How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"For myself, I conclude the Bumppos could shoot, for I have a natural turn with a rifle, which must have been handed down from generation to generation, as, our holy commandments tell us, all good and evil gifts are bestowed; though I should be loath to answer for other people in such a matter." (3.9)
This is the most information we are ever given about Hawkeye's family. How does this affect our understanding of his character?
Quote #2
"My tribe is the grandfather of nations, but I am an unmixed man. The blood of chiefs is in my veins, where it must stay forever. The Dutch landed, and gave my people the fire-water; they drank until the heavens and the earth seemed to meet, and they foolishly thought they had found the Great Spirit. Then they parted with their land. Foot by foot, they were driven back from the shores, until I, that am a chief and a Sagamore, have never seen the sun shine but through the trees, and have never visited the graves of my fathers." (3.22)
Chingachgook here tells the story of how his forefathers were gradually dispossessed of their land. He takes pride in being an "unmixed man."
Quote #3
"When the blows scorched the back of the Huron, he would know where to find a woman to feel the smart. The daughter of Munro would draw his water, hoe his corn, and cook his venison. The body of the gray-head would sleep among his cannon, but his heart would lie within reach of the knife of Le Subtil." (11.46)
Magua's interest in Cora stems only from the fact that she is Munro's daughter, not from any sexual or romantic reasons.
Quote #4
Cora was seated nigh them, a calm and amused looker-on; regarding the wayward movements of her more youthful sister with that species of maternal fondness which characterized her love for Alice. (16.1)
Why is Cora's relationship to Alice one of "maternal fondness"? How else would you characterize the relationship between the two sisters?
Quote #5
Not only the dangers through which they had passed, but those which still impended above them, appeared to be momentarily forgotten, in the soothing indulgence of such a family meeting. It seemed as if they had profited by the short truce, to devote an instant to the purest and best affection; the daughters forgetting their fears, and the veteran his cares, in the security of the moment. (16.1)
This is the only tableau of the Munro family we see throughout the novel, and frankly, it's pretty one-dimensional. It doesn't seem as if this family ever argues, which might make sense given that they're in the middle of a war, but still, it's weird. What kind of family doesn't argue?!
Quote #6
Casting off at once the grave and austere demeanor of an Indian chief, Chingachgook commenced speaking to his son in the soft and playful tones of affection. Uncas gladly met the familiar air of his father. (19.60)
Just as the Munro family has one scene of familial bliss, Chingachgook and Uncas also have one scene of familial tenderness that shows their love and affection for one another. What do you think—is the portrayal of familial love in The Last of the Mohicans unrealistic?
Quote #7
Munro had again sunk into that sort of apathy which had beset him since his late overwhelming misfortunes, and from which he was apparently to be roused only by some new and powerful excitement. (18.68)
Does this strike anyone else as being kind of weird? Why is Munro so totally incapacitated by the captivity of his daughters? Is this some sort of literary device?
Quote #8
"As for me, I taught the lad the real character of a rifle; and well has he paid me for it. I have fou't at his side in many a bloody scrimmage; and so long as I could hear the crack of his piece in one ear, and that of the Sagamore in the other, I knew no enemy was on my back." (25.86)
Crossing racial boundaries, Hawkeye has been a father figure to Uncas. Does this mean that familial love in this novel is about something greater than race?
Quote #9
"Men of the Lenni Lenape!" he said, "my race upholds the earth! […] My race is the grandfather of nations!" (30.17)
The Mohicans were the first tribe of Delaware stock, and originated the rest of the Lenni Lenape. Here the language of family is applied to tribal relations—"My race is the grandfather of nations."