Transcript James Fennimore Cooper

James Fennimore Cooper
(1789 - 1851)
Leatherstocking Tales
James Fennimore Cooper
I. A Brief Biography
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1．Life story
1) born in a rich family
2) attended Yale but expelled because of
misconduct
3) five years at sea
4) inherited fortune and lived a comfortable
life
I. A Brief Biography
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2. Major works
In his lifetime Cooper wrote thirty-two novels,
eight of which are set in the frontiers he and
his family had known.
His first novel was written on a dare from his
wife. Warren Walker states that,
I. A Brief Biography
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. . . In the customary practice of the day he
was reading aloud to his wife one evening
from a current English novel, but found the
story dull. Throwing it aside, he declared, "I
could write a better book than that myself."
And Susan's challenge to make good his
boast resulted in his writing Precaution
(1820). . .
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His novels fall into 4 categories:
(1) historical novel---The Spy (1821)
(2) socio-political novel
(3) the sea adventure tale---The Pilot (1824)
(4) the frontier saga--- The Leatherstocking
Tales (1823 - 41)
The History of the Navy of the United States
of America, 1839.
I. A Brief Biography
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3. The Leatherstocking Tales (1823 - 41)
<<皮袜子故事集>>
The Deerslayer (1841) <<杀鹿者>>
The Last of the Mohicans (1826) <<最后的莫
希干人>>
The Pathfinder (1840) <<探路者>>
The Pioneer (1823) <<拓荒者>>
The Prairie (1827) <<大草原>>
I. A Brief Biography
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The Leather-Stocking Tales account for five
of these novels about pioneer life, and yet in
popularity they have outweighed all of
Cooper's other works. The Tales contain a
five volume biography of their protagonist
Natty Bumppo.
I. A Brief Biography
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Natty Bumppo:
several names for the same character:
Hawk-eye, the Pathfinder, the Deerslayer,
Leatherstocking; a typical frontier man:
honest, simple, innocent, generous;
represents brotherhood of man, nature and
freedom; an ideal American, or a perfect
example / father image of the frontier man
I. A Brief Biography
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Theme: modern civilization advancing on the
wilderness and the conflicts between them
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4. Features
1) Good at inventing plots (Cooper had never been
to the frontier area personally.)
2) Style: powerful, yet clumsy and dreadful
3) Wooden Characters
4) Use of dialect, but not authentic
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5. Contributions of Cooper
In his thirty-two years (1820-1851) of
authorship, Cooper produced twenty-nine
other long works of fiction and fifteen books enough to fill forty-eight volumes in the new
definitive edition of his Works. Among his
achievements are:
I. A Brief Biography
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1) The first successful American historical
romance in the vein of Sir Walter Scott (The
Spy, 1821).
2) The first sea novel (The Pilot, 1824).
3) The first attempt at a fully researched
historical novel (Lionel Lincoln, 1825).
4) The first full-scale History of the Navy of
the United States of America (1839).
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5) The first American international novel of manners
(Homeward Bound and Home as Found, 1838).
6) The first trilogy in American fiction (Satanstoe,
1845; The Chainbearer, 1845; and The Redskins,
1846).
7) The first and only five-volume epic romance to
carry its mythic hero - Natty Bumppo - from youth to
old age.
8) Finding "the West" and "the frontier life" as
materials for literary works; introducing Western
tradition into American literature.
I. A Brief Biography
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James Cooper has had many critics. One of the wellknown people who put Cooper's novels under great
scrutiny and attacked his works continuously has
been Mark Twain. Although scholars agree that
some of Cooper's novels have flaws, most concur
that he is usually underestimated. As Warren points
out "without Cooper America would be deprived of
brilliant power of observation."
James Fennimore Cooper's writings live on to prove
that Cooper belongs in the same category as other
great novelists of his time.
II. The Last of the Mohicans
II. The Last of the Mohicans
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The Last of the Mohicans is an epic novel by
James Fenimore Cooper, first published in
January 1826. It is the most famous of the
Leatherstocking Tales. It was one of the most
popular English-language novels of its time,
and helped establish Cooper as one of the
first world-famous American writers.
II. The Last of the Mohicans
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The story is set in the British province of New York
during the French and Indian War, and concerns a
massacre of a colonial garrison and a fictional
kidnapping of two sisters, who were the daughters of
the commander of Fort William Henry. Parts of the
story may have been derived from the capture and
death of Jane McCrea, in July 1777 near Fort
Edward, New York, by members of an Algonquian
tribe.
II. The Last of the Mohicans
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Plot summary
The plot involves Hawkeye and his Mohican
companions Chingachgook and Uncas escorting the
Munro sisters, the dark-haired Cora and the blonde
Alice, through the woods of New York to Fort William
Henry. Also in the party are British army Major
Duncan Heyward and a psalmist named David
Gamut.
II. The Last of the Mohicans
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They engage in deadly fights along the way against
Hurons led by Magua in a cycle of capture and
rescue and recapture. An encounter with another
American Indian tribe called the Delaware in the
second half of the novel will prove crucial towards
the end.
II. The Last of the Mohicans
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The book ends in tragedy, with Uncas and Cora
perishing. Magua perishes from Hawkeye's rifle as
he hangs off a ledge.
Cooper developed his account based on existing
writings and his imagination, rather than actual
contact with any individuals. However, the history of
the bitter, vengeful Magua, who was once beaten
and humiliated by Colonel Munro, shows deep
understanding of the treatment of captives by the
Indian tribes. His treatment of the Native Americans
shows a deep sympathy for their culture.