The Last of the Mohicans (1826)

This novel is set in 1757 during the Seven Years War when Britain and France battled for control of North America. It is very well written, with evocative descriptions of the landscape, and portrays the multi-faceted life of the various tribes of North American "Red Indians", depicting Native American characters in way in a way that no significant American had done before. There are, of course, still examples of the language of the time (published in 1826) that we wouldn't use today ("savages" vs. "civilised men"), but he portrays a rich variety of characters, including the central character, the young and heroic Uncas and his dignified father Chingachgook, and the villainous Magua; compared to these, the white European-American characters are much blander, particularly the sisters Cora and Alice, who are depicted as beautiful bland ciphers, as young female characters so often were in 19th century literature on both sides of the Atlantic. Between them is the figure of Hawkeye/Natty Bumppo, a white man raised by Delaware Indians, able to act as a bridge between the two cultures. The action of the novel revolves around the rescue of Cora and Alice from the clutches of the Hurons who have kidnapped them, and contains some impressive and violent set pieces, involving much scalping. There were passages where my interest waned, nevertheless this is deservedly an early classic of American literature. ( )

Set in the 18th century North America, The Last of the Mohicans is a look into the political, social and every day situation of French and British colonists and their relationships with the native tribes.

The daughters of a British commander suffer a mishap/betrayal while traveling to meet their father, but find unlikely help in the form of a rugged woodsman and his companions, the last of the Mohicans ... ( )

I picked this up at the local library for $1, so I thought, what the heck. I typically don't choose to read early American literature, so this was about seeing how well someone who predated Hawthorne, Poe, and Melville did. Not terribly well, actually. I had some inkling ahead of time that this was going to be about as realistic as Walter Scott (I made it a little ways into Ivanhoe as a child and tossed it aside). It's actually not that bad for about the first half or so, despite some pretty unlikely events and behavior on both the part of the whites and the Indians But then, about 2/3 of the way through, it starts to be pretty preposterous. It's not without its merits, I guess, but ultimately at this stage of American letters, we don't have a lot to be proud of. Fortunately, that was about to change (Emerson, Whitman, etc.) ( )

I can't remember when I read this but it is a borderline "western" that I actually didn't hate, which is seriously saying something. This one provides an interesting perspective and I thought it was alright. I didn't love it and I wouldn't recommend it to just anyone, but it wasn't bad either. ( )

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