The Fronteir Changes You: Analysis of The Last of the Mohicans

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Recommended: Stereotypical Native American roles in media and literature

In The Last of the Mohicans, the English travelers are not used to the savage American forests. They are used to having tea on their lawns and garden parties every week. They are used to having whatever they want, whenever they want it. This Victorian lifestyle of having more than you could ever want, is very different from the the lifestyle of the Americas where you don’t have anything but the clothes you are wearing and the gun in your hand, and if you don't find food that day, you won't eat dinner that night. Even during combat, which Heyward was not unused to, the officers still traveled in luxury and were expected to be treated well even if they were captured. In this book, Duncan Heyward goes from a posh military man, who is not used to the woods, to being so good at being stealthy that he could be disguised as an Indian. David Gamut, a young psalmodist who was originally very frightened to be in the woods, not only turns into a more hardened man, but actually becomes a help during the battle against the Delawares. The harsh American landscaped changed these men into seasoned foresters.

Major Duncan Heyward enters the story as the slightly foolish English general on his way to Fort William Henry. He had only been in the forest for a few hours and he was already hopelessly lost. Heywards role in this book was to play the white man that is completely out of his element. The Indians often poke fun of how out of place he is in the forest. Another shortcoming was his inability to speak the Indian's language. This leads to many miscommunications between them. Throughout the novel, however, Heyward changes quite a lot. He is a natural strategist, so those skills came in handy when they were fighting the Delawares. He quickly lea...

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...amut tells about how Magua released him simply because he thought Gamut was insane due to all of his singing. After this point, Gamut is still a little frightened by the frontier, but he is more adapt to it. He once agains aves his lives and the lives of his friend by singing his prayerful songs. Gamut's final courageous action of the book, is hitting one of Magua's friend on the head with a rock from his sling. This distraction allows Hawkeye to kill Magua.

The frontier changes people. Its is a harsh landscape that only very adapted people can survive in. Duncan Heyward and David Gamut both learn this the hard way. They are used to the posh life of England, and do not understand how life on the frontier works. The events of the story change them however, to become men who, while not as good as the Indians, can hold their own in the harsh landscape of North America.

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