Last of the Mohicans - James Fenimore Cooper
This page obviously is full of spoilers - it lays out the plot of the Last of the Mohicans book, to compare with movie versions.The story start with Cora and Alice going to see their father, Munro, in New York. They are accompanied by a soldier, Duncan Hayward, and an indian guide, Magua. The two women are half-sisters, only recently arrived from Scotland. Their father had Cora while off in the west indies, from a mixed-blood woman (half negro). The father then had Alice when he returned to Scotland, with a woman who only was his wife one year before dying. He had been away with the military for most of their lives.
In short order, a religious singer, Gamut, shows up to keep them company. Duncan begins to distrust Magua, and takes the lead. He soon runs into a wilderness scout, Hawkeye, and Hawkeye's two Mohican indian friends - Chingachgook and Uncas. They are father and son. Sure enough, Magua abandons them and the group decides to hide out in a safe spot underneath waterfalls.
The Huron indians attack, Gamut is shot and wounded. Hawkeye wings a Huron up in a tree, but when Duncan asks him to finish the enemy off, rather than to leave him hanging, Hawkeye says it would be a waste of shot. Still, when the Huron falls, Hawkeye relents and kills him before he hits the ground.
It's soon apparent that the Huron are about to get them. The scout and indians prepare to die, but Cora convinces them to escape through the water and seek help. Duncan refuses to leave the women, and Gamut is wounded. The trio leave, and the Huron come in and tie up the four remaining people. Duncan tries to convince Magua to return them to Munro for a reward and thinks he is successful - but then Magua talks to Cora and says he wants her to marry him in exchange for the other three livse. He explains that Munro had whipped him for drunkenness and he wants revenge. She is aghast and refuses. Magua ties them all up and again threatens Alice's life if Cora will not marry him. Cora still says she'd rather die. Magua prepares to kill them, but Hawkeye shows up with his friends and in short order the 'good guys' are free and Magua has of course escaped.
The men guide the girls to Fort William Henry, which is under siege. They manage to get in, but the girls are sent in while all the men go off to fight. "three days pass". Duncan sees that Hawkeye has been captured and brought to the enemy commander, but is released again. Negotiations begin - the fort is not getting reinforcements, and is ordered to surrender. Meanwhile, Duncan tells Munro he wants to marry Alice. Munro is upset, thinking Duncan (a southerner) is prejudiced against Cora because she is 1/4 black, but Duncan insists he simply loves Alice.
During the leaving of the fort, the enemy indians slaughter everybody. Magua gets his hands on both girls and Gamut again and takes them away. "Three days later" Hawkeye, his two friends and Munro are searching for the girls on the battlefield. They finally realize what has happened and sleep overnight at the fort before setting out the next day in a canoe to follow. After a day or two on the trail, then run into Gamut who apparently is thought of as a "wandering mind" by the Indians and allowed to do whatever he wants. He explains Cora is in one village and Alice in another.
Most of the group want to go after Cora but Duncan loves Alice and insists he'll go after her alone. He pretends to be a doctor and goes into the Huron village with Gamut. Uncas is captured and brought in as a prisoner. Duncan's disguise works and soon they are in the isolated cave with her and a 'bear'. The bear turns out to be the scout in disguise. Magua shows up but they tie him up. Duncan and Alice escape over to the other village, while Hawkeye goes back to rescue Uncas. He does and soon everyone is over at the other village.
Unfortunately, Magua goes there and stirs up all the indians. Uncas reveals that he is the last of the Mohicans, and the indians all respect him. They agree that Magua can take Cora but that the rest are free. They give him a head start then head after him. Cora decides she will go no further, and Magua insists she decide between death and marrying him. She falls to her knees, pleading to God for a sign. One of Magua's cohorts has enough of this and kills her outright. Uncas gets there just at this point and revenges himself on that Huron - but then Magua kills Uncas. Magua then tries to escape, doesn't make a jump across a chasm, and Hawkeye finishes him off.
Now Abigail ends up with Duncan. The father dies shortly after. Hawkeye is sad that his good friend Uncas has died, and tells the father, Chingachgook, that he will always be by his side.
My Thoughts on the Plot
Many parts of the story bother me; the way they constantly put down all Indians as devious, deceptive, sly, etc. It also really bothered me that Cora - who claims to be so open minded - is willing to kill off herself and her younger sister rather than marry an Indian. But in the end when it's just her facing death, now she hesitates? Heck, why not initially go off with Magua so her sister can be free, and then kill herself later? She willfully takes action to cause her sister's death?
1992 Movie Plot of the Last of the Mohicans 1971 Masterpiece Theater Plot of the Last of the Mohicans Last of the Mohicans book
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