Monthly Group Reads: MAY 2012: The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper

[Silver]

Terri wrote: "I completely agree. I wonder.....what would I make of the book if I hadn't seen and liked the movie??? Still...no..I am certain I still wouldn't have liked it. I find it too sexist and too racist...."

I cannot say I find the book to be particularly sexist or racist.

While some of the views in regards to the Native Americans might be reflective of the thought process of the time, I do not think Cooper himself is advocating these ideas, and I felt, considering the time in which he lived, he was rather liberal minded in his treatment of the Native Americans.

[Jim]

I agree. Considering the "kill them all" mentality prevalent with the colonists of the time, Cooper is using a lot of restraint in his treatment of the "savages", even though we may find it too racist to comply with current mores.