The Pioneers: An Analysis of the Character of Natty Bumppo

One of the themes used in the book is of racism towards the Natives. An example used in the book is of Edward Sheriff Curtis who was a photographer of 1900s. Curtis was interested in taking pictures of Native people, but not just any Native person. “Curtis was looking for the literary Indian, the dying Indian, the imaginative construct” (King, 2003; pp. 34). He used many accessories to dress up people up “who did not look as the Indian was supposed to look” (King, 2003; pp.34). He judged people based on his own assumptions without any knowledge of the group and their practices. Curtis reduced the identity of the Native Americans to a single iconic quintessential image of what Native meant to white society. The idea related to the image of this group of people during the 1900s consisted of racism in terms of the “real looking Indian”. This is not

Throughout human existence, mankind has had to overcome difficult obstacles in order to prosper. In Diane Glancy’s “Pushing the Bear”, the reader discovers how the Cherokee Indians overcome their hardships and flourish into a new, thriving community. In this novel, the audience observe how these Cherokee Indians outlast the harsh environment during the Indian Removal Act. Additionally, Glancy creates a human experience during the Trail of Tears; giving a different perspective of various characters. Through the eyes of characters such as Maritole and Knobowtee, the reader is able to sense the desperation that the Cherokee endured. The upheaval of being forcefully removed from the land stripped the Cherokee of their identity. This disruption left the Cherokee confused, causing frustration to arise because they were unable to live their familiar roles. Men were no longer able to farm. Women had a loss of property and wealth. The bear symbolizes these struggles throughout this novel. Maritole explains, “The bear had once been a person. But he was not conscious of the consciousness he was given. His darkness was greed and self-centeredness. It was part of myself, too. It was part of the human being” (183). In other words, the “bear” is the personal dilemma each character is put up against during this removal. Furthermore, each character has their own personal struggles to overcome; whether that be Knobowtee’s loss of masculinity or Maritole’s loss of family. These struggles,

The Washoe and Paiute tribe’s lives changed with the influx of settlers that came with the Comstock mining rush. Nevada being a desert had limited resources and the settlers came in and started using them without care. The whites cut down pine trees that were a food source to the tribes, they dug big holes while mining for minerals, and they hunted the game of the area. The use of these limited resources caused tension between the whites and the Indians and settlers.

The Cherokee were Stripped from their homelands and forcefully evacuated through a perilous journey from miles on end; this was due to the implementation of the Indian Removal Act in 1838. In Diane Glancy’s “Pushing the Bear”, the reader discovers how the Cherokee Indians overcome their hardships and flourish into a new, thriving community during what is known as the “Trail of Tears.” In this novel, the audience observe how these Cherokee Indians outlast the harsh environment after the Indian Removal Act. Additionally, Glancy creates a human experience during the Trail of Tears; giving a different perspective of various characters. Through the eyes of characters such as Maritole and Knobowtee, the reader can sense the desperation that the

In Sherman Alexie’s novel The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman uses “Community and ‘homing in”; “Land and Nature”; and “History” to make the historical adolescent novel a part of American Indian literature. “Community and ‘homing in” is used when Junior leaves the reservation for a better future, and in return the reservation resents Junior for leaving the reservation and becoming “White-washed”. Alexie uses “land and Nature” to create liminal spaces when the protagonist of the story, Junior, feels conflict between the dominant race and that of the inferior. Afterwards, “history” is used by Sherman by showing generational references in order to provide the reader a point of view through the eyes of a young Native American boy from a reservation.

In the times of colonies when land was untouched there was a distinct hatred between the native Indians and the new colonists. As one reads the essay: A True History of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, written by Mary Rowlandson in 1682, one will understand this hatred. Although the Indians captured Mary Rowlandson, with the faith of God she was safely returned. The reader learns of her religious messages and how she turns to God for safety and strong will. One sees how her Puritan beliefs are of the strong New England Puritans way of life. The reader also understands through her words how she views the Indians and their way of

This novel focuses on the Native American tribes of the midwestern portion of the United States. The author’s purpose is to portray that from the time Columbus made his ominous remark regarding the demeanor of the Native Americans, the reader was able to predict that most of the interactions between the white settlers and the Native Americans would not be positive ones. This was an example of foreshadowing which Brown employed throughout the entire novel. The author’s purpose in writing this book was to tell the unvarnished , unadulterated and at times, unpleasant truth, and showing that not all things were grand and glorious in the establishment

     After The Deer Slayer, Natty Bumppo is seen in The Last of the Mohicans. In this novel, Natty is called Hawkeye because of his ties to the Mohicans. Indians of this time were looked upon as savages, 'but Natty has taken unto himself the best of both civilization and so-called savagery'; (Cliff Notes 11). Because he made peace with the Indians, he had a mysterious and dangerous quality in the eyes of the reader. In this novel Natty has many close native companions to join him in his endeavors on the frontier.

