Published Information
| Author: | James Fenimore Cooper |
| Series: | Leatherstocking Tales #1 |
| Published: | 1841 |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Pages: | 608 (Version at B&N) |
Plot Summary
The Deerslayer is set in the 1740's, the frontier time of America as the French and Indian wars. The colonies are still small and two classes of colonials have formed: the settlers, and the frontiersmen (not sure if that was the exact names used). The frontiersmen live on the edge of civilization and are the trappers and hunters. They also have the most contact with Indians. In some cases this is a good thing, and in others not so much. The French and trying to undermine the colonists and actually pay Indians for the scalps of colonials regardless of age or sex. The settlements do the same thing with Indian scalps: they will trade Indian scalps for money, again without regard to age or sex.
With that setting in mind, we meet two companions: Natty Bumppo, otherwise known as the Deerslayer, and Hurry Harry. Both are frontiersman, and are on their way to a lake in upstate New York. Deerslayer is going there to meet an Indian friend, Chingachgook (meaning Big Serpent, which is how Deerslayer calls him), to help him rescue his true love, Wah-ta-Wah, who had been captured by the Huron tribe. Hurry was traveling with him to meet with Tom Sutter. Tom lives on the lake with his two daughter, one of which Hurry wants to marry.
Once they arrive, the realize the same Huron tribe that captured Wah-to-Wah is also in the area. Tom and Hurry are of the opinion that Indian scalps are valuable and immediately try and find a way to raid the tribe and take some scalps. They are captured in the process, so it is up to Deerslayer to keep the girls safe, and try and save Tom and Hurry. Deerslayer does meet up with Serpent, and they hatch some plans to rescue the men, as well as Wah-ta-Wah.
The daughters, one who is beautiful, and one who is "simple", also do what they can to help. In some cases, the plans work out, and in some cases things don't go quite as planned. But by the end of the story, the plot doesn't go where you might expect.
Comments
This was actually a harder book to read than I expected. First off, the story is an adventure that could have been written in less than 200 pages. But the author mixed in some fairly serious discussions into the story, as well as comments about nature, both of the earth and "being" as well as the gifts and expectations of different races of humans. If I had read the book for its discussions of human nature and the need for each of us to be true to who we are, I might have rated the book much higher than I did, but I didn't expect that, and so survived the book rather than truly enjoyed it. That being said, Cooper does an excellent job in his arguments in the book. It is very thought provoking, and while I didn't enjoy the book as much as I would have liked, I did keep thinking about the book for the next several days.
It is interesting to note that during Cooper's time, the books were not considered all that great. Critics didn't enjoy it all that much. But after several decades, the books were much more critically acclaimed, until now, they are considered classics.
If you do read it, don't read it for the plot or adventure. If you do, you will be bored and lose interest. But if you go in for the discourses from Deerslayer on the gift of the "white man" being that of Christianity, forgiveness, and kindness, you will not be disappointed. In fact, you might look at our world now and recognize how far we are from what we should be, regardless of our race or color. We, as a whole human race, should be better at being true to who we are and how we treat others. This would be an interesting book club read, if prepared for properly.
"The Deerslayer" can also be found online, for free, at http://www.literaturepage.com/read/cooper-deerslayer.html.