The Unwavering Character of James Fenimore Copper's Deerslayer
James Fenimore Copper presents Deerslayer as a man of integrity, virtue, and honor. He is a warrior who lives by his word. Even if the situation places his life in jeopardy, he refuses to abandon what he believes in and what he says he will do. Deerslayer’s greatest display of character and honor is seen when he refuses to compromise his standards even though it threatens his life.
After saving Hist from the Hurons, Deerslayer was taken captive by them. The Hurons respected Deerslayer for his honesty and integrity and therefore treated him accordingly. When the time came for Deerslayer to pay for his crimes the Hurons devised a situation that would spare his life.
To pay for the life Deerslayer took the Indians requested that Deerslayer stay among their people and provide for the fallen Indians family and take the widow for his wife. “Take the gun; go forth and shoot a deer; bring the venison and lay it before the widow…feed her children; call yourself her husband” (Cooper 458).
To take an Indian wife went against Deerslayer’s beliefs and convictions. Marrying a woman outside his religion and traditions would cause him to compromise his morals and standards.
Even though marrying the Indian woman would spare his life he politely objects and refuses their conditions. “I feared this,” answered Deerslayer,…I did dread that it would come to this. He then proceeds to explain to Mingo, “I ‘m white, and Christian – born; ‘twould ill become me to take a wife, under redskin forms, from among the heathen. That which I wouldn’t do in peaceable time…still less would I do behind clouds, in order to save my life” (Cooper 458)
sense of what a man should be as Last of the Mohicans. Cooper portrays the
All in all, the treatment of the American Indian during the expansion westward was cruel and harsh. Thus, A Century of Dishonor conveys the truth about the frontier more so than the frontier thesis. Additionally, the common beliefs about the old west are founded in lies and deception. The despair that comes with knowing that people will continue to believe in these false ideas is epitomized by Terrell’s statement, “Perhaps nothing will ever penetrate the haze of puerile romance with which writers unfaithful to their profession and to themselves have surrounded the westerner who made a living in the saddle” (Terrell 182).
In The Trapper’s Bride, painted by Alfred Jacob Miller, an image depicting a marriage between what seems to be a man of European descent and an Indian woman represents the merging of two different cultures. Behind the woman there is a significant amount of bodies. Not only does this represent a family web, by the union of a tribe with the man, but also, the sense of a strong and reliable ally. The marriage between the two could also foreshadow the assimilation of tribes into, what would become, the American people. Although the man and his companion are seated, the trapper, extending his hand out to his bride, maintains a grip on his rifle. This suggests that the tension between the Indian people and the fur traders is still prevalent.
One of the fathers of Democracy, William admired the way the Native’s upheld justice. He believed in the Noble Savage, a reality in which the closer to nature and the further from law and religion, the more in tune one becomes with God. The hypocrisy in the church was appalling to William and the level of corruption was atrocious. In “Of Their Government,” he reflects on the Indian’s perspective as he emulates their thoughts, “We wear no clothes, have many gods / And yet our sins are less” (lines 9-10). This is meant to underscore the advanced morals the Natives possessed as well as the zero tolerance they enforced. This stark contrast between the way American Indians and the settlers governed further strengthened William’s view that the English were in great need of the Indians’
Despite Bucks savage life style after he is transformed by the harsh north, Buck is still an admirable character. Retaining very humanlike qualities such as a sense of justice and shame, Buck is relatable to us as humans. He goes through struggles that test him, but he always comes out on top, he always overcomes.Because Buck learned quickly, was strong and firm, and he never gave up it makes him adimirable. Buck is an ideal, he is intelligent, quick, strong, and cunning. All these things make him a complete character and an admirable one too.
The prejudice that Wes and his family feel toward Indians complicates his decision to arrest Frank. Wes is a man with racism at his core. His prejudice toward Indians is apparent throughout Montana 1948: “[Wes] believed Indians, with only a few exceptions, were ignorant, lazy, superstitious, and irresponsible” (22). He thought that Indians are low-level people. Wes also tries to decry Marie and her feelings. Wes says, “An examination by a doctor…. Maybe she doesn’t know what’s supposed to go on… you know how she likes to make up stories” (34-35). Wes tries to make Marie’s telling into stories and claims that she doesn’t know what is supposed to happen during a doctor’s visit because she is an Indian. His family knew this racism toward Indians,
The Deerslayer, by James Fenimore Cooper, published in 1841, tells the story of a young man’s journey through life. The main character, Natty Bumppo, is everything that any man would want to be. Most of these characteristics presumably come from the fact that he is a part of both worlds, and displays the best attributes from two different cultures. Natty Bumppo. or Hawkeye, is the typical American hero; he is a very observant, courageous, skilled, fair man, and all of his actions show that.
