【大学课件】james fenimore cooper.ppt

Hawkeye Hawkeye also symbolizes the myth of the hero woodsman. He demonstrates perfect marksmanship in the shooting contest held by the Delawares, for example. Hawkeye also becomes a symbolic father. Excluded from the novel’s love plots, Hawkeye takes part in a different sort of human relationship by creating a father-son dynamic with Uncas. “The Last of the Mohicans” The recurring description of Uncas as “the last of the Mohicans” symbolizes the death of Indian culture at the hands of the encroaching European civilization. The title anticipates the ultimate tragedy of the novel’s plot. Although the title specifically refers to Uncas, it also alludes to a larger historical event: the genocidal removal of the Indians by President Andrew Jackson’s policies of the 1830s. The phrase “the last of the Mohicans” laments the extermination of the ways of life native to America. III. Contributions of Cooper In his thirty-two years (1820-1851) of authorship, Cooper produced twenty-nine other long works of fiction and fifteen books - enough to fill forty-eight volumes in the new definitive edition of his Works. Among his achievements are: The first American international novel of manners (Homeward Bound and Home as Found, 1838). The first trilogy in American fiction (Satanstoe, 1845; The Chainbearer, 1845; and The Redskins, 1846). III. Contributions of Cooper III. Contributions of Cooper The first and only five-volume epic romance (pentalogy of novels) to carry its mythic hero - Natty Bumppo - from youth to old age. Finding the West and the frontier life as materials for literary works; introducing Western tradition into American literature. III. Contributions of Cooper James Cooper has had many critics. One of the well-known people who put Coopers novels under great scrutiny and attacked his works continuously has been Mark Twain. Although scholars agree that some of Coopers novels have flaws, most concur that he is usually underestimated. As Warren points out withou