The Last Of The Mohicans: Perspectives On Race

James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851), one of the founders of American literature, is privileged as "Father of American novels". His Spy is the first American novel that enjoys world prestige. Soon the "Leatherstocking Tales" sheds even deeper influence, with The Last of the Mohicans as the most extraordinary and popular with critics.Since its publication, researches have been done on diverse perspectives. Portrayal of characters, esp. credibility of Indian characters for a long time was once the focus of criticism. Critics represented by D. H. Lawrence researched its mythic and symbolic meaning of the novel. Then in the 1960s, criticism was directed into historic perspective, races inhabiting on North America becoming the focus. In the 1970s, Cooper's interior landscape attracted critics' attention. Roughly until 1980s, criticism converted back into historic and cultural conception, with new perspectives and approaches.These researches assume great significance in the study of Cooper's sense of history and his interior landscape. Yet backed in the west boundary as primary setting, The Last of the Mohicans, the second of "Leatherstocking Tales", offers something that no other contemporaries could:powerful portrayals of racially diverse characters engaged in individual relationships. Due to the settings he chose, Cooper's narrative depicts all people of the colony and reaches across color lines in constructed portrayals. Therefore the novel can be interpreted as one that concerns race in the first place. However, criticism concerning Cooper's race views is comparatively less, especially when we take the then prevailing Indian removal policy into consideration. This thesis endeavors to replenish this margin by offering Cooper's perspectives on race. In literary history, most white writers hold white supremacy attitude in dealing with racial problems. Cooper is no exception. Though sympathizing with the dispossessed Indians and even accusing the course of white civilization, Cooper sheds inherent prejudice against them and shows racist attitude towards Indian removal and dispossession. This thesis shall scrutinize Cooper's views in three chapters. The first chapter probes into characterization of the white and Indians. Forging the white characters in racial terms, Cooper, while shows sympathy with the Indians, also reveals his sensitiveness on the racial differences. Through description of the general Indian imagery and characterization of typical Indians, a savage horrible Indian race is explicated. Intolerance towards native Indians and their culture blocks objective writing. Cooper clearly demonstrates his prejudice against native Indians.The second chapter surveys relationship between main characters-Hawk-eye and Chingachgook versus Uncas as one group, and relationship within the white as another. Through depiction of the relationship between Hawk-eye and his two Indian friends, Cooper endows us an impression that the Indians are subordinates of the white, inferior in either action or wisdom. That the native Indians should be dominated by the white colonists is promptly ratified. In the other group, while white Cora's Negro-ness, functions in converting her to another victim of Cooper, Alice, product of white civilization, is protected by all surrounding people. Hence alienation to the colored is strongly felt in Cooper. Through this chapter, Cooper confirms the white civilization over others.The last part of the thesis concentrates on Cooper's narrative techniques in accomplishing this novel. Employing Hawk-eye as his surrogate, Cooper successfully uses power of discourse to silence the Indian tribe represented by Chingachgook and Uncas. Duncan Heyward also works as a spokesman of the writer, examining native Indian landscapes subjectively with his white eyes. White civilization is dramatically highlighted while indigenous native Indian culture is seriously subdued. The contrived plot reflects his deep-buried belief on the fate of different races. To build a racially pure culture, he shows no mercy to eliminate Cora and Uncas--the future of the native Indian tribe. Thereby Indian removal and Indian dispossession totally accords Cooper's ideology.In short, this thesis systematically explains Cooper's conception on race. Cooper's demonstration of the native Indians as a barbaric, uncivilized race exposes his prejudice against native Indians and justifies the white's colonization. Native Indians'inferiority in ration and action ratifies whites'domination in their land. Moreover, hegemony of discourse and subtly designed plot reveal Cooper's identification with the Indian dispossession and Indian removal policy. This thesis also demonstrates the perennial gap that exists between Cooper's rhetoric and his ideology along with the actual treatment of American Indians. Virtually it reflects and comments on Americans' ideology on racial existence since the colonial era through Cooper and his The Last of the Mohicans.