–the Historian Essay, Research Paper
James Fenimore Cooper–The Historian
James Fenimore Cooper is, in his own right, a
historian. Cooper is responsible for passing on views of
early America that will never be available to us again. He
helped many Americans view Indians and other ethnic groups
as people and not ?savages?. Historical events greatly
influenced Coopers writing. Time periods such as the
Revolutionary war and the American exploration of the West
were often the backgrounds for Coopers most successful
novels. Novels such as The Spy, The Pioneers, and The Last
of the Mohicans all possessed these qualities, and as a
result, were extremely successful.
The Spy was Coopers second novel and first success.
Many readers felt that The Spy possessed a quality of
realism that his first novel, Precaution, didn?t (Ringe13).
It was in this novel that Cooper first branched the topic of
a war theme. It took place in Westchester Country which was
neutral ground and also the scene of many battles between
the English and the American colonists. The novel makes
good use of it?s setting and revolves around the conflicts
of one family (the Whartons). The majority of the family
remain loyalists and support the English. However, the
youngest daughter favors the rebels and goes as far as to
become engaged to an American major (Long32-35). This
conflict in particular was one that many Americans could
relate to. Since many of Coopers readers had lived through
the Revolutionary war, they had often had experiences like
the ones in this book. Another important historical element
that Cooper enriched this novel was the use of actual
people as characters. Major Andre was mentioned several
times in this novel. In real life, Major Andre was a
revolutionary war spy for the British (Campbell1). Cooper
used vivid imagery to portray the realities of war. In the
beginning Chapter 8, he writes, ?With fire and sword the
country round was wasted far and wide; and many a childing
mother, then, and new-born infant died; but things like
these, you know, must be at every famous
victory.?(Campbell2). Cooper realized the source of this
novels success and continued to use an historical theme
throughout his later novels.
The Pioneers was Coopers next novel and although it had
a ?markedly different tone?(Ringe16), it was just as
successful as The Spy. Instead of using the war theme this
time, he dealt with something that was also familiar to most
Americans. He used the basic idea that ?the American
wilderness must be invaded and destroyed if civilization is
to spread across the continent?(Ringe16). The setting of
this novel was Coopers home town of Cooperstown, New York.
It centers around disputes between American Colonists and
the Native Americans. Another important asset to this book
is the use of imagery. ?Cooper depicts a landscape in the
process of change from the untouched wilderness hunted by
Leathingstocking and visited by Judge Temple when he came to
survey his possessions, to the placid domestic scene of
1823?(Ringe16). This novel starts out with Judge Temple,
Leathingstocking, and Oliver Edwards all shooting at the
same deer and then all of them trying to claim it.
Throughout the rest of the novel, hostilities rise. The
novel, overall, was one of the most important ones that
Cooper ever wrote. It was in this novel that Cooper first
introduced the character Leathingstocking. Leathingstocking
was used many times in Coopers novels.
The next novel, The Pilot, offered a change of pace to
Coopers readers. The novel took place on a ship that was
sailing in the waters surrounding England. This ship was
preparing for a raid on England. The books theme was that
for ?such a dangerous mission to succeed, strict obedience
to proper authority is absolutely necessary?(Ringe20). This
obviously presents a problem to the men fighting who had
?not only denied obedience to the authority of the king but
is actually in open rebellion against him?. This whole
novel lead many readers to realize just how ?deeply
committed to American democracy? Cooper was(Ringe22). It
was also another example of how successful Cooper?s
historical themes were.
The book that was responsible for making Cooper a
household name was The Last of the Mohicans. This novel was
the first one where Cooper used Indian romance (Long52).
Cooper knew that many Americans had no grasp on what real
Indian culture was like. So, in this novel, he offered an
introduction to explain the Indian way of life and to give
readers insight on Indian culture (Cooper1). Cooper also
knew that, despite the lack of education Americans had when
it came to Indians, this book would appeal to many different
types of readers. The book centers around the romance of
the chief of the Mohicans adopted son and his romance with
the daughter of an army general. This topic was one that
was new to many Americans. What was not new was Coopers
infallible description of the untouched wilderness of the
uninhibited Americas. This novels setting was in the
wilderness that is now upstate New York. He took many
readers back to an America that we will never see. Another
thing that made this novel successful was the use of
violence. In a world without television or radios, early
Americans had only books. Reading about fights between
Indians and Americans was something that most Americans only
heard about. With Coopers vivid writing, many readers felt
as if they were witnessing the battles themselves.
The Prairie differs from Coopers other books because
?The Prairie depicts a world that man cannot pretend to
master, for it is beyond his control?(Ringe28). The plot
again involved Indian tribes battling against each other as
in The Last of the Mohicans. In fact, Cooper was accused of
laziness in the writing of this book because the main
characters, Hard Heart and Mahtoree, are so much like The
Last of the Mohicans Uncas and Mangua (Ringe28). Despite
these weaknesses, The Prairie was still a success. Cooper
saw how much attention The Last of the Mohicans got and
modeled another book after it. The use of conflicts between
Indian tribes seemed to hold readers attention. Most were
unaware that this too was an important part of Americas
short history.
In writing The Spy, The Pilot, The Pioneers, The Last
of the Mohicans, and The Prairie, Cooper used the underlying
historical theme. This was because historical themes were a
great asset to Coopers already good writing. In all of his
most successful novels he used real events and explicit
imagery to relay history in an interesting, appealing
manner. Cooper?s career started off rocky and he was by no
means an overnight success. Cooper rose above other writers
of his time because he drew upon his life experience. He
knew that people liked to read about true stories and real
events. He used his many experiences along with historical
events to enhance his writing and to lay foundation for his
novels. This proved successful and made Cooper one of the
most popular novelists from the Romantism period of American
literature.
Works Cited
Campbell, Derek. ?The Spy?. Fall 1996. Online. Yahoo.
7 Mar 1999
http://bradley.bradley.edu/~dlb/dccoper.html
Cooper, James Fenimore. The Last of the Mohicans. Online.
Bibliomania
wysiwyg://34/http://www.bibliomania.com/Fiction/
Mohicans/chap00.html
Long, Robert Emmet. James Fenimore Cooper. Continuum.1990.
Motley, Warren. The American Abraham. Cambridge University
Press. 1987.
Ringe, Donald A. James Fenimore Cooper. G. K. Hall & Co..
1988.