In America,England and France are fighting each other.Uncas,who is Indian and the last mohican,supports England and fights France.
I think Uncas is brave man,but character in this novel is many and it's a little difficult to understand. ( )

This week, I finished The Last Of The Mohicans, which took me a bit longer than most books of that length. The writing was particularly dense and descriptive, so I wasn’t getting through as many pages as I would in a lighter book. I’ve not seen the film, so the whole story was new to me, which is always a bonus.

I really enjoyed this one, and it’s the first classic I’ve dipped into for a couple of months. It’s easy to lose yourself in the 18th century American wilderness, and the characters are well fleshed out. I’ll say this for Cooper: he can write battle scenes brilliantly. Every assault by Indians, or attempt to hold a position by the heroes, was captured in a manner which got my heart pounding from paragraph to paragraph, and put the images in my head as clearly as if I were standing in the middle of that forest.

Having said that, I thought the writing style as a whole was over-descriptive. I’m more of a fan of a more minimalist style, probably as a result of reading a lot of contemporary works. When writing gets too wordy, it can become difficult to get through and less enjoyable for me. That’s probably why this book was a bit of a slog each day.

Nevertheless, I’m glad I persevered. I tried to read this book years ago, when I was about 18 or something, and gave up after about 20 pages because it just didn’t grab me. It’s been sat on my shelf since, and it was definitely worth picking up again. ( )

this scene of this story is in the east of North America.
In 1757,armies from England and France are fighting in North
America. Because Both countries want the land.But there are many
different Indian tribes."Mohicans"is one of it.They are fighting
for each army...
The hero is the last of the Mohicans.He is very brave man...
I think these Indian tribes were a sorry lot.
Because they were used by England and France.
Many times they were in danger, it keeps me in suspense. ( )

937 The Last of the Mohicans, by James Fenimore Cooper (read 24 Dec 1967)Upon finishing this I said: It is so easy to see the flaws in the construction of the novel,yet one cannot help but be caught in the tide of events related. The book is laid at the time of the French and Indian War, and (SPOILER) ends sadly with the death of Uncas--the last of the Mohicans. Whether I will read the other three novels remains to be seen. [As of 5 Sep 2009 I have not, but I may yet!] ( )

Last of the Mohicans

It is 1828, and Last of the Mohicans has just been published. James Fenimore Cooper scored 114 offences against literary art out of a possible 115. Up until that point no one had gotten such a terrible rating. Even though the book was “considered” to be bad, I found it to be an extremely compelling novel. He touches on the ever popular topic of family but at the same time on interracial love, which was a very racy and touchy topic. Most of all, the theme of religion and the act of being civilized in an uncivilized surrounding and the trials that men face against nature.
During the 19th century the concept of family was very popular. For women it fell along the lines of, you respect your parents and you marry a rich man. Yet, this traditional concept was not an option in the book due to their location. Cora and Uncas do fall in love but the ability to change the traditional family values for either of them is simply not a possibility. In Last of the Mohicans combines the themes of family values and race and how sometimes they are not always such clear lines. What was even more interesting is the fact the family values in Europe are based upon Christianity which happened to be to a comic relief in our story.
Gamut was the identified as religious throughout novel and was constantly mocked by Hawkeye (who was a father figure for Uncas). Gamut’s concept of pre-destination was consistently put down for its ridiculousness. This shows us the religion really doesn’t have a place in the wild. The wild is its own entity and cannot be controlled by a simple faith. As our story progresses we see that things that seemed impossible, were possible with the assistance of Gamut which in turn is the reader showing us that destiny can be changed with the right assistance.
Nature also plays a big role in the development of our characters, even from the beginning to the very end. The laws of civilization and religion sometimes do not apply to the forest, and some people back them had a hard time coping with that. Nature is seen as an iron willed entity with a soul. It breaks men to its choosing a forces them to return to their natural instincts. Colonel Munro touches on how men are no longer just fighting their enemies; they are battling the terrain too. European style combat will not work in the Americas for it presents a whole new set of challenge.
So even though our author received one of the most critical ratings of his time (114/115, 115/115 being the worst), Last of the Mohicans still incorporates very important values and themes. Especially for a novel which was published in 1826.

