Racial Divides in the Last of the Mohicans
Samantha Sandoval
7 February 2012
Racial Divides in The Last of the Mohicans Throughout James Fennimore Cooper’s novel The Last of the Mohicans a common theme of interracial friendship and love and the difficulty it takes to overcome such an obstacle, is shown strongly in the work. In the novel Cooper shows how the America people of European decent treat those that are native, by showing how negatively they treat the Native Americans. Chingachgook and Hawkeye have a friendship that is genuine and deep, bypassing the normal relationship between that of a white man and a Mohican Indian. Interracial love and romantic relationships are condemned in The Last of the Mohicans, for example when, Cora, the older daughter of Munro, is approached by Magua and he explains his desire for their marriage it is preceded that their relationship is uncomfortable as well as awkward whereas Uncas and Cora’s mutual relationship ends in a terrible tragedy. Cooper makes it apparent that race was important in each individual’s acceptance and respect in the early American community, but the bond and friendship between Hawkeye and Chingachgook is stronger than the American community’s influence; there is also a common theme of interracial romantic relationships being impossible because of how Cora’s relationships with Uncas and Magua both come to an end. Numerous critics agree that Cooper’s novel makes the relationship between the Native Americans and the white Americans noticeably different from their affiliation with their own race. “The Last of the Mohicans shifts its action back in time to the mythopoetical realm when the future of American hung in the balance between the primitive and the civilized, between the French and the British, between the white and red men.” (Burt 1). Burt suggests that with the treatment between the characters it shows America at a different stage, one that is still being built on and not quite finished in construction. Burt also suggests that That the
7 February 2012
Racial Divides in The Last of the Mohicans Throughout James Fennimore Cooper’s novel The Last of the Mohicans a common theme of interracial friendship and love and the difficulty it takes to overcome such an obstacle, is shown strongly in the work. In the novel Cooper shows how the America people of European decent treat those that are native, by showing how negatively they treat the Native Americans. Chingachgook and Hawkeye have a friendship that is genuine and deep, bypassing the normal relationship between that of a white man and a Mohican Indian. Interracial love and romantic relationships are condemned in The Last of the Mohicans, for example when, Cora, the older daughter of Munro, is approached by Magua and he explains his desire for their marriage it is preceded that their relationship is uncomfortable as well as awkward whereas Uncas and Cora’s mutual relationship ends in a terrible tragedy. Cooper makes it apparent that race was important in each individual’s acceptance and respect in the early American community, but the bond and friendship between Hawkeye and Chingachgook is stronger than the American community’s influence; there is also a common theme of interracial romantic relationships being impossible because of how Cora’s relationships with Uncas and Magua both come to an end. Numerous critics agree that Cooper’s novel makes the relationship between the Native Americans and the white Americans noticeably different from their affiliation with their own race. “The Last of the Mohicans shifts its action back in time to the mythopoetical realm when the future of American hung in the balance between the primitive and the civilized, between the French and the British, between the white and red men.” (Burt 1). Burt suggests that with the treatment between the characters it shows America at a different stage, one that is still being built on and not quite finished in construction. Burt also suggests that That the
Cited: Blakemore, Steven. ""Without a Cross": The Cultural Significance of the Sublime and Beautiful in Coopers The Last of the Mohicans." Jstor.org. University of California Press. Web. 20 Jan. 2012. Burt, Daniel S. “The Last of the Mohicans.” The Novel 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Novels of All Time, Revised Edition. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2010. Bloom’s Literary Reference Online. Facts on File, Inc. 20 Jan. 2012. Cooper, James Fennimore. The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757. New York: New American Library, 1962. Print Rinne, Craig. "White Romance and American Indian Action in Hollywood 's The Last of the Mohicans." Jstor.org. University of Nebraska Press. Web. 20 Jan. 2012 Scalia, Bill. “The Last of the Mohicans.” In Werlock, Abby H.P., ed. The Facts on File Companion to the American Novel. New York: Facts on File, Inc., 2006. Bloom’s Literary Reference Online. Facts on File, Inc. 20 Jan. 2012