Last of the Mohicans
Professor Michaelson
IAH 207
7 February 2014
Heroes: Analysis of The Last of the Mohicans Bravery, toughness, pride, and both mental and physical strength define the traditional ideas of manhood. The stereotypical American hero of the early United States, such as Paul Revere or Daniel Boone, highlights these characteristics. The heroes of old all had one important thing in common: they were white. In his novel, The Last of the Mohicans, James Fenimore Cooper confronts the issue of race by breaking the previously cemented stereotype of a hero. Cooper uses the male characters in the book to encourage the reader to question the stereotypes the heroes of that era is supposed to fill. Major Duncan Heyward is a young man whose objective is to escort Colonel Munro’s two daughters through the treacherous, enemy infested woods. He prides himself as a gentleman, and heavily believes in chivalry, but his white, civilized ways don’t help him in the wilderness environment that is frighteningly new to him. Heyward fantasizes about being a “knight of ancient chivalry, holding his midnight vigils before the tent of a re-captured princess, whose favour he did not despair of gaining, by such a proof of devotion and watchfulness” (147).
Though he is presented with the opportunities to be the hero of the story, Heyward never seems to find it in himself to become the manly figure that is frequently idolized as an American hero. Cooper bestows Heyward with the essentials to be the hero: a blooming, white man, who eventually saves his just as white love interest, Alice. But even with his fairytale ending, the reader is left knowing that Heyward had one objective: the rescue mission of Alice Munro. He does the minimum of manly acts; always three steps behind his forest companions, Hawkeye and Uncas, lacking bravery and entering a deer-in-the-headlights state when his moment comes and goes. By cutting manhood from Heyward, Cooper exposes the knight in shining armor stereotype as a
IAH 207
7 February 2014
Heroes: Analysis of The Last of the Mohicans Bravery, toughness, pride, and both mental and physical strength define the traditional ideas of manhood. The stereotypical American hero of the early United States, such as Paul Revere or Daniel Boone, highlights these characteristics. The heroes of old all had one important thing in common: they were white. In his novel, The Last of the Mohicans, James Fenimore Cooper confronts the issue of race by breaking the previously cemented stereotype of a hero. Cooper uses the male characters in the book to encourage the reader to question the stereotypes the heroes of that era is supposed to fill. Major Duncan Heyward is a young man whose objective is to escort Colonel Munro’s two daughters through the treacherous, enemy infested woods. He prides himself as a gentleman, and heavily believes in chivalry, but his white, civilized ways don’t help him in the wilderness environment that is frighteningly new to him. Heyward fantasizes about being a “knight of ancient chivalry, holding his midnight vigils before the tent of a re-captured princess, whose favour he did not despair of gaining, by such a proof of devotion and watchfulness” (147).
Though he is presented with the opportunities to be the hero of the story, Heyward never seems to find it in himself to become the manly figure that is frequently idolized as an American hero. Cooper bestows Heyward with the essentials to be the hero: a blooming, white man, who eventually saves his just as white love interest, Alice. But even with his fairytale ending, the reader is left knowing that Heyward had one objective: the rescue mission of Alice Munro. He does the minimum of manly acts; always three steps behind his forest companions, Hawkeye and Uncas, lacking bravery and entering a deer-in-the-headlights state when his moment comes and goes. By cutting manhood from Heyward, Cooper exposes the knight in shining armor stereotype as a
Cited: Cooper, James F. The Last of the Mohicans. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990. Print