The Maturity In James Fenimore Cooper's The Last Of The Mohicans

Set in 1757, during the French and Indian War, James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans attests to the racial dilemma that had persisted America. With the novel’s setting in upper New York, its characters are established through their racial composition, culture, and clash with American society. With the transition of the frontier period on eastern American, increasing pressure was put on Native Americans. Through Cooper's novel, the reader is able to witness the involvement of Americans on the westward movement as a means to obtain land, as well as witnessing the perpetuation of stereotypes upon the Native people and their disappearance. In James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans, the Native Americans must vanish because their existence would eventually create a racial impurity through the fusion of non-native culture. Throughout the novel, the notion of racial purity is

This proves to be vital as it it showcases the temporary compromise between two cultures through a unified death. The death of Cora and Uncas essentially rids them of their commendation because their death must be executed as a means to restore sanctity to both their cultures. Cora, the tragic heroine, is aware of “the curse of [her] ancestors” (Cooper 305). She is a black woman who is passing as white. Yet, by concealing her race, she is able to utilize her father’s status to enjoy certain prerogatives. This “act” of race is simply a performance that enables her to mask her identity and provides her with a sense of cultural refinement, sophistication, and beauty. However, the author’s racial pessimism towards her explains the position of American Indians in American society through her death. Her death symbolizes the end of the original sin that others have committed. Cora was not equip to exist at any moment, and she would only remain a hollow symbol of innocence as well as the victim of European