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Born: September 15, 1789 - Burlington, NJ
Died: September 14, 1851 - Cooperstown, NY
| Excerpt from Last of the Mohicans |
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 t the further extremity of a narrow, deep cavern in the rock, whose length appeared much extended by the perspective and the nature of the light by which it was seen, was seated the scout, holding a blazing knot of pine. The strong glare of the fire fell full upon his sturdy, weather-beaten countenance and forest attire, lending an air of romantic wildness to the aspect of an individual, who, seen by the sober light of day, would have exhibited the peculiarities of a man remarkable for the strangeness of his dress, the iron-like inflexibility of his frame, and the singular compound of quick, vigilant sagacity, and of exquisite simplicity, that by turns usurped the possession of his muscular features. At a little distance in advance stood Uncas, his whole person thrown powerfully into view. The travelers anxiously regarded the upright, flexible figure of the young Mohican, graceful and unrestrained in the attitudes and movements of nature.
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Teaching Topics in Social Studies
Writing against the back drop of the French/Indian War, James Fenimore Cooper used the conflicts between
the European colonizers and the Native Americans
as sources of tension and themes in his stories. Other aspects of the FRONTIER life were explored as well. Cooper's texts reflected America's emerging NATIONALISM, at home and
abroad, and were critical of the SOCIAL CLASS structures that merely emulated Europe's ARTISTOCRACY.
Teaching Topics in Language Arts
Some consider James Fenimore Cooper because of the scope of his storylines and the quality of his characters, to be the first American NOVELIST.
The seeds of ROMANTICISM are embedded in Cooper's
historically rich stories labeled "Leatherstocking."
The Last of the Mohicans includes a CAPTIVITY NARRATIVE; the SETTING and CHARACTERIZATIONS combine to create a HISTORICAL FICTION.
| Facts About James Fenimore Cooper and Last of the Mohicans |
- While living and working in Cooperstown, James Fenimore Cooper wrote in isolation with no one allowed to interrupt him except his Angora cat.
- He wrote neatly, in long-hand with a quill pen on foolscap, without many erasures.
- The Last of the Mohicans is the second in the series of five Leather-Stocking Tales.
- Natty Bumppo was the protoganist in all of the Leather-Stocking Tales.
- He published a novel a year from 1824-1827; The Last of the Mohicans was published 1826.
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