Masculine Discrepancies on the Frontier: James Fenimore Cooper's Ideal American Man
Within the genre of the frontier novel, great consideration is given to early American ideals of masculinity. According to Aiping Zhang, in his article "The Negotiation of Manhood: James Fenimore Cooper's Ideology of Manhood in The Last of the Mohicans," James Fenimore Cooper was exceedingly interested in developing a new American definition of the ideal man. Zhang writes that "masculinity was always one of the primary issues in [Cooper's] life and his writings as well . . . the selection . . . of (the) male figures in The Last of the Mohicans must have a lot to do with his personal search for the ideal image of American man'' (2). With the realization that his writings could promote a new definition of the ideal American man, Cooper presented the male characters in The Last of the Mohicans as either well-suited or ill-fitted for frontier life, which Cooper metaphorically substitutes for early America.
Thus, if a male character is able to survive and adapt to the frontier life, Cooper implies that this is the new ideal for the American male. Zhang suggests that Cooper does not provide a single definition for this new ideal of American manliness; however, I find that Cooper does put forth a clear aversion towards the sentimental male, whom he paints as incapable of surviving the frontier. He presents David Gamut, the master of psalmody, as a sentimental male who behaves spontaneously and inappropriately on the frontier. At times, when all the other characters--including the women--are behaving with vigilance, Cooper describes Gamut's behavior as rather absent-minded, such that Gamut sings during battle while the other characters flee. Throug...
... middle of paper ...
...entimental male in The Last of the Mohicans, and it is clear that his inappropriate presence on the frontier is Cooper's way of negating sentimentality as part of the new ideal of American manliness.
Works Cited
Brady, Corey. Virginia Cope, Michael Millner, Ana Mitric, Kent Puckett Danny Siegel, Eds. A Dictionary of Sensibility. 20 Nov. 200l.
<http://www.engl.viginia.edu/%7Eenec981/dictionary/contributors.htm>
Cooper, James Fenimore. The Last of the Mohicans. New York: Bantam, 1989.
Zhang, Aiping. "The Negotiation of Manhood: James Fenimore Cooper's Ideology of Manhood in The Last of the Mohicans." Papers from the 1999 Cooper Seminar (No. 12) James
Fenimore Cooper. His Country and His Art, The State University of New York College at Oneonta, Hugh C. MacDougall, Ed. 21 Nov. 2001 <http://www.Oneonta.edu/external/cooper/articles/1999suny-zhang.html>
The Last of the Mohicans, released in 1993, is a story with much historical background as well as a very entertaining love story to catch the viewer’s eye. This movie is based on the historical event of the French and Indian War that went from 1754-1763. To give this story a more interesting twist, the director, Michael Mann, has added a love story between Hawkeye and Cora. Cora and her sister Alice are being escorted to their father, commander of Fort William Henry, when an attack by the Indians occurs. Daniel Day-Lewis, Hawkeye, comes to their rescue and helps bring them to their father. Hawkeye, along with his father (Chingachgook), and his brother (Uncas), try to help out her father but he will not take it into consideration. They are attacked and destroyed. All along this journey, Hawkeye and Cora fall in love. There have been a variety of responses to this film. Some critics very much enjoyed Mann’s work, while others had nothing good at all to say about it.
While America was just in its infancy during the late eighteenth century and into the nineteenth century, expanding and competing for its own national identity, there were ideals of manhood competing for dominance amidst the chaos. A couple of notions of masculinity were brought to the New World straight from Europe; the idea that men were to work hard for success and value family, while others maintained wealth and landownership as the characteristics of a man. However, the eminence of industrialization soon made these notions obsolete. Without these longstanding notions, American men were left in a crisis without an identity. It is within this framework that specific paintings serve as material expressions and vehicles for gendering beliefs and constructs.
Romantic Author James’s Fennimore Cooper created characters in the tradition of independence and self-control. Apart of his “Leather Stockings” series, “The Last of The Mohicans,” uses the American frontier an aesthetic articulation of male Identity. (“Masculine Heroes” American Passages Voices and Visions) In an excerpt from Cooper’s classic, “From Volume I Chapter III”, (Cooper. 485-491) the reader is introduced to the recurring character Natty Bumppo – referred to as Hawkeye-- and his friend Chingachgook. Both men can be seen as representations of the American Frontier, Heroes that embody the mythic elements in Cooper’s setting. They are rugged frontiersmen that thrive self-sufficiently, in a world of harsh realities.
The Last of the Mohicans, by James Fenimore Cooper, describes the effects of the French and Indian War on a diversified group of people. Cooper describes the quest of three friends, Hawkeye, Chingachgook and Uncas, to deliver two young women, Cora and Alice, to their father. As they attempt to carry out this mission, the group encounters groups of Indians who interrupt and threaten their success. As the novel progresses, many characters’ virtues are put to the test, namely their loyalty. Throughout the novel, Cooper shows a character’s loyalty to be interwoven with their courage and steadfastness. The only characters who exhibit unwavering loyalty are those who show themselves to be both valiant and unfaltering.
Thomas Savery invented the first steam engine in 1698. People like Thomas Newcome, James Watt, and Richard Arkwright kept improving the machine over many many many years. Arkwright built the first steam-powered textile plant in 1790. The steam engine used steam to power engines and make them run, like in boats and trains. James Watt steam engine became dominant design for modern steam engines. It also helped bring about the Industrial Revolution.
