PROJECT

WORK
EXAM
DISCIPLINE
AMERICAN
LITERATURE

ИЗГОТВИЛ: ПРОВЕРИЛ:
Жана Наскова Колева доц. д-р Йордан Костурков
СПЕЦИАЛНОСТ: „АНГЛИЙСКИ ЕЗИК
И МЕТОДИКА”
ФАКУЛТЕТЕН НОМЕР: 1803598013

A. “The Last of the Mohicans” by James Fenimore Cooper

 James Fenimore Cooper is the first important novelist，the first frontier novelist, the first
historical romance writer and the first writer of sea adventures. He is best known for his
historical novel The Last of the Mohicans. He also wrote political fiction, maritime fiction,
travelogues. Cooper popularized the American West. He showed in his Leatherstocking Tales
which include such favorites as “The Last of the Mohicans” and “The Deerslayer”, the main
American themes – the conquest of the West, the conflict between “whites” and native
Americans. Cooper is at his weakest in dialogue because he yields to the then current
romantic exaggerations of emotional, sentimental, unrealistic speech. He also uses the
conversations between characters for a confrontation of his ideas on social, religious, moral,
and even political issues. Cooper`s best known literary character is Natty Bumppo. This
character embodies his vision of the frontiersman as a gentleman. Cooper's novels reveal a
deep tension between the lone individual and society, nature and culture, spirituality and
organized religion.
The mid-nineteenth century often has been considered an “American Renaissance”. This
period encompasses the 1820s to the dawn of the Civil War. It is considered that the
American Renaissance was inspired in part by a new focus on humanism as a way to move
from Calvinism. This period is characterized by renewed national self-confidence and a
feeling that the United States was the heir to Greek democracy, Roman law and Renaissance
humanism. The American preoccupation with national identity was expressed by modernism,
technology, and academic classicism, a major aspect of which was literature. Protestantism
shaped the views of the vast majority of Americans in the antebellum years. Alongside the
religious fervor during this time, transcendentalists advocated a more direct knowledge of the
self and an emphasis on individualism. The writers and thinkers devoted to transcendentalism,
as well as the reactions against it, created a trove of writings.
The Romantic movement reached America somewhat belatedly in the 1820s, but
continued until the Civil War much longer than in most European countries. In the United
States, unlike many European countries, the Romantic mood found its expression primarily in
fiction; idealism is perhaps the only characteristic common to American poetry of the period,
whether traditional or innovative in form and language. American Romanticism emphasized
emotion, individualism and personality over rationalism and the constraints of religion. The
Romantic movement was closely related to New England transcendentalism. Romanticism
gave rise to a new genre of literature in which intense, private sentiment was portrayed by
characters who showed sensitivity and excitement. The Romantic movement in America was
widely popular and influenced American writers such as James Fenimore Cooper and
Washington Irving. America`s preoccupation with freedom became a great source of
motivation for Romantic writers. They also put more effort into the psychological
development of their characters, and the main characters typically displayed extremes of
sensitivity and excitement. American Romantic Gothic literature made an early appearance
with Washington Irving`s “The legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle”. While
Irving and other American writers before and after Cooper scoured Europe in search of its
legends, castles, and great themes, Cooper grasped the essential myth of America - that it was
timeless, like the wilderness.
In “The Last of the Mohicans”, Cooper depicts Natty - here called Hawkeye - as a scout
for the British during the French and Indian War in 1757. This War grips the wild forest
frontier of western New York. The French army is attacking Fort William Henry, a British
outpost commanded by Colonel Munro. Munro’s daughters Alice and Cora set out from Fort
Edward to visit their father, escorted through the dangerous forest by Major Duncan Heyward
and guided by an Indian named Magua. Soon they are joined by David Gamut, a singing
master and religious follower of Calvinism. The group meets the white scout Natty Bumppo,
who goes by the name Hawkeye, and his two Indian companions, Chingachgook and Uncas,
Chingachgook’s son, the only surviving members of the once great Mohican tribe. Hawkeye
says that Magua, a Huron, has betrayed the group by leading them in the wrong direction. The
Mohicans attempt to capture Huron, but he escapes. Hawkeye and the Mohicans lead the
group to safety in a cave near a waterfall, but Huron allies of Magua attack early the next
morning. Hawkeye and the Mohicans escape down the river, but Hurons capture Alice, Cora,
Heyward, and Gamut. Magua celebrates the kidnapping. When Heyward tries to convert
Magua to the English side, the Huron reveals that he looks for revenge on Munro for past
humiliation and proposes to free Alice if Cora will marry him. Cora refuses Magua. Suddenly
Hawkeye and the Mohicans appear, rescuing the captives and killing every Huron except
Magua, who escapes. After that the group reaches Fort William Henry, the English fortress. A
few days later, the English forces call for a truce. Munro learns that he will receive no
reinforcements for the fort and will have to surrender. He reveals to Heyward that Cora’s
mother was part “Negro,” which explains her dark skin and raven hair. Munro accuses
Heyward of racism because he prefers to marry blonde Alice instead of dark Cora, but
Heyward denies the charge. During the withdrawal of the English troops from Fort William
Henry, the Indian allies of the French indulge their bloodlust and prey upon the vulnerable
retreating soldiers. In the chaos, Magua manages to recapture Cora, Alice, and Gamut and to
escape with them into the forest. Three days later, Heyward, Hawkeye, Munro, and the
Mohicans discover Magua’s trail and begin to follow him. Gamut reappears and explains that
Magua has separated his captives, confining Alice to a Huron camp and sending Cora to a
Delaware camp. The group manages to rescue Alice from the Hurons, at which point
Heyward confesses his romantic interest in her. At the Delaware village, Magua convinces the