I was a history major in college and even studied much about the French and Indian War. The movie of the same title is great, so I thought the book would be worth a read. I was very, very wrong. The book is a long and rather awful read. I hate to say such bad things about a famous American novel and writer, but the story just did not make much sense sometimes and the narrative was long and very hard to read. If you like the movie, the story is completely different. It may be worth a read if you have the time. ( )

Politically incorrect for 2009. Long in detail, unexpected in plot. Much better than the movie. ( )

If time travel were possible, I'd go back in time and assassinate James Fenimore Cooper before he ever put pen to paper (in this imaginary scenario, let it be known that I also possess mad ninja skills). Why do I hate Cooper so much? Let me count the ways:

1) His never-ending description of every rock, twig, river, etc., that the main characters come into contact with. No pebble escapes his scrutiny. This book would have been 3 pages long without the description. And even then, it would have been 3 pages too long.

2) Native American dialogue is limited to the occasional exclamation of "Hugh." Not Hugh as in Hefner, but something more like "huh." They're a quiet people, apparently. I'm shocked they don't greet each other by saying, "How."

2 1/2) While we're on the subject, they're all stereotypes of either the noble savage variety or the "me big chief Ugh-a-Mug gotta have 'em squaw" variety. The whole thing is a racist piece of crap. And don't tell me that Cooper was reflecting the beliefs of the time because, while that may explain the racism, it doesn't explain away the crap bit.

3) Practically every speech by Hawk-eye will contain some bit of dialogue such as, "Even though white blood runs through my veins." Lest we forget he's white since he's been hobnobbing with the natives for so long.

4) Those damn women just keep getting kidnapped.

5) For an action story, it's mind-numbingly boring. To illustrate, I give you a riveting, action packed scene in which Duncan, the British officer, tries to distract le Renard Subtil (also known as Magua, also known as Wes Studi in the film) with a discussion of French etymology. Dash cunning of him, don't you think? It sure would have sucked if he had just attacked him with a knife, a gun, or even a rapier wit. Apparently Duncan's plan was to wear down his enemy with sheer boredom:

'Here is some confusion in names between us, le Renard,' said Duncan, hoping to provoke a discussion. 'Daim is the French for deer, and cerf for stag; elan is the true term, when one would speak of an elk.'

6) Everyone is known by about three or four different names, because anything less would have been confusing. Right, Coop?

7) Did I mention that it's just frickin' boring? I would rather slam my head in a car door than ever read this book again.

The best part about the book was that there were entire sections in French. For once, lack of knowledge about a foreign language has paid off! I was practically giddy with excitement when I encountered entire pages of French dialogue as it meant, mon Dieu!, I got to skip the entire page. ( )

The reason of choosing this book is the title was interesting.
I was surprised seeing this title, because mohican hair is individual in Japan.
It was impactful for me.
However this story was too serious to read easily.
It was showed the battle and human drama between the mohicans and British. ( )

I'm dissatisfied with the story that Mohicans is described as barbarian. ( )

Try reading the book itself, as opposed to Twain's "Literary Sins of Fenimore Cooper," and you'll be very favorably impressed. Remember that this book was a best-seller in its day, and a modern novel would need to sell 10 million copies to match it, and you'll be embarassed...

