The Last of the Mohicans: Characters
In “The Last of the Mohicans”, Fennimore Cooper shows the colonialists’ brutality, exterminating the Indians, truthfully depicts savagery and “vampirism” of individual tribes. However, the process of colonization is reproduced and evaluated in this novel from the perspective of a patriot which contributed to the creation of the United States of America.
A writer introduces a number of interesting characters, attracting both their human traits and actions. The essential hero is Hawkeye or Natty Bumppo. Being an excellent ranger and trapper, he does not leave strangers in trouble. Giving the protagonist a double name, an author seems to emphasize his simultaneous belonging to the secular life and the world of spirits. Durable stay in the wood finally severed Natty from culture. He feels comfortable only away from it. Before us is a kind of mediator, an ambassador between the Europeans and the Aborigines.
The role of a villain went to Magua, known for his deception and guile. He was expelled from his native clan because of boozing, so he seeks revenge for humiliation. He hates white people and sets traps for the weakest individuals.
His opposite is Uncas, the last representative of the Mohicans. He has nobility, pride, and courage. The litterateur forms a love between him and Cora Munro but leaves his fondness undivided. Perhaps in such way, he tries to highlight the inadmissibility of racial communication. Nevertheless, Uncas tries to protect his beloved from enemies. A young leader frequently seeks advice from his father Chingachgook, famous for his wicked mind.
The heroines are represented by two sisters. The eldest, Cora, is portrayed in a noble nature with dark skin color due to her Negro origin. She sympathizes with Uncas but is not in a hurry to fully open her own passion. The girl is careful. Similar sentimentality decorates our protagonist. The youngest daughter, Alice, has beauty. She is blond and inclined to faint at the slightest danger. Both girls are described as clear opposites in all aspects, from appearance to a character. Cora is much bolder than a sister and is ready to help the suffering, while Alice does not know the true nobility.
Of course, a plot would be incomplete without minor personages. So, Major Duncan and Colonel Munro, British by origin, but they do not feel their own superiority, getting into the impassable jungle. They represent the colonialists, who feel power only outside the fortified fort. However, each of them is just a weak person. The same powerless is the Calvinist David Gamut, preaching Christianity. He serves as the subject of frequent ridicule on the part of the Hawkeye but supplies him with significant information.
Thus, Fennimore Cooper by his talent created a palette of many-sided heroes of the period of American civilization. All of them have positive and negative qualities we feel on the novel’s pages. It is through the imagery of author’s language that followers are able to fully comprehend the personages.