tribe that Hawkeye and his companions are their racist enemies. Uncas demands the release of
all his friends but Cora, who he admits belongs to Magua. Magua departs with Cora. Magua
and his Hurons suffer painful defeat, but a Huron kills Cora. Uncas begins to attack the Huron
who killed Cora, but Magua stabs Uncas in the back. Magua tries to leap across a huge divide,
but he falls and must cling to a shrub to avoid falling down and dying. Hawkeye shoots him,
and Magua meets his death. Cora and Uncas receive proper funerals the next morning.
Chingachgook mourns for his son, while Tamenund declares that he has lived to see the last
warrior of the noble race of the Mohicans.
The conflict between Magua, the Huron, and his Mohican enemies in Chapter 4 shows
that “The Last of the Mohicans” does not characterize all Indians as identical in personality,
as did many contemporary stereotypes. The Indians’ personas vary greatly, and the history of
tension between Hurons and Mohicans suggests the complexity and variety of Native
American cultures. At the same time, though, Cooper’s portrayal of Magua agrees with
popular, phobic beliefs of his time. “The Last of the Mohicans” both satisfies popular beliefs
and seeks to challenge them. If Cooper move backwards from wide stereotypes in describing
some Indian characters, it is perhaps not racism, but style, for Cooper creates similarly
stereotypical white characters as well. The title of the novel refers to two main characters—
Hawkeye's Indian friend Chingachgook and the Indian's son Uncas, who are friendly and
helpful toward whites. Chingachgook and Uncas are the last of their tribe and representatives
of the “noble savage” - a stereotype of Native Americans that was common at the time.
Contrasted to them is the evil Magua who represent the dark side of savagery.
I think that using role playing is an effective method while teaching English. I would ask
students to act an episode from “The Last of the Mohicans” in a play. This would transfer
them from the artificial world of the class back in time, back in history. This activity would
facilitate and accelerate development of the oral skill of the students. By this way they would
be motivated to achieve a clearer comprehension of the plot and of the characters.
“The Last of the Mohicans” is an unadulterated adventure story. The novel becomes
fertile area for exploring the history of the period and the people in it. It can be used to teach
students about European colonial history, Native American history and a part of the events
during the Seven Years` War as well as emphasize the gender norms of the period.
 B. “I`m nobody! Who are you?” by Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson is one of America’s greatest and most original poets of all time. Her
poems are often difficult because of their unusual compression, unconventional grammar,
their strange diction and strained figures of speech, and their often generalized symbolism and
allegory. The speaker in these individual poems is often hard to identify. It is difficult to tell if
she is writing about people or God, nature or society, spirit or art. She never uses two words
when one will do, and combines concrete things with abstract ideas in an almost proverbial,
compressed style. Some of her poems are even heretical. She sometimes shows a terrifying
existential awareness.
Emily Dickinson began writing poetry during the American Renaissance. During
Dickinson's life, a number of important events and movements took place. A social and
religious movement called the Great Revival renewed religious fervor among the people of
New England. During the 1840s and 1850s, the abolitionist movement–a social movement
organized in the North to abolish the institution of slavery–gained support. The Civil War also
touched Emily Dickinson's life. 
Emily Dickinson is considered by many experts to be a Modernist writer. The
characteristics of her writing style greatly resemble that of the common Modernist period
writers. Modernism is basically a mix of all of the periods before it along with embracing
progress both economically and scientifically. One period before Modernism that appears
frequently throughout her work is Romanticism. The Romantic mood finds its expression
primarily in fiction; idealism is perhaps the only characteristic common to American poetry of
the period, whether "traditional" or innovative in form and language. With their profound
differences and true originality, Whitman and Dickinson established two main currents in
American poetry.
One of her very popular poems is “I'm Nobody! Who are you!”. She may be satirizing the
character and situation of people who loom large in the eyes of society — people whom we
call “somebodys”. The poem may be summarised as being about how it is actually quite nice
to be “nobody” rather than “somebody” – that anonymity is preferable to fame. Nobodies can
stick together and revel in their anonymity, but it’s more difficult to find companionship and
an equal when you’re in the public eye. The poet proudly declares her ordinariness. In the
company of a fellow nobody, the speaker pretends to be worried that they will be held up to
public shame for their failure to compete for attention. The sudden transition to a
condemnation of “somebodys” suggests that if one gains notice as a “nobody”, it makes this
one into a kind of “somebody”. May be she prefers a position of invisibility. The somebodys
sit in the middle of bogs, a nasty representation of the society, and the “somebodys” scream to
people who will admire them only for their names. The poem is amusing, and a bit defensive.
I could use this poem in teaching English by asking students to learn it by heart. This will
help them to improve their pronunciation. I could ask students to write the possible story
behind the poem or to rewrite it changing the meaning but not the structure.
Emily Dickinson`s poems are some of the most fascinating and challenging in American
literature.
Works Cited
1. Outline of American Literature by Kathryn VanSpanckeren
2. American Literature - A HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN LITERATURE FOR
STUDENTS OF ENGLISH by Zbigniew Lewicki, ed.
3. https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/american-literature-biographies
4. https://www.enotes.com/
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/