The
Last of the Mohicans
The Amazing Invincibility of Hawk-eye
Throughout The Last of the Mohicans Hawk-eye is able to escape any type of bodily injury. He wanders through the woods from battle to battle with nothing more than his own self-confidence to protect him. I think that Cooper is using Hawk-eye as a metaphorical representation of the newly formed United States. The character, a white man who claims no ties to Great Britain, but is by race defined as different from the Indians, travels the wilderness of the American frontier without injury. Cooper is relating the masculine ideal that will show itself over and over as Americans attempt to fulfill the manifest destiny. I will look at the way Cooper describes Hawk-eye's apparent invincibility and how that could be the young America.
It is not long into the novel that Cooper first shows the reader Hawk-eye's bravado and self-assurance. In Chapter Four when Hawk-eye is talking to Duncan about how long it will take to get to the fort, Hawk-eye quips, "It seems that may depend on who is your guide."(1) With obvious disdain for the path the English party has already taken, Hawk-eye makes it known that he considers himself to be the superior woodsman. Although he does not feel that way without reason, the reader has not been shown enough of Hawk-eye's skills to see his statement as anything other than callous bravado. The cocky attitude and condescending demeanor that Hawk-eye shows can also be seen in the brash way the United States has declared itself a new country. Much like Hawk-eye claims his path through the woods is the best option, the colonies' Declaration of Independence proclaims the political direction of Great Briton to be an inferior way to govern. It is with plenty of arrogance, but only a little forethought, that Hawk-eye makes his claim. The colonies did little better, for once they successfully fought for independence there was little agreement as to what direction the new country should take.
Cooper makes it clear that a lack of direction is not viewed as an obstacle though. When Hawk-eye has led the group into the cave on the island to sleep for the night, Duncan shows concern for being trapped in the cave. Hawk-eye responds that, "Such old foxes as Chingachcook and myself are not often caught in a burrow with one hole."(2) Once again he shows that he considers himself to be above the mindless woodcraft of the British Major. Hawk-eye's skill and knowledge are given reinforcement by his obvious mastery of the situation. Cooper reassures his 19th century readers that the United States always knew that it had a back up plan. Just as Hawk-eye is unflappable and wise, the United States is traveling on a pre-ordained course to greatness. Hawk-eye can win the reader's sympathies through this method as well. By tapping into the country's patriotism, Cooper makes Hawk-eye a stronger character through these analogies too.
But how does Hawk-eye survive in the woods? And in corollary, how does the United States travel down its path? A large part of Hawk-eye's seeming invincibility is a result of his knowledge of the woods and keeping his wits about him at all times. When the Mingoes are besieging Hawk-eye and his party on the island, David Gamut stands up from behind the rock they are using as shelter and is shot.(3) Cooper shows that someone out of place in the wilderness, like Gamut, is more likely to be injured than someone at home in the wilderness, like Hawk-eye. In this instance, Hawk-eye's knowledge and cool protect him from danger, much like the colonists' greater intimacy with the land won the Revolutionary war.
It is not only intelligence that protects Hawk-eye though. Only a short while after Gamut has been shot, a bullet removes Hawk-eye's hat from his head.(4) There is no way to explain this circumstance as anything other than pure luck. This could be Cooper's way of reaffirming the United States' destiny to be its own country. In the novel, however, it works to give Hawk-eye an added aura of greatness compared to his compatriots. The reader is left believing that Hawk-eye really is a superior woodsman and destined for success.
Hawk-eye's list of attributes does not stop at being knowledgeable and lucky. He is also very skilled. When the Mohicans track Maqua and the women down, Duncan gets himself into a hand to hand battle with a knife-bearing Indian. Hawk-eye coolly shoots the man right off of Duncan's chest.(5) In this battle in Chapter twelve, five of Maqua's warriors are killed. Uncas tomahawks one and knifes one and Hawk-eye shoots one and bludgeons two. The two men of the woods make all the kills. One is a native of the land, while the other is the Mohican's adopted son. Duncan Heyward, the British gentleman and officer, although he struggles mightily, is unable to accomplish anything in the American wilderness. This blatant reinforcement of American superiority to the British, and slightly more subtle reinforcement of white superiority over the Indians, is all done quite smoothly by Cooper.
Another proof of Hawk-eye's intelligence and the way he uses the natural landscape is when the group camps on top of an Indian burial mound. Maqua's warriors approach the camp and "�discovering the character of the mound, the attention of the Hurons appeared directed to a different object."(6) Hawk-eye knows what each feature of the forest is, and how to exploit those features for his own use. Whether a practiced woodsman or urban resident, the reader must respect the show of cunning Hawk-eye displays. It is obvious that had Heyward or Gamut been leading the group, they would not have been able to use the same type of protection.
Knowledge and skill are only able to carry Hawk-eye so far though. There are frequent mentions of his rifle 'kill-deer' by name, and it is evident that it is a well-made firearm. Cooper uses the technological advances of the whites over the Indians to elevate Hawk-eye, and thus the new Americans, to a higher status. During the canoe race after they left the fort Hawk-eye boasts of the great ability of 'kill-deer.' "Them Hurons have never a piece in their nation that will execute at this distance; but 'kill-deer' has a barrel on which a man may calculate."(7) Being in possession of greater arms than his Indian foes allows Hawk-eye a measure of safety that he would not have had with only knowledge and skill at his disposal. This does not help to show how the Americans had triumphed over the British, but it does support the idea that they are superior to the Indians still remaining within the United States. With the Louisiana Purchase and constant westward expansion, U.S. vs. Native-American would be a theme very familiar to the readers of the early 19th century.
In Hawk-eye's last great display of oneness with the natural environment in this novel, Hawk-eye steals the bear costume of the Huron medicine man and masquerades as a bear in the Huron village. He is able to replicate the mannerisms well enough to fool Duncan (8) but Uncas is quick to recognize that the "bear" is a person.(9) Although far enough into the novel that Hawk-eye's character does not need developing, Cooper can still argue for the United States. The native can see what the English can't, which once again reinforces the idea that the colonists are able to run their land better than the English did.
Cooper shows that Hawk-eye is a nearly invincible force in The Last of the Mohicans, impervious to the same mortal failures that his adversaries face. Through a combination of knowledge, skill and luck Hawk-eye realizes great success in the American frontier. By doing this, Cooper also makes the claim that the United States is on the right path having declared its independence from England, for it is only the people who are at home in their surroundings, like the American pioneer, who can be successful.
All Text References refer to: Cooper, James Fenimore. The
Last of the Mohicans. New York: Penguin Books. 1986, reprint of the novel
first published in 1826
1) pg. 38
2) pg. 54
3) pg. 66
4) pg. 74
5) pg. 110
6) pg. 132
7) pg. 205
8) pg. 252
9) pg. 271
Page created by David Jackson on December
5, 1999
Last modified by David Jackson on December 5, 1999