Beautiful, though. Particularly recommended to current and past Boy Scouts, and anyone else with a fondness for the outdoors. ( )

I've wanted to read this for years and was inspired to finally do so after seeing the 1992 (?) movie version for the umpteenth time on tv recently. It's the second of Cooper's novels I've read (the first being The Spy), so I was somewhat accustomed to his style. The dialogue is almost campy, but somehow it works. There's not much character development, but I still found myself wrapped up in the twists and turns of the plot. The movie changed many of the important details and character relationships (no romance b/n Cora and Hawkeye - or Heyward, for that matter - in the original, for instance), but still seemed to capture the drama, suspense and sadness of the book. I disagree with another reviewer: I believe this novel has stood the test of time. ( )

I had a hard time getting into this book. It is a very interesting plot but the manner in which it is written made it pretty tedious for me. I also felt like things dragged on a bit much. ( )

This would've been a lot better book had they not interupted the action parts with long dialouge. Still, pretty good. ( )

A man ―――the last of the Mohicans was there.
His name is Chingachgook....

Colony problem and the Fight,trip,love,and...life-and-death.

It keeps me in suspense and have butterflies in my stomach.But it is
difficult for me to read because many character appears. ( )

It took me a while to get orientated in this book since I know next to nothing of the French and Indian Wars in America. The lengthy descriptions of the landscape didn't really help me visualise it, though I do have vague memories of a long-ago BBC serialisation of the book.

Once I got into it, I found the book intriguing. I don't know how anthropologically accurate it is about the life of the Indians in this part of America and Canada, but it's a powerful image and I hope it is largely true, if somewhat idealised. ( )

I really did not enjoy this at all. The characters were one dimensional and the plot was boring as well as unbelievable. I understand that Cooper had a pretty high opinion of his writing but I don't think the books have stood the test of time. ( )

I was forced to read this book over the summer going into 10th grade for my AP European History class. Reading a long, painful book, based on information that I am far from interested in was torture. I tried to find some amusement out of it by reading the pages at different paces, reading out loud, walking and reading, anything. This was the summer I was trying to begin my respect and passion for books so I was trying to find something positive out of the book. I almost gave up a few times, but I stuck with it and read it to the last, painful page. I wrote an awful essay without considering to revise it because I was so eager to throw the book in the back of my closet and let the dust infest it, because that's where it belonged. Fortunetely for me, I earned a 95 on the essay but the book did not broaden my interest for reading nor did it introduce the AP European History class with hope. It turned out that class mirrored the summer reading assignment; it was the most dreadful class I have ever taken. Like the book, I learned the least amount and I was least interested. I do not recommend The Last of the Mohicans for anyone.

This is an amazing book. James Fenimore Cooper uses beautiful imagistic language to create a natural virtually untouched picture of the beauty of the new American lands. The story is exciting and fast-paced, as well as an important commentary on society of the day. The character Cora helps to present many important racial issues. Cooper reveals to us, through the defensiveness of her father, Colonel Monroe, that Cora's mother was black. This mixed-race status was something very controversial at the time, but, through the portrayal of Cora as a thoughful, intelligent, and noble woman, Cooper argues that being half-black does not diminish or even effect at all the value of a person, as was a common stereotype at the time. Also, Cora falls in love with the Mohican Indian, Uncas. This relationship is highly controversial, as Indians were greatly looked down upon. However, throughout the novel, Cooper develops the variety of characters who are Indians to represent a variety of different people, from heroic and selfless Uncas to wise Chingachgook to clever and develish Maugua. This range of characters helps to dispel the stereotype that all Indians are deceptive and violent.

It really isn't quite my kind of the thing but it is an interesting read. It's littered with things that show a lot about the world it was written in and the life on the frontier. The women seem to be there to be rescued and honestly I preferred the film rather than the story. If I had read it when I was in my teens I might regard it in the same way as Kim and revisit occasionally but while it's something I don't regret reading, it's not one I will be hunting up to add to the collection.

It's very wordy, very detailed and a story that is more about the frontier than the people. I can see how it influenced many writers but I can also see how it is disliked by many people today. ( )

My favorite of the series, when I read this it moved me greatly.

