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By Root 1265 0

” The Mingos—Natty’s general descriptor for the Iroquois—belong in the wicked category, as do the French, perhaps. Natty would have some trouble with the Delaware or Mohicans—tribes he likes—inasmuch as they converted to Christianity in an ef fort to become assimilated into white society. But we do not encounter a discussion of this issue. Natty has no objection to Chingachgook taking scalps in Mohicans. Uncas in Mohicans, however, is more interested in seeing how the rescued ladies are doing than in taking the scalps of dead enemies. Natty is less solicitous than Uncas is; he is more interested in chasing and killing the fleeing enemies than in checking on the condition of the ladies.

2 (p. 43) “A law can no more be onlawful, than truth can be a lie.... law coming from a higher authority”: Harry appears to have Natty trapped by a neat syllogism. The definition of “law” is that which is promulgated by the authorities. Natty’s response is again to refer to the “higher law” background of the American constitution. See Edward S. Corwin, The “Higher Law” Background of American Constitutional Law, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1955.

3 (p. 47) an artist would have delighted in ... sight of his light-minded beauty: Cooper is here contrasting Natty’s sensibility with Harry’s. Natty has the aesthetic sense to appreciate the scene, but Harry is unmoved. All he can think of is his sexual desire for Judith. This seems not quite fair to Harry; after all, unlike Deerslayer, he has seen Judith and is aware of her attractions. What is wrong with feeling attracted to such a desirable woman? Cooper, who dearly loved his wife and seems never to have been attracted to another woman, seems too ready to condemn Harry in this passage and to celebrate artistic over physical pleasure. As Henry James once remarked of his friend William Dean Howells, his work suffered from the fact that he had known only one woman in his life: his wife.

Chapter IV

1 (p. 58) “a question more easily asked than it is answered”: Natty is irritating here; although he has a strong sense of self, he agonizes excessively about his identity. He is “much too humble to be called on for opinions” by either the Indians or whites. But we know that he is not really that humble because he goes on to recite with some pride (on the following pages) the various names the Indians gave him, each of which denotes a special virtue.

2 (p. 68) “might well have alarmed a sentinel so young and inexperienced”: This is the scene that Mark Twain parodies in his 1895 review. (See the Appendix.) Note that Chief Rivenoak is not quite as inept as Twain contends. Natty calls out a warning to Tom and Harry to pull harder on their towline, causing Rivenoak to land on the deck rather than the roof of the ark. He was doubtless going to cross the roof and cut the line, thus causing the ark to be pulled back into the river by the current. Moreover, Judith’s heroics in quickly pushing him overboard should be noted. Her quick thinking should have impressed Deerslayer and the others more than it apparently did. According to Richard Vanderbeets, “Cooper and the ‘Semblance of Reality’: A Source for The Deerslayer,” American Literature 42 (1971), pp. 544-546, this scene may derive from a similar incident in an 1827 captivity narrative by Charles Johnston, A Narrative of the Incidents Attending the Capture, Detention, and Ransom of Charles Johnston ... , New York, 1827.

Chapter V

1 (p. 71 ) “canoe from their eyes”: The argument in this chapter is intricate, and it is a remarkable demonstration of a kind of “banality of evil” thesis in which Harry and Tom Hutter stumble onto their plan to secure scalps from the Iroquois, and persuade themselves that they would be justified in doing so. Hutter first thinks only in terms of defense against the Indians and declares that they are safe from attack in the middle of the lake. Natty points out that Hutter is underestimating the Indians, and Harry agrees with Natty that the Indians can indeed find the hidden canoes, increasing the chances of a successful