Coopers Deerslayer View of the Native Americans Essay Example For Students

Coopers Deerslayer: View of the Native Americans Essay Coopers Deerslayer: View of the Native AmericansCoopers Deerslayer: View of the Native AmericansJames Fenimore Cooper was born on September 15, 1789 in Burlington, NewJersey. He was the son of William and Elizabeth (Fenimore) Cooper, the twelfthof thirteen children (Long, p. 9). Cooper is known as one of the first greatAmerican novelists, in many ways because he was the first American writer togain international followers of his writing. In addition, he was perhaps thefirst novelist to demonstratethat native materials could inspire significantimaginative writing (p. 13). In addition his writing, specifically TheDeerslayer, present a unique view of the Native Americans experiences andsituation. Many critics, for example, argue that The Deerslayer presents amoral opinion about what occurred in the lives of the American Indians. Marius Bewley has said that the book shows moral values throughout thecontext of it. He says that from the very beginning, this is symbolically madeclear. The plot is a platform for the development of moral themes. The firstcontact the reader has with people in the book is in the passage in which thetwo hunters find each other. The calls were in different tones, evidentlyproceeding from two men who had lost their way, and were searching in differentdirections for their path (Cooper, p. 5). Bewley states that this meeting issymbolic of losing ones way morally, and then attempting to find it againthrough different paths. Says Bewley, when the two men emerge from the forestinto the little clearing we are face to face with two opposing moral visionsof life which are embodied in these two woodsmen (cited in Long, p. 121). Critic Donald Davie, however, disagrees. His contention is that theplot is poorly developed. It does not hang together; has no internal logic;one incident does not rise out of another (cited in Long, p. 121). Butaccording to Robert Long, Bewley has a better grasp of the meaning andpresentation of ideas throughout the book. According to Long, although the plotdevelopment may not be strictly linear, it is still certainly coherent andmakes sense. In addition, Long feels that, as Bewley states, the novel is a wayin and through which Cooper presents moral ideas about the plight of the NativeAmericans (p. 121). The story of The Deerslayer is simple. It is novel which tells theevents which occur in the travels of a frontiersman. His name is Natty, and heis a young man at only twenty years old. Coming from New York of the eighteenthcentury, he is unprepared in many ways for what he encounters in the frontier. But he survives, escapes, and learns many things over the course of hisadventures. The two characters of Natty and Hurry are contrasted in such as way thatCooper presents his view of the Native Americans through them. As earlierindicated, they symbolize two men with differing moral aptitudes. Throughoutthe novel, the differences between the two show Coopers feelings about moralityas it relates to the American Indians. As Long states, The voices of the twomen calling to one another at the beginning introduces the idea of a world thathas lost its coherence, is already reduced to disjunction and fragmentation. Natty and Hurry search for a point of contact yet move in different directions(p. 122). Coopers descriptions of Natty and Hurry early in the novel make itobvious that they stand for opposite moral values. Hurry, for example, isdescribed by Cooper as having a dashing, reckless, off-hand manner, andphysical restlessness (Cooper, p. 6). In fact, it is these characteristics ofhim that gave him his nickname by which he is called Hurry Scurry, althoughhis real name is Henry March. He is described as tall and muscular, thegrandeur that pervaded such a noble physique being the only thing that kepthim from looking altogether vulgar (p. 6). The Deerslayers appearance, onthe other hand, contrasts with Hurrys significantly. Cooper indicates that notonly were the two men different in appearance, but also in character (p. 6). A little shorter than Hurry, he was also leaner. In addition, he was nothandsome like Hurry and, says Cooper, he would not have anything exceptionalabout his looks had it not been for an expression that seldom failed to winupon those who had leisure to examine it, and to yield to the feelings ofconfidence it created. This expression was simply that of guileless truth,sustained by an earnestness of purpose, and a sincerity of feeling (p. 6). Computer Networks EssayAs their conversation continues, Natty asks Hurry if the lake has a name. When Hurry tells him that it, in fact, does not, Natty thinks of this aspositive. Im glad it has no name, or, at least, no paleface name; for theirchristenings always foretell waste and destruction (p. 30). Here, we can seeNattys thoughts on the significance of whether an Indian or a white man hasnamed the water. He comments that he would mind if a white man had named it. He believes that white men traditionally bring with them environmental damage they would have ruined the natural beauty of it. The Indians, on the other hand,treated land with much more respect. Cooper makes it apparent that this is theway he feels in having Natty comment on the land as such. Hurry, however, responds in a different way. He tells Natty that theIndian name for it is Glimmerglass. Then he goes on to state that the whitemen decided to keep this name, at least unofficially. I am glad theyve beencompelled to keep the redmens name, for it would be too hard to rob them ofboth land and name! (p. 30). In other words, Hurry is stating the obvious fact that everything willeventually be taken away from the Native Americans. Any land that they mightvalue and care for today will be confiscated and fought for by the white mentomorrow. But the exclamation point at the end of the sentence suggests that,rather than a sad comment accepting the inevitable, Hurry says this with gleeand excitement. To him it is like a joke, that the Indians will be allowed tokeep the name for the land but lose the land itself. Cooper, in the above dialogue between Natty and Hurry, is presenting aview of the immorality involved in the interactions between the Native Americansand the white men. In Coopers mind, the Native Americans respected and caredfor the land much more than the white men did. This is apparent in his quotefrom Hurry, that white men always brought waste and destruction to land. Secondly, Cooper also thought that the constant fighting, oppression, andkilling of the American Indians was wrong. To Cooper, Natty represented thegood and moral point of view on this issue, while Hurry represented the immoraland cruel side, laughing about the horrible truths of the land. All throughout the book The Deerslayer, Cooper contrasts the charactersof Hurry and Natty in order to present his views of Native Americans. WithHurry as the one who has a racist attitude, believing that the deaths of Indiansare deaths which do not matter, Natty is the moral one. The contrast betweenthese two characters allows Cooper to show the contrast between morality andimmorality. Hurry goes around killing Indians, believing that their deaths areinsignificant. Natty, killing his first Indian in a matter of self-defense,holds the man in his arms as he dies feeling a sense of bonding and brotherhoodwith the dying Indian. Throughout the book, Natty is shown learning manydifferent things, such as woodcraft, and increasing in moral stature. Hurry, onthe other hand, is presented as becoming more and more selfish, until hiscomments by themselves reveal his ignorance and he loses credibility as acharacter. The book The Deerslayer is a story in which James Fenimore Cooperpresents a view of the Native Americans. His idea is that they were naturalowners to the land, being there first. In addition, they loved, valued andrespected the land in a way that was not common to most white men. Finally, hebelieved that they were human beings, entitled to live their lives freely justas anyone else. In showing the two sides of opinion on this issue Hurry andNatty Cooper sets the book up as a story of good and evil, right and wrong. His ideas, through the thoughts and actions of Hurry and Natty, are clearlypresented. Works CitedCooper, James Fenimore. The Deerslayer. New York: The Heritage Press, 1961. Kelly, William P.Plotting Americas Past. Illinois: Southern IllinoisUniversity Press, 1983. Long, Robert Emmet. James Fenimore Cooper. New York: Continuum PublishingCompany, 1990.