SparkNotes: Free Study Guides No Fear Shakespeare: The Bard made easy SparkCharts: Just the facts TestPrep: SAT, ACT, and more 101s: College texts condensed Subject Finder: Browse by subject SparkCollege: Get in! SparkLife: 100% study-free home_bottom home_top BN_link
 
◄ PREVIOUS
Important Quotations Explained
NEXT ►
Study Questions & Essay Topics
 

The Last of the Mohicans

 James Fenimore Cooper
 

Key Facts

 
full title  · The Last of the Mohicans
 
author  · James Fenimore Cooper
 
type of work  · Novel
 
genre  · Sentimental novel, adventure novel, frontier romance
 
language  · English
 
time and place written  · 1826, Europe
 
date of first publication  · 1826
 
publisher  · Carey & Lea of Philadelphia
 
narrator  · Anonymous
 
point of view · Third person. The narrator follows the actions of several characters at once, especially during combat scenes. He describes characters objectively but periodically makes reference to his own writing.
 
tone  · Ornate, solemn, sentimental, occasionally poetic
 
tense  · Past
 
setting (time)  · Several days from late July to mid-August 1757, during the French and Indian War
 
setting (place)  · The American wilderness frontier in what will become New York State .
 
protagonist  · Hawkeye
 
major conflict  · The English battle the French and their Indian allies; Uncas helps his English friends resist Magua and the Hurons.
 
rising action  · Magua captures Cora and Alice, beginning a series of adventures for the English characters, who try to rescue the women.
 
climax  · Uncas triumphs over Magua in the Delaware council of Tamenund in Chapter XXX.
 
falling action  · Magua dies; Cora and Uncas are torn apart.
 
themes  · The consequences of interracial love and friendship; literal and metaphorical nature; the role of religion in the wilderness; the changing idea of family
 
motifs  · Hybridity; disguise; inheritance
 
symbols  · Hawkeye; “the last of the Mohicans”
 
foreshadowing  · Cora's unexpected attraction to Magua in Chapter I; Magua's deceit in Chapter I; Chingachgook's reference to Uncas as the “last of the Mohicans” in Chapter II.
 
 
Help | Feedback | Make a request | Report an error | Send to a friend

◄ PREVIOUS
Important Quotations Explained
NEXT ►
Study Questions & Essay Topics
 
 
 
 
 
 
Message Boards
Ask a question or start a discussion on the community boards.
  • The Last of the Mohicans
  • General Discussion on American History
  • The American
  •  
     
     
     
    Printable PDF
    Download a printable version of this SparkNote.
     
     
     
    Study Guides
    Learn more about the subject you're studying with these related SparkNotes.
  • The American
  •  
    Classic Books
    Read the classic text for free online.
  • The Last of the Mohicans
  •  
    Spuzzles
    Interactive crossword puzzles that will boost your test score.
  • History Spuzzles
  •  
    SparkCharts
    A textbook's worth of information on an easy-to-read chart.
  • Literary Terms
  •  
     
     
     
     
    Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions | About | Sitemap
    ©2008 SparkNotes LLC, All Rights Reserved.