The Last of the Mohicans- "Survival of the body and Mind"

cooper comp bes the two types of soldiers, do clear that the less arrogant troops of the two types are the ones which will most likely survive:

While the unremitting and trained hirelings of the king marched with haughtiness to the right of the line, the less belie colonists took their humbler position on its left, with a docility that long practice had rendered indulgent (Cooper 6).

The humility which allows Hawkeye and others to survive is in part psychological, then, with respect to the stance of mind required to deal with natural and hu mankind threats, and of course there are also physical aspects. For example, a matter as simple as fit out becomes paramount. come across Hawkeye for the first time, we are informed that "He wore a hunting-shirt of timber green, fringed with faded yellow." Further, we are informed in the author's telephone circuit that "The colors are intended to imitate the hues of the wood with a view of concealment" (Cooper 23). This physical aspect having to do with clothing and appearance is more than concealment, however. It is a material statement of the willingness of the unmarried to humbly respect the environment, non sheerly to conceal himself, barely to even mo

For Cooper and Hawkeye, mere survival, of course, is non enough. There must be something more at stake than simple continuity of existence. receive addresses this in cost of the spiritual nature of the mythical quest. As Mircea Eliade writes with respect to the mythic journey (in a reference by Peck to the specifics of Hawkeye's journey): "The path leading to the center is a 'difficult road,' a 'road [that] is arduous, fraught with perils because it is, in fact, a rite of the passage from the profane to the sacred'" (Eliade 18).

Of course, humility is not the only quality required for long-term survival in the wilderness. There is also courage, as Cooper makes clear. However, even with the portraying of courage there is a strong note of humility.

For example, Cooper dramatically compares the false courage of the lying braggart and the really humble courage of the Indian who comes within a hairsbreadth of death and yet treats it as if it were nothing to even be spoken of. First Hawkeye speaks:

Cooper, James Fenimore. The Last of the Mohicans. New York: Pocket, 1992.

He perceives as no other white character does his honest relation to the immensity of the nature that surrounds him; and his humility lets him see level-headed even in his enemies. He alone sees virtue and referee among the Indians as well as among those of his own color . . . and he doesn't make the mistake of completely scorning the heathen. He is willing to show from them, and his knowledge wins him survival (Ringe 27).

The dangers of the wilderness, of ambush, of warfare, of the dark mysteries of unchartered nature, are not merely physical dangers, but also psychological and spiritual. Peck points out that Cooper clearly means to draw a line between the world view of the white man and the world view of Hawkeye and the Indians, with respect to the unity of these three spheres in the latter's perspective. The Indians and Hawkeye are able to enter the reality of the wilderness because they are attuned to t
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