Elements Of Romanticism In The Last Of The Mohicans

The Last of the Mohicans is a Romantic novel. A main characteristic of romantic novels are romantic heroes, which is Hawkeye in this novel. Hawkeye has several valuable traits shown throughout the movie. Hawkeye shows a great deal of respect for nature, provides courageous acts, and uses his instincts over reason.
Hawkeye was raised by the Indians and the adopted brother of Uncas, who was one of the last Mohicans to survive. He had the heart of an Indian for the land and nature but had the skin color of a white man. He often claims that he has no Indian blood, so he feels as if he is not completely going against the Indian culture. He was adopted into the Indian culture, so he valued most of their beliefs. However, Hawkeye had a hybrid

background consisted of white and Indian cultures. He valued the land, because he hunted for food through the killing of animals rather than just for a sport. Hawkeye cared about the land and he only used it to survive. He was very knowledgeable about the wilderness since he grew up in this environment. He used his knowledge about the wilderness to his advantage.
Hawkeye protected and rescued the women, Cora and Alice, even when he put his own life in danger. Hawkeye had to survive against the Magua and the Herons. He also had to go against some of the Indian beliefs to rescue Cora and Alice. The Indians did not respect women. However, Uncas and Hawkeye’s father came with him to attempt to save the women.
Hawkeye seems to think more with his heart rather than with his mind. He feels as if the women are not treated with respect. Hawkeye thought the women were important enough for him to risk his life for but this would not have been reasonable to the people in that day and time. He thought of a woman as a person rather than gender. There are many scenes in the movie that show Hawkeye acting instinctively that might have saved his and the women’s lives on several occasions.
The Last of the Mohicans shows a great deal of romantic values, such as the heroic character of Hawkeye and his ability to act instinctively in situations, value nature, and show great bravery throughout the novel.