Last of the Mohicans: Pages 1 - 97 Analysis

In the first section, James Fenimore Cooper establishes the structure of the story. The Last of the Mohicans is based on some historical wartime settings, and some parts are fictional. For example, in the book, the Indians are vicious and feared, and their land is vast and unknown. The fear of the Indians, or lack thereof, brings me to one of my favorite characters thus far, the psalmodist David Gamut. Gamut comes into the story when he runs into Magua and the young women, who are heading to Fort William Henry. Gamut left Fort Edward, and has become lost in the dense forest. He the states he would like to join the group, and, though annoyed, the others allow him to come along with them. I like Gamut because he doesn't care whether anyone hears him when he is singing in the forest. He acts like a child with no cares in the world really.

We are then thrust upon Hawkeye and Chingachgook, two hunters who lie a few miles south of Heyward's party. I like Hawkeye and Chingachgook because they are friends, though they act and dress very different from each other. While Hawkeye is fully dressed in hunting equipment and carries a long rifle, Chingachgook is nearly naked and carries only a tomahawk and a short rifle. Chingachgook is also completely covered in war paint. Then these two story lines merge when Heyward's party run's into the hunters. Magua, part of the Huron tribe, is considered untrustworthy by the other tribes. Hawkeye wants to shoot him on the spot, because Magua has led them away from their destination. The group decides to capture him then deal with him later. I like this part because Heyward must warm up to Magua and make him feel comfortable, which takes skills in deceiving people and lying. Once he has made Magua feel safe, Chingachgook and Uncas (Chingachgook's son) will leap out and capture Magua. I like this part just because of the irony, though this irony is different. The reader, along with everyone in the story but Magua, knows the plan. It is like watching Romeo and Juliet, because even though you haven't finished the book, you already know what is going to happen. This part of the book helped portray that the Indian tribes are very different from each other. The Mohicans and the Hurons have very different personalities, as we see Magua and Chingachgook differ greatly. This reader's response is going to be too long for Mrs. Pokora to approve of if I keep saying what happens, so, in the words of Anigo Montoya from Princess Bride, "Lemme sum up." It was sad that they killed the horse when it made too much noise in the forest, and it shows considerable trust between Uncas and Heyward when Uncas takes them to his secret hideout for the night. My favorite character so far is Hawkeye, because of his intelligence and wisdom (for example when he said not to kill Mague, and when he said to retreat after finding blood on a leaf. Cooper did a really good job with developing the first part of this book.