James Fenimore Cooper's The Last Of The Mohicans

Proverbs 12:11, “Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense.” Most people realize that the early settlers in America endured many tribulations such as food shortages, fights with Indians, quarrels among leaders, and more. What most people do not realize is that many of these early settlers squandered their time, wasted their energy, and were generally lazy and idle. This was a huge problem for early Americans because in order to survive, it was vital that they work. Why were these early Americans not motivated to work? Edmund S. Morgan, in his article The Labor Problem at Jamestown, 1607-18, suggests that there indeed was a labor problem at Jamestown. In his article, he discusses several issues that contributed to the colonist’s lack of motivation. Morgan makes a convincing case as he discusses

It tells of the greatness and the tragedy of the American Indian. It also tells of the greatness and tenacity of the early white settlers. The only weakness was it could be confusing when trying to keep up with the many letters which were used to tell the various stories. Anyone who loves history and enjoys action along with the human side of conflict would enjoy reading this

In a few scenes of the the grades one through twelve the short story “Indian Education,” by the Native American author and filmmaker Sherman Alexie is able to show us what it is like growing up in the white, American culture. Sherman Alexie is able to give us a glimpse of the differences of what it means to be in a non-white student area that is struggling due to the effects of colonization. Even though it has been many years since the European explores “found” North America, the settlers and government continued to expand into Indian territories. The Native Americans gradually saw their land and culture diminishing as they were relocated to reservations. The feelings of oppression become obvious through the eyes of Victor, a young boy. The

Because the book’s chapters were divided by time periods and frequently flipped back and forth between characters, the book was difficult to keep up with. Sometimes, I would read about a character then not hear about them for 100-or-so pages. By the time I heard of the character again, I had forgotten who that character was and their importance in the story, this made it frustrating to read. Another thing that kept me detached from the book was the excitement and there wasn’t much of it. I hated and loved this addition to the story. I hated it because it was tragic and made me cry. I loved it because it showed so much about the characters, where they stand, and it gave depth and meaning to the book. This was the excitement the book was missing. I wish the book had more ominous details like this portion

The poem by Louise Erdrich, “Dear John Wayne”, was written as a way to express the Native American’s contempt for the way they have been demonized in the media by what John Wayne represents. John Wayne starred in many Westerns and consequently, represents the American dream. It is this role in these westerns that the Natives hate so much, and what led to the creation of this poem. This hatred is conveyed through the use of imagery.

In Western stories, Native people are illustrated as antagonists and are never seen as the main characters. Native people are the other side of the so-called frontier, where wildness, savagery and chaos are met. Western stories do not represent native people fairly. The typical archetype of American Indians in western stories has influenced and created stereotypes about Native people that still remain in nowadays society. In the story of Louis L’Amour, “The Gift of Cochise”, Native people, also called ‘the other’, are represented more fairly compared to typical Westerns which portray them as non-civilized and savage. In his story, Louis L’Amour illustrates Indians as peaceful and civilized compared to typical western stories, as well as compared

During the late 18th century, two main groups of people lived in New York, European colonialists and American Indians. Their lives were very different. Europeans considered themselves subservient citizens of a faraway country, while American Indians lived as members of nations in villages. They ate different foods, wore different clothing, and had different organization in their families. In The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper, Natty Bumppo (Hawkeye) is a European man living with American Indians during the French and Indian war. Cooper is successful in using Hawkeye to reveal American Indian culture, however, the culture he reveals is not always accurate. Cooper reveals an accurate picture

This week we discussed ‘“The Tempest” in the Wilderness: A Tale of Two Frontiers’ by Ronald Takaki. In this article, the author discusses the differences between savagery and civilization. The main argument in this argument is shown in the form of examples of how the Indians and Irish were simply harmless at first when discovering the New World, but quickly made into monsters by the English men. I’m sure we’ve all learned in history of John Smith’s description of how the Powhatans cared for the sick and dying English men. In my eyes however, I feel the English men simply took advantage of the Indians and eventually destroyed them because they were jealous and wanted what the Indians had.

The prescribed question that I have chosen is Power and Privilege: “How and why is a social group represented in a particular way?”

The scene I chose to close read is from Hope Leslie, which was written by Catherine Sedgwick and published in 1827. During this scene, Magawisca was retelling the story of the Pequod War from her perspective as a Native American to Everell, who was white. She described how the Europeans attacked the Pequods and how they killed several Natives. After Magawisca tells her version of the story, Sedgwick discussed how this affected Everell and his opinion about Native Americans. In this scene, Magawisca’s recollection of the Pequod War positively changed Everell’s perspective about Native Americans, established a deeper bond between Everell and Magawisca, and showed Sedgwick’s feelings of sympathy and admiration for the Natives.

There is always that one person that makes a story so interesting and impossible to get one's eyes off of. The novel, Montana 1948 by Larry Watson was a book that had good, bad and terrible things in it. A family that was well known to the town of Bentrock was involved with multiple incidents that brought negativity to the people. It was a town diversified between Indian and Caucasians. People that were influential to the novel made bad choices, caused and solved problems and also led to serious moments that others couldn’t see meaning and truth behind. Doing what is right vs. wrong often causes struggles within other people.

Renowned author, Louise Erdrich, seamlessly portrays the duality of her characters as well as their struggles with identity in her novel, The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse. By doing so, she creates a relatable story that connects with her readers, which therefore allows for a total immersion into the story as her characters are so strongly developed.

Written by Steve Inskeep detailing the lives of President Andrew Jackson and Cherokee Chief John Ross during 1812 to 1835. Jacksonland describes President Andrew’s desire to remove five indian tribes from their traditional homeland and move them to the far west.They were the initial targets of the Indian Removal Act of 1830 and eventually leading to the Trail of Tears.

I really enjoyed the way this book was written, it was written in a way that Native Americans have been known to teach each other. They pass their knowledge down to their children through their stories. It was like sitting down with a grandparent and hearing their story of the war. I first picked this book up because the Navaho Indians were mentioned in my AP History class, but because of the time frame we had before the test was taken they were only briefly mentioned. This book grabbed my attention because of the topic and that the main characters point of view didn’t just start with the war it explained his background and why he is the type of person he became.

Writer Sherman Alexie has a knack of intertwining his own problematic biographical experience with his unique stories and no more than “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” demonstrates that. Alexie laced a story about an Indian man living in Spokane who reflects back on his struggles in life from a previous relationship, alcoholism, racism and even the isolation he’s dealt with by living off the reservation. Alexie has the ability to use symbolism throughout his tale by associating the title’s infamy of two different ethnic characters and interlinking it with the narrator experience between trying to fit into a more society apart from his own cultural background. However, within the words themselves, Alexie has created themes that surround despair around his character however he illuminates on resilience and alcoholism throughout this tale.