Questions About The Last of the Mohicans (The Leatherstocking Tales, #2)

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Answered Questions (6)

Rex This book is a masterpiece. The story is not boring. A person who declares such a work as this one as boring simply was not ready to read it. I found …moreThis book is a masterpiece. The story is not boring. A person who declares such a work as this one as boring simply was not ready to read it. I found Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn boring the first time I read it, but I kept an open mind. I was not yet in high school. Before I was 18 I'd read it four times and enjoyed it more each time. I'm not saying this reader (who said Mohicans was borning) would find the same to be true, but you DO need to take a different approach to some books than for others. Modern readers are used to a completely different language. You delve into the classics and you better be ready for a challenge. But the reward will be great. Give yourself time. A certain maturity must be achieved, as both a reader and a person, to appreciate a great work like Mohicans.(less)

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Is this a sequel? Should i read Leatherstocking tales #1 first?

Anushtup Haldar No, The Last of the Mohicans is a self-sufficient book. You don't really need to read #1. And it's a very good book, full of action and adventure. …moreNo, The Last of the Mohicans is a self-sufficient book. You don't really need to read #1. And it's a very good book, full of action and adventure. (less)

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Is Last of the Mohicans a fictional tale complete? Or is it based in fact about native Americans of that time and of those nations,while the central characters are fictional? In other words, how much of the story is about real events or persons.

Davita Crowe

This answer contains spoilers… (view spoiler)

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As a reader from a different time period, I find the way, in which the author describes Native Americans as savages and beasts offensive. Especially, the number of times it is repeated. I had to continue to tell myself to understand the time period of the book's creation. Did anyone else find the way Cooper dealt with the First Peoples so upsetting?

Lenny Herman I just finished another book, Bloody Mohawk. It was non-fiction, taking place in the Mohawk Valley of Upper New York State, during the French and Indi…moreI just finished another book, Bloody Mohawk. It was non-fiction, taking place in the Mohawk Valley of Upper New York State, during the French and Indian war, and the Revolutionary War. The Indians fought both savagely and beastly, in both wars, and were used by both French and English. The Indians were taken advantage of, and Cooper mentions this in the story, for some reason he shows great prejudice toward the Iroquois, who did have a structured society. Then again he portrayed the Mohicans as the total opposite. Maybe it was because the land his family owned in the Mohawk Valley was that of the Iroquois, and was possible still being disputed. (less)

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did james feminore give a positive or bad image of the indian??

Davita Crowe Some of the reviews indicated the book was stereotypical
and derogatory towards indigenous peoples. I didn't find
that to be the case. Some of the chara…moreSome of the reviews indicated the book was stereotypical
and derogatory towards indigenous peoples. I didn't find
that to be the case. Some of the characters made references
that were typical of their race and beliefs in that time
period, the 1770's. Cooper works to dispel those but uses
some humor to do so. Keep in mind that all humans have
faults, strengths and general characteristcs, some that
may be more common to their race. He pokes some fun
at different religions, superstitions, etiquette, practices
but he does so with all the chracters across the board.

No one character is described as being better, more right,
braver or more deserving than another, along the lines of
race, at least. He does speak of women as the fairer and
weaker sex though, but Cora redeems herself with her
bravery, piousness and sacrifice.

Keep in mind the context that it is set in the 1770's and
was not written during this current age of censorship
and cultural sensitivity.

A man with no cross, as Natty Bumpo keeps referring to was based on an old law that one drop of blood from another race determined your race at that titime. The one drop meaning anything but white. He says it meaning as a woodsman he is not as good
at certain things and he means it in a humble, self-
deprecating way. He has chosen to live outside his birthright,
with no home, no family, no religion and wishes to be accepted by his "brothers". I think they do accept him.(less)

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