The Last of the Mohicans Analysis Essay Example

In July of 1776, Jemima, the daughter of famed New England woodsman Daniel Boone, and two of her friends were captured by an Indian tribe.  Boone hastily formed an ambush and rescued his daughter and her companions.  The account of this adventure reached the ears of New York resident and writer James Fenimore Cooper.  Cooper had written several novels, all of which met with little success.  When Cooper heard of Daniel Boone’s adventure, he decided to write a story featuring a character modeled after Boone.  However, Cooper’s active life in upstate New York prevented him from penning the tale of his fictional woodsman until the 1820’s.  The Pioneers, the first in Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales series, featured a scout named Nathaniel Bumppo, whom many readers know from the final volume of the Leatherstocking Tales, The Deerslayer.  Nathaniel Bumppo, also called Hawkeye or Leatherstocking, appeared in all five of the Leatherstocking Tales, the most famous of which is The Last of the Mohicans.  Set at the beginning of the French and Indian War, The Last of the Mohicans, sometimes called A Narrative of 1757, follows the experiences of a party of early Americans and their tribulation-filled journey through the wilds of New England.

Cooper neatly summarizes most of the story in the book’s first sentence.  “It was a feature peculiar to the colonial wars of North America, that the toils and dangers of the wilderness were to be encountered before the adverse hosts could meet.”  To understand this narrative of 1757, one must have some familiarity with the French and Indian War, one of the colonial wars of which the author speaks.  Also called the Seven Years War, the French and Indian War was rather confusingly named, as the war was not between the French and the Indians, but rather between France and Britain over the possession of Canada.  The French and the majority of the Indians formed one of the warring factions, while Britain and the colonists formed the other.

The author states that the dangers of the wilderness must be met before the fighting parties could meet.  The main danger of the wilderness was the Indians, who were extremely hostile to the British, making a wilderness journey considerably riskier for a Britisher than a Frenchman.  In The Last of the Mohicans, Major Duncan Heyward of the British Army is about to begin such a perilous journey.

Colonel Munro, also of the British Army, has entrusted Heyward to escort his daughters, Cora and Alice, through the hazardous wilds of upstate New York to Fort William Henry, where he is stationed.  Foolishly, but with the best of intentions, Heyward permits an Indian named Le Renard Subtil, who claims to be loyal to Britain, to guide the party to the fort.  As Heyward, Cora, and Alice leave a colonial village led by their native guide, they are approached by a stranger who asks to join the party.  Major Heyward and his charges regard the newcomer, who gives his name as David Gamut, curiously.  Gamut, an odd-looking personage, is tall and gangly, dressed in an ill-fitting blue coat and crowned by a tricorn hat so misshapen it hardly deserves its name.  David Gamut carries a flute and a book of Psalms, and speaks in a voice entirely unsuited to his ungainly appearance.  He is a travelling singer, a minstrel of sorts, he explains, and he wishes to join the travelers as there is safety in numbers.  Heyward and the Munro sisters allow David to accompany them, and he promptly serenades them with his hymns as they travel deep into the forest.

As it is impossible to keep hidden with David chanting at the top of his voice, the party soon encounters several other strangers.  This time it is a woodsman named Hawkeye, and his two Indian companions, Chingachgook and his son Uncas.  Truly loyal to Hawkeye, and therefore to Britain, Chingachgook and Uncas are the last living members of a once-great tribe called the Mohicans.  Chingachgook and Uncas recognize Heyward’s guide as a member of the Huron tribe, which is loyal to the French.  They convey this information to Heyward, who agrees that Le Renard Subtil should be captured before he can lead the group into danger.

The attempt to capture Le Renard Subtil goes badly.  Through no fault of Hawkeye, Heyward, or the Mohicans, Le Renard Subtil is suspicious and manages to escape.  Worried lest Le Renard Subtil should gather his fellow Hurons to attack them, Heyward’s party accepts Hawkeye’s offer to guide them to safety.  Hawkeye, the scout, takes the lead in this portion of the journey, but Chingachgook, and particularly Uncas, will soon demonstrate their incredible familiarity with the wilderness.