This dichotomy was not emplaced to serve Indigenous woman, but to serve colonizers, modern “white man” and their quest of pleasure and ownership. During the time of colonization, the ‘Indian Princess’ played a key role. It helped the idea of converting Aboriginal ‘savages’ into the civilized English way of life.#1 (Isinamowin,1992, p.18) An opportunity to take an Aboriginal woman away from her people, on the behalf of colonizers. Thus, pleasing European males. Although, this notion is pretty outdated, this belief is still imposed today. #2 (Anderson, 2016, p.81) Disney, for an example and their movie Pocahontas, which pictures the main lead falling in love with a European explorer, who she saves from her people. Thus, leaving her ‘community’
At the beginning of the Civil War, leaders in the North and South were tasked with selecting the best men possible to lead their troops. Both sides needed to find men of outstanding character in order to succeed in their war efforts. Robert E. Lee showed himself as exactly such a man. President Abraham Lincoln agreed and sought out Lee, an accomplished U.S. military veteran with 32 years of service, to lead the Union troops. Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy, knew Lee lived in Virginia, a state that had succeeded from the Union. Davis wanted Lee to command the Confederate Army. Ultimately, Robert E. Lee, a man of great character who valued relationships as the crucial element in leadership, honored those around him and displayed
Because of the outlaw hero’s definitive elements, society more so identifies with this myth. Ray said, “…the scarcity of mature heroes in American...
...nd a man of reserve against violence. Also as a man who will stand for the good of the community, protecting those who need protecting as the Vigilante of the western frontier. The Virginian was a true cowboy hero because he was a vigilante who followed his own moral code. The cowboy’s moral code was not dictated by the laws of society because he was an independent who was working to escape civilization. The Virginian was the first of the western heroes who gave the world someone to look unto as an example. He showed a very strong moral code which had a special responsibility to the protection and respect of women such as Molly. He also had a great many skills which gave him the realistic air that made the hero’s of the west so popular in the early 1900’s as the western frontier came to a close.
Author and Indian Activist, Vine Deloria makes compelling statements in chapters 1 and 5 of his Indiana Manifesto, “Custer Died For Your Sins.” Although published in 1969 this work lays important historical ground work for understanding the plight of the Indian. Written during the turbulent civil rights movement, Deloria makes many comparisons to the Black plight in the United States. He condemns the contemporary views toward Indians widely help by Whites. He argues that Indians are wrongly seen through the historical lens of a pipe smoking, bow and arrow wielding savage. Deloria views the oppressors and conquerors of the Indian mainly in the form of the United States federal government and Christian missionaries. The author’s overall thesis is that whites view Indians the way they want to see them which is not based in reality. The behavior of whites towards Indians reflects this false perception in law, culture and public awareness.
The novel “The Last of Mohicans” encompass a lot of interesting characters; however, the novel’s main protagonist is Hawkeye, also known by several other names such as: the scout and Natty Bumppo. Five different novels of Fennimore Cooper stars Hawkeye, known as the Leather stocking Tales. In addition to that, his characters in the novels have never been changed or developed. The main strength of Hawkeye is his adaptability, which makes him a strong character in the novel. He has the ability to adapt to the difficulties of the frontier because he is a strong built hunter and fearless scout. Often called as, La Longue Carabine,” which is French for “the long rifle among his Indian enemies.
...be identified as an Indian or as Hindu while she may very well be neither (Pelham 2010).
When the dust clears and it’s just you and the deer on the ground you know you have hit your target. This is not the end a wounded deer is very dangerous, so you sneak up to it with gun ready. You kick the deer in the butt and test if it’s alive if it does not move you can now field dress it. Field dressing is the hardest part of the hunt, I will not get deep into it but I will tell you that it needs to be done as soon as possible. After the field dress there is a meat packing company in town that will process the meat into whatever cuts you want. For me, most of the meat is made into a summer sausage with a roast and some hamburger patties. The horns I do keep and I have made a couple of lamps with the horns, but most of the time I keep them on my large fish tank to remind me of the hunt. I would not trade these memories and the time with my grandfather for anything. The traditions and experience I can give to my kids knowing they too will know how important hunting is and the true