Outshining Civility In the 1826 novel, The Last of the Mohicans, the author, James Fenimore Cooper, accurately portrays the potential hardships, sufferings, and conflicts that may have occurred between the English, French, and Indians during the French and Indian War. With the help of one of his main characters, Hawkeye, Cooper also illustrates and emphasizes that civilization can still be found in the very midst of the wilderness where savages roam freely and death is omnipresent. Although Hawkeye does adopt certain aspects of the wilderness, it is evident that Hawkeye’s civility outweighs his presence in the dangerous wilderness by his generous actions, self control, and humility. In the beginning of Cooper’s novel, Hawkeye is described as a white scout and hunter who has lived many years in the wilderness while acquainting himself with two Indians, Uncas and Chingachgook. Because of his experiences in the wild as well as his exposure to Indian …show more content…
Hawkeye’s civility in the midst of the wilderness is seen especially through his generous actions, self control, and humility. Because Hawkeye is able to maintain these traits while living in the wilderness, he is able play a role similar to that of Christians; he is able to be in the world, but not of it. Many Christians across the globe believe that they live in a world that is “wild” with sin, but are called by God to live above it, according to a heavenly standard. James Fenimore Cooper displays a similar theory when he uses Hawkeye to teach his readers that it is beneficial to be aware of the wild and dangerous world and to absorb the good in it. However, it should not consume and define their beings. Instead, civility should prevail and shine throughout their lives as resembled in Hawkeye’s