In The Last of the Mohicans, a book by James Fenimore Cooper written in 1826 has as part of its plot a kidnapping of two pioneer women. The story is set during the French and Indian War, this book archives the annihilation of the colonial garrison at Fort William Henry. This book is representative of the doomed future of the Indians, and yet, at the same time it tries to find justification for their doom. Although this book is considered Gothic and Romantic, it also exemplifies the extinction of not just the Indians, but of any sort of mix with the Indians or African Americans. This example can be found in the characters of the two sisters that are kidnapped in the story, Cora and Alice. If one of the themes of this book is conflict and the answer to these conflicts is death then death is considered a symbolism or motif of this book.
James Fenimore Cooper
James Fenimore Cooper statue in Cooperstown, NY.
Image based on a photograph of James Fenimore Coop...The solution, offered by Cooper in the conflict from cultures mixing, is to eliminate them as well. The death of Cora probably symbolizes the possible ending of hybrids, while glorifying the image of hope in preserving the life of Cora's sister, Alice, the fully white breaded female, Cooper on the one hand; gets rid of Cora, the hybrid.
The name of the title of the book and the chronic account of the Uncas suggest the ending of the culture caused by impending white domination of the land (Cooper 3-7). Prior to the release of this book and after it's release there was a historical removal of the Indians by then President Jackson during the 1820's and 1830's (Edmunds 1).The author mirrors those problems but goes further in introducing the two sisters that happen to be in the middle of this plot and find a...