Oh Yeah

             influence pervades American literature. In his thirty-two years (1820-51).
             of authorship, Cooper produced twenty-nine other long works of fiction and.
             fifteen books. He is widely read in Europe, where his Leatherstocking.
             Tales contributed to the romantic notion of American frontier life.
             "English novelists such as Joseph Conrad and D. H. Lawrence praised his.
             work; American writers have been of differing opinions. Herman Melville.
             admired Cooper's sea tales; Mark Twain questioned his knowledge of.
             wilderness survival and ridiculed his handling of character and dialogue.
             (Encarta.)".
             Although Cooper's writing ability may be perceived in modern standards as.
             dubious. Cooper's talent found expression through indigenous materials. .
             His greatest monument to American literature is seen in the.
             Leatherstocking tales. Natty Bumppo, the main character of the pentology.
             contains all the trappings of the American hero. These included "youth.
             (or childlike qualities); innocence; a love of nature and a distrust of.
             town life, [and] a corresponding uneasiness with women (Arpin, et al.
             120.)" The setting of his stories represented an unspoiled America we.
             cannot return to, explored by an ideal character we cannot attain to. His.
             characters achieve difficult goals in circumstances beyond their control. .
             They do so with unerring adherence to their principles. .
             Cooper's books, are often sought after for his exciting stories. As.
             Brookhiser states in his essay, "readers went to Cooper not for his.
             sociology but for his hero, Natty Bumppo (62)." Interestingly enough,.
             Brookhiser goes on for a length to convince the readers that Cooper's.
             sociology is the most vital component of the stories. Further stating.
             that Cooper's books helped to define Americans, through morals, "ethical.
             earnestness". Also meditating the thought that the Leatherstocking tales.
             reflects people by "the poetry of action, that tension of the soul between.
             the hero each of us aspires to be and the transgressors we too often.