AnEco―criticalApproachtotheLastoftheMohicans-文档资料

1、An EcccriticalApproach tc the Last cf theMchica ns:JamesFenimore Cooper is a great founder in American literature , one of his masterpieces is the Last of the Mohicans.This article will analyze the Last of the Mohicans through close read ing from the perspective of ecocriticism , trying to prove Ind

2、ians love and respect for nature.James Fenimore Cooper , a founder in American literature , writes more tha n fifty no vels and other masterpieces in his writ ing career for thirty years. He writes a series of lege nd no vels in wester n borderla nd,represented by the Leatherstocking Tales. Among th

3、ese books, the most important one is the Last of the Mohicans. On the basis of close read ing of texts , this paper is trying to an alyze the Last of the Mohica ns from the perspective of ecocriticism.Indians ， grow up， hunt ， cultivate and enjoy the gift from nature on this fertile land in America.

4、 They believe that they are equal with other creatures.As son of nature ，they live in harmony with other creatures like brothers andsisters. Just as an In dia n chief says, the earth is ourmother and we are un ited as one. Flourish and beautiful flowers are our sisters. Deer , horses and eagles are

5、our brothers. Cliffs , dew on the prairie and the heat give out from humanor horses are our families. All the above suggest In dia ns deep love from the bottom of their heart. In summary, In the Last of the Mohica ns In dia ns love toward nature can be seen on three aspects.The first aspect which sh

6、ows Indians love towardn ature is Ian guage feature. When they want to portray something they always choose to make a comparision with nature , such as animals , sun , moon, rivers , trees and so on, in order to makeit clear to some on eelse. From this point , we can see In dia ns keep a close con t

7、act with n ature. For example, in chapter thirty two, on Uncus funeral , Indian girls sing songs to cherish the memoryof Uncus. In their songs , they call him panther of Indian, hismoccas ins leave no footpri nts on dew , he leaps as airily as deer , his eyes are shining as bright as stars in dark h

8、aven and in battle his voice is as loud as thunder. In chapter nin etee n , Hawkeye, Chin gachgook and Un cas issearching for Maguawho captures Cora and Alice , but they have differe nt opinion on where to find these two girls.In the discussi on , Hawkeye makes an attempt to speak out his opinion in

9、 a typicalIndian way. He raises his arms andpoints to sun , imitati ng sun set and sun rise. It means it is a long way for them to go to find those two girls. Then he pictures a long and unlevel way in the air. There are rocks and rivers on this way. He makes a gesture to portray Monro in sick. Then

10、, he pictures a small boat which is light to carry and easy to operate , which is obviously contrast to a weak man walking in weak.The second aspectwhich shows Indian s love toward nature is that Indians learn from n ature , are familiar with n ature and use the knowledge they get from nature to han

11、dle problem they get. With regard to this , the most impressive thing is the unusual wisdom Chingachgook and Uncas behave in the course of search for Cora and Alice. Only by taking a look at moss on rocks , raising their head to look at the sinking sun or observing the trace that rivers erode can th

12、ey know their route. In chapter twelve , in the course of search ing for Cora and Alice , Chingachgook and Uncas lose clue to figure out where Cora and Alice are. Uncas point out the horse rode by Cora and Alice walks in a different way from otherhorses , two legs on one side always stepping on eart

13、h at the same time. According the commonsense, no animals with four legs walk in this way except bears. By the lead of the unique footprint left by the horse they find the tree branch broke by Cora on purpose.The third aspect w hich shows Indian s love towardnature is the way they treat animals. on

14、one hand, theyhunt animals for meat. On the other hand, they respectanimals and never abuse them. In this novel , all the main characters have at least two names: one is their originname one is their nickname related to animals called by Indians. For example, Nutty Bumppcis also called Hawkeye, Un c

15、as is also known as the Bounding Elk , Chin gachgook is referred as an Un ami Delaware word meaning “ Big Sn ake , Maguais also Sly Fox. Their names, to somedegree , reflect their close relation with animals. As a race living on hunting , they do hunt , but in the hunting they make an effort to redu

16、ce the pain of animal as possible as they can. They think eve n whe n killi ng sn akes , they should end its life as soon as possible for the sake of humanity. What s more, they believe deeply in their heart it is guilty to kill the sec ond deer without finishing the first one, uni ess it happe ns on the way of launching for a long jour ney or ambush ing. So wh