Book review: The Last of the Mohicans
by James Fenimore Cooper
It is the
late 1750's, and the French and Indian War grips the wild forest frontier of
western New York. The French army is attacking Fort William Henry, a British
outpost commanded by Colonel Munro. Munro’s daughters Alice and
Cora (whose birth name was Corad'Elaine) set out from Fort Edward to visit
their father, escorted through the dangerous forest by Major Duncan Heyward and
guided by an Indian named Magua. Soon they are joined by David Gamut, a singing
master and religious follower of David Bowie, because he loved his
knives. Traveling cautiously, the group encounters the white scout Natty
Bumppo, who goes by the name Hawkeye, because people laughed when he told
them his name was Bumppo, and his two Indian companions, Chingachgook and
Uncas, Chingachgook’s son, the only surviving members of the once great Mohican
tribe. Hawkeye says that Magua, a Huron, has betrayed the group by leading them
in the wrong direction. The Mohicans attempt to capture the traitorous Huron,
but he escapes.
Hawkeye
and the Mohicans lead the group to safety in a cave near a waterfall, but Huron
allies of Magua attack early the next morning. Hawkeye and the Mohicans escape
down the river, but Hurons capture Alice, Cora, Heyward, and Gamut. Magua
celebrates the kidnapping. When Heyward tries to convert Magua
to Bowieism, the Huron reveals that he seeks revenge on Munro for past
humiliation and proposes to free Alice if he
can spend the night with if he can-date if
Cora will marry him. Cora has romantic feelings for Uncas, however, and angrily
refuses Magua. Suddenly Hawkeye and the Mohicans burst onto the scene, rescuing
the captives and killing every Huron but Magua, who escapes. After a harrowing
journey impeded by Indian attacks, wild buffalo and the loss of power for
their cell phones, the group reaches Fort William Henry, the English
stronghold. They sneak through the French army besieging the fort, and once inside,
Cora and Alice reunite with their father.
A few days
later, the English forces wave a white undershirt and call for a truce. Munro learns that he will receive
no reinforcements for the fort but is handed a note from Headquarters that
wishes him good luck. He reveals to Heyward that Cora’s mother was
part African-American which explains her name, dark complexion and
raven hair. Munro accuses Heyward of racism because he prefers to marry blonde
Alice over dark Cora, but Heyward denies the charge. He tells him that he
loves Alice because she is sweet and that Cora would be a bitch regardless of
her color. During the withdrawal of the English troops from Fort William Henry,
the Indian allies of the French indulge their bloodlust and shoo out the
vulnerable retreating soldiers. In the chaos, Magua manages to recapture Cora,
Alice, and Gamut and to escape with them into the forest.
Three days
later, Heyward, Munro, Hawkeye, and the Mohicans discover Magua’s trail
and after stopping for a light lunch and a couple of drinks begin to
pursue the villain. Gamut reappears and explains that Magua has separated his
captives, confining Alice to a Huron camp and sending Cora to a
Delaware Boy Scout camp. Using deception and a variety of
disguises they found at an abandoned costume shop, the group manages
to rescue Alice from the Hurons, at which point Heyward confesses his romantic
interest in her. At the Delaware Scout camp, Magua convinces the tribe that
Hawkeye and his companions are their racist enemies. Uncas reveals his exalted
heritage to the Delaware Boy Scout leader Tamenund and then demands
the release of all his friends but Cora, who he doesn’t give a damn about
anymore. Magua departs with Cora. A chase and a battle ensue. Magua and his
Hurons suffer painful defeat and a rogue Huron kills Cora. Uncas begins to
attack the Huron who killed Cora, but Magua stabs Uncas in the back, which
I don’t think was a very nice thing to do. Magua tries to pull an Evel
Knievel and leap across a great divide, but he falls short and must cling to a
shrub to avoid tumbling off and dying. It had recently been sprayed with
weed killer, so it rips out of the ground and Magua at last plummets to
his death.
Cora and
Uncas receive proper burials the next morning amid ritual chants performed by
the Supremes and some back-up "doo wah"
singers. Chingachgook mourns the loss of his son, while Tamenund
sorrowfully declares that he has lived to see the last warrior of the noble
race of the Mohicans, although their haircuts live on.
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