preview

Political Satire In The Monikins By Fenimore James Cooper

Decent Essays

The publication of The Monikins by Fenimore James Cooper exudes as a serious and caustic satire on social mores of America and England in the beginning of the nineteenth century. In the beginning of the twenty-first century, readers could still simply determine in fictional Leaplow and Leaphigh the satirical shape of both countries. By using a specific literary weapon – satire - Fenimore Cooper ridicules an aristocratic monarchy and bourgeois republic. The main character of the novel - John Goldencalf - travels to the mysterious land, which populated by apes. The speaking apes represent the perfect civilization, which is a step above the humanity. By describing, or even denudation the imperfections of the social, political and religious realities of “fictional” countries, Goldencalf concludes, that “that is fortunate (-- removed HTML --) for it is certain too much goes wrong on earth.”(1) 488. Fenimore Cooper’s contemporary critics labeled this subversive political allegory as his “failure”. The Knickerbocker or New York Monthly Magazine harshly criticized the novel in August 1835. This critical review marked the beginning of all other attacks on the novel, which later caused the total absence of this novel in any anthologies. First of all, The Knickerbocker’s critics claim that Cooper is “unfitness as a satirist” and a “delineator in allegory”. “The Monikins” should not be viewed as a satiric novel. According to them, the plot of the novel is

Get Access