The settlers encountered “savage barbarians” and “hideous and desolate wilderness”, disappointed that this was prize of a gruesome and long journey. In the first few seasons here, they had much difficulty acclimating to the new land and what it had to offer. There was a period of time where they faced starvation, and yet, “with abundance of toil and hazard of their own health, fetched them wood, made them fires, dressed them meat, made their beds, washed their loathsome clothes, clothed and unclothed them”. Members of their community did what they could to help one another, doing “all the homely and necessary offices for them which dainty and queasy stomachs cannot endure to hear named; and all this willingly and cheerfully, without any grudging in the least, showing herein their true love unto their friends and brethren”. This script is appealing to various readers due to its easy and understandable composition. While this gives the readers a look into the simplistic nature of the life of a Puritan settler, it also emphasized the importance of pure kindness and friendship. The description of the first Thanksgiving tells of an event in which the Puritans used a simple meal to forge friendship with others unlike them, displaying their belief in divine mission. The plainness of the Puritans is even more so enhanced in its early settlers due to the fact that they lacked many resources. Rather than testing their faith, the simplistic lifestyle they led brought them closer to one another, the Native Americans, and

Mary Rowlandson’s “A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson” and Benjamin Franklin’s “Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America” are two different perspectives based on unique experiences the narrators had with “savages.” Benjamin Franklin’s “Remarks Concerning the Savages…” is a comparison between the ways of the Indians and the ways of the Englishmen along with Franklin’s reason why the Indians should not be defined as savages. “A Narrative of the Captivity…” is a written test of faith about a brutally traumatic experience that a woman faced alone while being held captive by Indians. Mary Rowlandson views the Indians in a negative light due to the traumatizing and inhumane experiences she went through

“…Gathered from the cabin, the wickiup, and the tepee, partly by cajolery and partly by threats; partly by bribery and partly by force, they are induced to leave their kindred to enter these schools and take upon themselves the outward appearance of civilized life.”

The choices that the characters make effectively conveys the theme of nature versus society and helps determine the fate of the characters. The first instance where the theme of nature versus society is shown is when Huck leaves his foster mother and his town to escape from his abusive father, Pap, and go on an adventure in the wild. Huck is tired of being taught to be ‘sivilized’ and says that “it [is] rough living in the house all the time, considering how dismal regular and decent the widow [is] in all her ways” (Twain 1). Before being taken in by his foster mother, Widow Douglas, Huck used to be homeless and is used to living an uncivilized life. Now that he is taken in and is forced to learn how to behave like a young white boy, Huck wants to go back to his old, natural ways of living and decides to leave his town.

The audience discovers there are many truths between the ‘Indian communities’ that Sherman Alexie describes in his novel. One truth is the fact that in American Indian communities, inhabitants feel a loss of culture due to the mainstream items that have been introduced by the Americans when they colonised the land. These materialistic items have decreased the traditional values that the tribes learn form previous generations. Additionally, the novel can be compared to the life on Indian

The plot of the story is very intricate and has multiple smaller climaxes besides the main climax.The characters’ decisions and actions are highly affected by the setting in terms of time period and place. The story takes place in the New York area, specifically in the forest and rivers where native tribes reside. The Native American tribes affect the decisions and actions of the characters because the Natives are a threat and are always near or trailing the protagonist’s group forcing the characters to make cautious decisions and actions such as, not using horses. The terrain of forest and rivers affects the story because the forest makes the movement limited to some that are unfamiliar and it provides a cover for the characters and their

     Throughout the history of American literature, the Native American is rarely presented as a fully developed character; instead, he is degraded to a mere caricature, one deeply rooted in traditional racial prejudices. In his novel, The Pioneers, James Fennimore Cooper became the one of the first American authors to depict an Indian as a leading character; in fact, Cooper's depiction of the infamous Chinkachgook is widely considered to be the original archetypical basis for Native American figures as seen in American literature.  However, Cooper's characterization of Chinkachgook, known by a variety of names, including John Mohegan and Indian John, is based