The Pioneers Oliver Edwards Summary

In Chapter XII of James Fenimore Cooper’s The Pioneers, Oliver Edwards’ outburst against Reverend Grant on the topic of forgiveness sheds light on the meaning of civilization rather than religion. This dissertation stems from a conversation before the conflict in which Grant told Edwards of his hope that his education “eradicated most of those revengeful principles which [he] may inherited by descent” (Fenimore Cooper, 137)—due to his presumed Native American blood. It was also known in the earlier chapters that Chingachook was a warrior before his conversion Christianity as John Mohegan. Upon reflection of this, he said “I was educated in the Church…I have been taught deep and practical lessons of forgiveness” (136). Thus, the idea of civilization