James Fenimore Cooper was born on September 15, 1789 in Burlington, New Jersey. His father was a judge as well as a member of Congress. He grew up near Lake Otsego, an area that may have influenced his writings. At the age of thirteen Cooper entered Yale College where he studied for three years. He died on September 14, 1851 in Cooperstown, New York (Ringe 65). His first book, Precaution, was not a success. This failure only pushed him to write another book. His second book, The Spy, was a big success and established Cooper’s popularity. His success increased when he wrote The Pioneers, the first book of the Leather- Stocking Series. The one book that is said to be a masterpiece is The Last of the Mohicans published in 1826. This book established Cooper as the first American literary figure. Even though the book was a huge success there were a lot of complaints. The main complaint was that the book was “badly written, repetitive, and lacked pace and characterization, even if its historical veracity was praiseworthy” (Barker and Sabin 27). The characters in “The Last of the Mohicans” face many racial problems as well as internal conflicts.

decides that he will threaten to marry Colonel Munroe’s daughter. In order to do this he kidnaps Cora, Colonel Munroe’s daughter. He does so in anger, but his anger will turn into affection as the novel progresses. Magua’s psycology becomes more difficult to understand by the end of the novel when he begins to feel sorry for what he has done. In the end of the novel there is a chase and Magua is forced to leap to his death (para 2). Major Duncan Heyward is the opposite of Hawkeye. He plays the role of a foolish white man. Unlike Hawkeye, Heyward does not feel comfortable moving around the frontier. He is not comfortable because of his misunderstandings about the Indians. Despite Heyward’s lack of intelligence Cooper does not make him look like an idiot or pick on him you could say. Heyward does however show integrity and a well- meaning nature, which takes up for his lack of social understanding. Because Heyward has the role of the romantic hero, Cooper makes him appear strong and handsome (para 3). Cora Munroe is the daughter of Colonel Munroe. Cora brings the stories warfare, intrigue, romance, and loss together. Cora is killed by Huron Indian (para 4). Uncas is the character that changes the most in the novel. Hawkeye becomes a father figure for Uncas, and Uncas becomes a leader of the men. He does so by combining the skill of Hawkeye with the spirituality of and Indian leader. He tests the limits of interracial relationships by falling in love with Cora. Uncas is punished for his desires in the end of the novel; Magua kills him, perhaps because Cooper thinks it is the right

Some topics in this essay:
Cora Uncas, Fenimore Cooper, Major Heyward, Coopers Indians, Colonel Munroe, Colonel Munroe’s, Despite Heyward’s, York Ringe, Indian White, Longue Carabine, cora uncas, colonel munroe, fenimore cooper, throughout novel, james fenimore, james fenimore cooper, plays role, racial internal conflicts, interracial relationships, racial issues, changes novel, published 1826, colonel munroe’s daughter, written james fenimore,