One has to be in the proper mood to enjoy these books. A bit of romance, a bit of adventure, quite a bit of moralizing. I enjoyed them when I read them, but have no desire to read them again. I've since read enough history to realize just how fictional these are. If you read them for the adventure and the descriptions of the Northeastern woodlands, I don't think you will be disappointed. Sadly, the plot of each has sort of blended together and I can't remember the details of any. ( )

This was one of my favorite books as a boy and I credit this book with inspiring my love of reading. I read it again, later in life and realized that it wasn't a model of writing but I still liked the telling of the tale. I think I need to read it one more time. ( )

The Last of the Mohicans, an American classic by James Fenimore Cooper, takes place in the late 1750s in the core of the French and Indian War in the American wilderness frontier that will later become New York State. Written in 1826, Cooper describes the changing of times and the final extinction of one of the many Native American tribes through his frontiersman hero and protagonist Hawkeye’s stories. The Last of the Mohicans is one of a set of historical romances known as the Leatherstocking Tales, featuring the idealistic protagonist woodsman, hunter, and scout named Natty Bumppo (Hawkeye), still today one of the most well-known characters in American fiction. Bumppo, a hybrid of the European and Native American cultures, shows a clear and astute study of the encounter between the two cultures in the Americas. Through Hawkeye, Cooper tells suspenseful tales of his vivid portrayal of life in America in the forest frontiers and at sea. Causing the reader to question the intentions of exploration following Christopher Columbus’ discovery, Cooper shows the horrible treatment the Europeans show Native Americans, as they wipe out one of the hundreds of Indian tribes destroyed by the repercussions of the Age of Exploration. This novel is arguably James Fenimore Cooper’s most acknowledged work and one of the greatest masterpieces of American historical fiction. This novel, based on many real events and actual characters, is a story that I found tolerable, and one that I would recommend. ( )

When Michael Mann completed Last of the Mohicans, it was delayed for three months (and out of the profitable summer season) as someone introduced to him the concept of editing. Having trimmed the movie from three hours to less than two, leaving out important scenes and axing whole characters from the story, as well as killing others off early, he still managed to improve upon the original work threefold.

Mark Twain has his own opinions which I will be wise to leave to him. They can be read here, in his subtly titled Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses. If you have the time, I suggest reading it, if only because any amount of time can be spent in worse ways than reading Twain. His essay is more concerned with the rather peculiar physics that dominate the Cooperian landscape. I, slogging through the book in front of a campfire reading by lantern light, disregarded these literary conceits in self-defense, preferring to focus the greater part of my mental energies on remembering where one of the characters has been for the last fifty pages or so.

Last of the Mohicans is, by and large, an excellent story, when described to you by someone who has already read the book (or, sadly, seen the movie). Yes, the bad guy slips from the heroes fingers often enough that you assume he has a twirly mustache. Sure, it has a boat chase with canoes and the heroine gets kidnapped no less than three times. But the story’s there, and it’s interesting. It’s just a pity that Cooper has to be the one to tell it, in the sense that Cooper wrote American fiction the way that Charlotte Bronte would write a Western. Oh, the dialogue:

Hawkeye, on noticing a sniper in the trees:
"This must be looked to!" said the scout, glancing about him with an anxious eye. "Uncas, call up your father; we have need of all our we’pons to bring the cunning varment from his roost."

Duncan, in the same battle:
"That bullet was better aimed than common!" exclaimed Duncan, involuntarily shrinking from a shot which struck the rock at his side with a smart rebound.

People did not talk like this in 1757, nor did they in 1831, nor will they ever. This is because Cooper’s characters are not actually humans at all, but wound-up automatons whose sole function is to carry the story through its various settings and plot twists. Even then, the greatest potential that these twists present are wasted: the relationships between Alice and Duncan, Uncas and Cora, are glazed over, as though Cooper wasn’t interested in anything that didn’t include gunpowder. Romantic subplots have instead been persistently stuffed into the work by zealous critics, likely in attempt to give high school English teachers new ways to torture their students with subtext. ( )

One of the truly great American adventure novels. It was made into a pretty movie, but the best adaptation was the Canadian TV series 'Hawkeye' starring Lee Horsley and Lynda Carter. ( )