cooper james fenimore the last of the mohicans 1826

For once, lack of knowledge about a foreign language has paid off! I was practically giddy with excitement when I encountered entire pages of French dialogue as it meant, mon Dieu!, I got to skip the entire page.Ĭross posted at This Insignificant Cinder The best part about the book is that there are entire sections in French. Right, Coop?ħ) Did I mention that it's just frickin' boring? I would rather slam my head in a car door than ever read this book again.

Apparently Duncan's plan is to wear down his enemy with sheer boredom.Ħ) Everyone is known by about three or four different names, because anything less would have been confusing. 'Daim is the French for deer, and cerf for stag elan is the true term, when one would speak of an elk.'ĭash cunning of him, don't you think? It sure would have sucked if he had just attacked him with a knife, a gun, or even a rapier wit.

'Here is some confusion in names between us, le Renard,' said Duncan, hoping to provoke a discussion. To illustrate, I give you a riveting, action packed scene in which Duncan, the British officer, tries to distract le Renard Subtil (also known as Magua, also known as Wes Studi in the film) with a discussion of French etymology: And don't tell me that Cooper was reflecting the beliefs of the time because, while that may explain the racism, it doesn't explain away the crap bit.ģ) Practically every speech by Hawk-eye will contain some bit of dialogue such as, 'Even though white blood runs through my veins.' Lest we forget he's white since he's been hobnobbing with the natives for so long.Ĥ) Those damn women just keep getting kidnapped.ĥ) For an action story, it's mind-numbingly boring. The whole thing is a racist piece of crap. I'm shocked they don't greet each other by saying, 'How.'Ģ 1/2) While we're on the subject, they're all stereotypes of either the noble savage variety or the 'me big chief Ugh-a-Mug gotta have 'em squaw' variety. And even then, it would have been 3 pages too long.Ģ) Native American dialogue is limited to the occasional exclamation of 'Hugh.' Not Hugh as in Hefner, but something more like 'huh.' They're a quiet people, apparently. This book would have been 3 pages long without the description. No pebble escapes his scrutiny, no leaf his lingering gaze.

Why do I hate Cooper so much? Let me count the ways:ġ) His never-ending description of every rock, twig, river, etc., with which the main characters come into contact. If time travel were possible, I'd go back in time and assassinate James Fenimore Cooper before he ever put pen to paper (in this imaginary scenario, let it be known that I also possess mad ninja skills).

Cooper james fenimore the last of the mohicans 1826