JH-Last+of+the+Mohicans+Summer+Response

Relationships in //The Last of the Mohicans// James Fenimore Cooper’s classic historical novel, //The Last of the Mohicans// is considered both a literary masterpiece and an insightful testament of a significant period in history. Taking place in 1757, its tale is set against the backdrop of the French and Indian War. Using several diverse characters, Cooper examines the relationships between and within the Indians and the white men. The conflict that characterizes these relationships is especially evident in their politics, society, and morality. Political strife is seen most clearly inside the Indian and white men societies. However, this turmoil within each group also has considerable ramifications to the other, as the white men involve the Indians in the primarily European political struggle of the French and Indian War, while the Indians involve the white men in their tribal battles. The white men see Indians as pawns to be used and manipulated as needed. Montcalm, especially, uses the Natives’ savagery to further the French cause (Cooper 187, 205). Meanwhile, the Indians are willing to use their ties with the white men to get revenge on both enemy Indians and white men. Hawkeye lays the blame on “white cunning [for] throw[ing] the tribes into great confusion” (239). In his opinion, the “evil has been mainly done by men with white skins” (276). With each side looking to use the other to their advantage, the novel’s protagonists find themselves caught up in a massive web of political conflict. In this way, Cooper highlights the major political upheaval among and between the two races. Just as serious are the clashes in the Indian-white man relationship caused by society. The animosity is caused by each society being convinced of its superiority. In Magua’s soliloquy, he says that the Great Spirit has made Indians—men with red skins—superior to the “palefaces,” who in turn are better than those with black skin (368-369). If the Indians feel racially superior, however, it is nothing compared to the white men. Tamenund points out the “palefaces…claim… the meanest of their color is better than the Sachems [chiefs] of the Red Man” (374). While both races claim to be intrinsically better in this way, it is impossible for their relationship to be anything but stormy. Thus there is a mutual disdain between the two races, caused by each feeling that the other is their inferior. The last significant source of discontent in their relationship is that of their conflicting moralities. As becomes clear very early on, the Indians do not adhere to the same standards or code as the white men and visa versa. Again and again, the Indians do things that are considered shameful by the English and the French. Similarly, Hawkeye points out numerous doings of his white companions that appear offensive to the Indians. Early on in their journey, Hawkeye explains to Heyward that something might be “a cruel and unhuman act for a whiteskin [but] ’tis the gift and natur’ of an Indian” (166). However this may be, these moral differences are not as reconcilable as Hawkeye would like to believe, as seen in part in the constant warring and conflict between these two races. Thus, ethics contribute significantly to the hostility between the Indians and the white men. Therefore, it can be seen in Cooper’s novel that the Indian-white man relationship was full of tension and conflict in politics, society, and morality. Work Cited Cooper, James Fenimore. __The Last of the Mohicans__. New York: Penguin, 1962.