Masculinity In The Last Of The Mhicans

James Fenimore Cooper’s novel, The Last of the Mohicans, has stood the test of time due to its cunning confrontation of the issues of race in American society. Immediately from the Author’s Introduction, Cooper readily describes the Native American in an admirable light, unable to be extinguished by the prejudices of many of his readers. “In war, he is daring, boastful, cunning, ruthless, self-denying, and self-devoted; in peace, just, generous, hospitable, revengeful, superstitious, modest, and commonly chaste” (Introduction). The way cooper describes “these remarkable people” (Introduction) clarifies his viewpoint on the bias of racism and its wrongful judgment of one’s character solely based off the color of his or her skin. At the very

In this novel, Native Americans are illustrated as the ultimate representation of manhood, though the whites are also considered accurate portrayals of masculinity once they have acquired heroism. Cooper describes Chingachgook, a Native American, in this imposing image of manliness, “[t]he expanded chest, full formed limbs, and grave countenances of this warrior, would denote that he had reached the vigor of his days, though no symptoms of decay appeared to have yet weakened his manhood” (19). Hawkeye, a white man, is also capable of showing masculine qualities. “The manner of the scout was seriously impressive, though no longer distinguished by any signs of unmanly apprehension” (54). Cooper’s carefully written statements of “a savage of gigantic stature, and of the fiercest mien” (60) and “the toughened sinews of the white man”(60) visibly show his opinion of the importance of manliness and its superiority of over the other sex. Unfortunately, these descriptions become increasingly excessive as the reader continues throughout the novel. This apparent exorbitance of masculine praise therefore irks the reader, who senses the underhanded gender