James Cooper's the Last of Term Paper

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Hawkeye again reminds us that "there is no cross" in his veins, that he is a pureblooded white man.

The book does not segregate itself to the discussion of only Native Americans and the feelings thereof, but also has occasion to discuss the prevailing sentiment in regards to African-Americans as well. As General Monro reveals in Chapter Sixteen, we find that Cora has a "cross" in her blood:

There it was my lot to form a connection with one who in time became my wife and the Mother of Cora. She was the daughter of a gentleman of those isles, by a lady whose misfortune it was, if you will" said the old man proudly, "to be descended, remotely, from that unfortunate class who are so basely enslaved to administer to the wants of a luxurious people." (Cooper 201)

It is perhaps a little difficult to discern but the General is talking about slaves in the last sentence. The General does profess that his love his daughter is not diminished by her miscegenation and would strike down any man that would disparage her. I think he doth protest too much. Even Cora knows that she is cursed by her mixed blood. While trying to save her sister from death and torture she states:

Like thee and thine, venerable chief," she continued, pressing her hands convulsively on her heart, and suffering her head to droop until her burning cheeks were nearly concealed in the maze of dark glossy tresses that fell in disorder upon her shoulders, "the curse of my ancestors has fallen heavily on their child.

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" (Cooper 382)

Cooper may be faulted for never having really explored the wilderness himself or witnessed in real life any of the adventures of his novels. However, it must be noted that for his time he did try to present some reasonable interpretation of life and humanity as it was unfolding during this era. He does not let the European settlers completely off the hook. "Cleverly, Cooper draws Magua in a way that plays into the fears of nineteenth-century white readers, yet he also projects readers' fears onto a character whose quest for revenge is largely due to the harmful actions of European settlers"(Smith). So in this novel, as well as in real life, there is much ambiguity and no clear cut answers that really can assuage the conscience. We do, however, feel the sadness for both worlds, the savage and the civilized, for surely both have lost something at the end of this tale.

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