause, though against imperialism in general, have befriended an English major who is escorting his General's two daughters through the woods after they are betrayed by their guide Magua. It follows their pursuits through the wilderness, keeps the reader on edge with many chase and narrow escape scenes and offers keen insight into the fascinating customs of Native Americans. It does get bogged down in places with long and somewhat unrealistic dialogue, but the elegant prose of the work as a whole is hard to beat. It is also quite different from the movie of the same title and worth a read, even if you have seen the movie."
"Ok, I realize that in the past when the book was first released it would have been a sensational action packed book. The pace was unrelenting. But, I have a big problem with this book. I feel that because Cora was found to have "negro" blood in her, that gave the author the right to have her kidnapped time and time again by renegade native-americans and because she was already spoiled by her blood line, it alright that she was kidnapped but if her sister was in the same position she would be defiled forever because her pure white blood couldn't handle it. Yeah, I had a big problem with how race was viewed in the book. I have to admit that for those times to even view a native-american as good was a miracle and that Cora's written personality was nice but it really rubbed me wrong. For an action book, it was good. It was fast paced and had lots of action."
"I have been reading about the French & Indian War, so thought this would be another part of that. Although it takes place during the 3rd year of the war, and shows the conflict between Indian Nations and their reasons for allying with either the French or the British, this is a more a personalized aspect of conflict between Indians, with the white scout Hawkeye as a focus. In the end, the forces of good defeat the forces of evil, but Uncas, who personified the forces of good, is killed by the evil Magua, who is then killed by Hawkeye. Cora has already been killed by another Huron. Why didn't the author have Uncas kill the man who kidnapped his love, rather than have the white man be the one needed to repel evil?
Here is where I got very upset with the author, although in all honesty - given the era in which he was writing - he probably could not have done differently even had he wanted. Cora and Uncas suffer the tragic fate of doomed interracial love, while Alice and Heyward, the conventional white lovers, will live happily ever after. Did J.F. Cooper write it this way because society could not accept their love; is he suggesting that different races should not mix; or did he simply want a dramatic and sad ending?"
"'Neath the flowery prose lies a great adventure story, if you can follow it. The most horrendous scene is told in such ornate language that you're not quite sure what happened. But 'tis no matter. There's plenty of time to unravel the meaning. You'll remember that in the Jane Austen books, the girls read "Cooper and Scott (Ivanhoe)" to each other. There was no hurry for the books to end, because evenings were long and entertainment was limited. So don't expect to finish the story in one evening, unless you read the "Great Illustrated Classics" version, which has a picture on every page and tells it in simple language. But if you stick to the original, be prepared for a long but enjoyable tale. Caveat: You won't enjoy this novel if you're offended by so-called "racist" language. Cooper was raised among Indians, and he told it like he saw it. He calls them savages, brutes, beasts, and varlets. You won't see any moral equivalence between their actions and those of the white men. If you would rather sympathize with the Indians, go read "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.""
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