Hawkeye leads the group to a cavern hidden behind a waterfall – Glen Falls, to be specific – to a location now known as Cooper’s Cave.  Hidden in such a spot, Heyward, Gamut, and the Munro sisters feel that they are perfectly safe.  Hawkeye and the Mohicans, however, are wary and it soon becomes obvious that their fears are grounded.  The group has been trailed by Le Renard Subtil and his friends.  With the hostile Hurons closing in on every side, Hawkeye devises a plan that will both rescue them from their present predicament, and safely deliver the Munro sisters to Fort William Henry.  Hawkeye, Chingachgook, and Uncas will escape by way of the river and will bring back aid from Fort William Henry.  The scout, followed by the Mohicans, drops quietly and unobtrusively into the turbulent water, and is swept away in the direction of the fort.

Following the departure of the scout and his companions, the Hurons seize their opportunity to capture the defenseless group secreted behind Glen Falls.  Heyward’s party begins to despair of being rescued as Le Renard Subtil and his fellow Hurons lead them deeper and deeper into the forest.  However, they have not counted on the wisdom and skill of Uncas.  “Wisdom is sometimes given to the young as well as to the old,” Hawkeye admits as he heeds Uncas’ wish to return immediately to Glen Falls.  This is most fortunate as it allows Uncas to pick up the Trail of the Hurons and their captives, and ultimately free Heyward’s party.  Following their release, Heyward’s party reaches the fort without mishap.

The little band of travelers finds matters in a bad state upon their arrival at Fort William Henry.  The French army, camped just outside the walls of the fort, is much larger than the British army within the fort.  French General, Marquis de Montcalm proposes two options.  Either the French will attack the fort, and likely gain control of it, or they will allow the British to leave the fort peaceably.  The British agree to leave peaceable, but they are wary of the French.  For this reason, Hawkeye and the Mohicans agree to stay nearby in case of an attack by the French or their Indian allies.  It is well that they remained, for as the British are marching away from the fort, an enormous group of Indians swoops down on them, killing many and capturing David Gamut, Cora, and Alice.

Following this nightmarish attack, Heyward, Colonel Munro, the scout, and the Mohicans, all of who have escaped unscathed, attempt to trace the captives.  Once again, it is Uncas who leads the pursuit.  With his uncanny ability to detect footprints, broken twigs, and disturbed leaves, Uncas soon leads the group to the outskirts of the Indian village where Gamut, Cora, and Alice are being held.  From this point onward, the story is a horrifying sequence of the characters alternately escaping and being captured until Cora Munro is the only captive left in the village.

Unnoticed by anyone else, the village in which Cora is being held belongs to the Delawares, a tribe which, in their days of greatness, the Mohicans gained control of and were respected by.  Uncas allows himself to be captured, then reveals himself to be, by rights, their chief.  He immediately releases Cora, and while doing so is attacked by Le Renard Subtil and several of his wicked companions.  Uncas, Cora, and Le Renard Subtil are all killed in the melee, but their names, particularly the young Mohican’s, endure for years in tribal legends.  Uncas’ companions mourn that they have lived to see the last wise warrior of the Mohicans.

The Last of the Mohicans, though a bit long-winded at times, is an accurate portrayal of events in colonial America in the years preceding the Revolutionary War.  The story emphasizes courage, loyalty, and friendship.  The characters’ courage is demonstrated in the many terrifying situations in which they find themselves.  Instead of being cowardly, they each do their utmost to help their companions, and always put the others’ needs before their own.  As the story progresses, the characters learn both to trust and to be trustworthy, making them loyal and dependable friends.  Admirers of Cooper’s work still visit the locations described in his stories: Glen Falls, Lake Otsego near Fort William Henry, Cooper’s Cave, and Natty Bumppo’s cave, which is mentioned in other volumes of the Leatherstocking Tales.  This is a testament to the timeless appeal of the tale of the courage and loyalty of a party of early Americans and their tribulation-filled journey.

Sources:

Cooper, James Fenimore. 2003. The Last of the Mohicans. New York: Barnes and Noble Books.

Editors, History.com. 2009. history.com. November 2009. Accessed September 29, 2021. https://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/french-and-indian-war.