American Romantic Hero portrays a character who is drawn to nature and has an insight of how society works, but he rejects the rules of society. He is faced with strife, but he eventually overcomes the opposition of the sophisticated and civilized world. The Last of the Mohicans introduces the setting of the movie in 1757 as the American Colonies begins their third year of the war between England and France for the possession of the continent. Only three men, the last of the vanishing people, are on the frontier west of the Hudson River. Natty Bumppo, also known as Hawkeye, is shown as the American Romantic Hero. As the protagonist of the story, Hawkeye demonstrates different characteristics who possesses young or youthful qualities, possesses a sense of honor based not on society’s rule but on some higher principle, and possesses love for nature and avoids towns.
There are many pros to the death penalty. Some claim that there is a preventative effect on potential murderers, although there is a lot of debate about this and just about every other argument for or against capital punishment. Another is the idea of incapacitation. Truthfully, why should someone have the right to live if they have taken that right from another person? The purpose why this writer supports capital punishment is because in observing victims’ families and their grief over murdered loved ones. This writer believes anyone who murders should be put to death. One reason for this is because people should not have the right to live after they have killed a fellow human being. The death penalty is a topic dealing with ethics, a set of moral principles or values. This issue is constantly filled with mix feelings and attitudes which the writer will attempt to present in the following paragraphs.
Body image refers to a person’s unique perception of his/her body. It is how we perceive ourselves, how we think we appear to others, and how we feel about our looks from “our own internal view” (cash, 1990b, p. 51).This internal view is associated with a person’s feelings, thought, and evaluations (positive or negative). (Cultivation and social comparison, p. 3).
Have you ever wondered why people are so interested to learn about the suffrage of others? Over twenty-five years, the population of prisoners has nearly sextulped. Reaching about 1.7 million since 1996, which is almost equal to the population to Houston, Texas, the fourth largest city in the nation (Elliott Currie). All we focus on is how they did it? and why? In other words, many people interpret crime as entertainment, and don’t think about the negative effects taking place in the world or even more that individual. In some cases the innocent are being accused of unlikely punishment but how do they determine? Considerably, the death penalty has been the topic of discussion these past years. This so called “penalty” is becoming the prime consequence in most cases. I think that the use of the death penalty as punishment is wrong because of the psychological effects it has on prisoners, time spent on death row in cases of innocents, and the costly outcome.
Since the 13 colonies were first established in America, the death penalty has been the main form of capital punishment as a firmly deep-rooted institution in the United States. Today, one of the most debated issues in the criminal justice system is the issue of capital punishment. While receiving disapproving viewpoints as those who oppose the death penalty find moral fault in capital punishment, the death penalty has taken a very different course in America while continuing to further advancements in the justice system since the start of the new millennium. While eliminating overcrowding in state jails, the death penalty has managed to save tax payers dollars as well as deteriorate crime and apprehend criminals.
The author focused on Alfred Doten, John Doble, Timothy Osborn because they exemplify the prevalent struggles, which Anglo men succumbed to during the Gold Rush. Alfred Doten came to California young, arrogant and inexperienced. He assumed he was entitled to success because he was an Anglo-man; unfortunately, like many Anglo men whom ventured to California he became disabled in a mining accident. Programmed with Protestant ideas about women, he also experienced a culture clash in California. He naively pursued and mistook the sexual motives of the matrilineal native women. (25) Furthermore, like many Anglo-men in this environment he partook in sexual relations with other men for comfort. (25) I believe that his sexual pliability may have risen from his feelings of insecurity. John Doble took a different course, he tried to uphold his Anglo Protestant values. He resisted from the temptation of women, but he still fell victim to other temptations by gambling and drinking. He also exhibited “homosocial behavior,” (20) men formed bonds to cope with the lack “proper women” and “society.” Doble had close ties to a man who he looked up for representing his ideal of morality. Lastly, T...
Studies of body image in the past have gained varying results as to the groups that are affected, as well as the amount of impact body image has with these groups. There has also been much debate over the validity of methods used to judge body image, and how well the measurements used actually correlate participants’ actual views of body image (Cash, Morrow, Hrabosky, & Perry 2004). Some factors that have led to this discrepancy in answers are questions that were framed to be more suitable to attain the attitudes of one gender over another. The initial studies of body image focused upon simply body shape which seemed to be more important to women, whereas body image affects were seen for men when questions of muscle definition were included into the questionnaire process (Ridgeway, & Tylka, 2005).
Women and girls seem to be more affected by the mass media than do men and boys. Females frequently compare themselves to others, finding the negative rather than looking at the positive aspects of their own body. The media’s portrayal of the ideal body type impacts the female population far more than males, however, it is not only the mass media that affects women, but also influence of male population has on the female silhouette too.
One major discussion about the pros and cons of capital punishment is if it would deter other criminals from committing extreme crimes. I believe that allowing the practice of capital punishment would deter other people from committing such crimes, which would result in more innocent lives saved. Ernest Van Den Haag says in a New York Times Article from 1983,
Long, Robert Emmet. Criminal Sentencing. New York, NY: H.W. Company, 1995. Zimring, Franklin E. Capital Punishment and the American Agenda. Cambridge, 1987.