On The Representation Of American Pioneering History In The Leatherstocking Tales

The westward movement of the United States is a romantic saga of human's conquering the nature in American history.James Fenimore Cooper creates five frontier tales—The Leatherstocking Tales with western frontier for topic and the hunter,Natty bumpoo called "Leatherstocking" for the main character.It is The Leatherstocking Tales that has made the best annotation for the historical progress of westward expansion.Cooper is the founder who initiates the localization of American literature.His The Leatherstocking Tales,including The pioneer(1823), The Last of the Mohicans(1826),The prairie(1827),The Pathfinder(1840) and The Deerslayer(1841),depicts the whole life of Natty Bumpoo in the forest,and the heart-quake struggle and the profound historic variety taken place from five northern Great Lakes,eastern New York State to western prairie.The tales present American pioneering history and form a huge picture of the early American development.The protagonist of Natty Bumpoo is an ideal image.He has sense of righteousness, generousness,sympathy and self-sacrifice;he has never hesitated to do what is right,devoting to nature and longing for freedom.In fact, Bumpoo is one of the representatives of most Americans with the passion for freedom,justice,industry and courage.Frederick Jackson Turner points out that the westward advancement of American settlement outlines the history of American development.It is possible to study the history of American westward expansion in the novels of western frontier.The thesis is an attempt to study The Leatherstocking Tales from the aspects of American westward movement,the significance of frontier,the background and theme of the tales,heroic characters and the pioneering spirit.It tries to analyze American pioneering history from the novel,so as to dig out the realistic significance of studying The Leatherstocking Tales.The thesis consists of an introduction,three chapters and a conclusion.The introduction gives a brief summary of the life of Cooper, the main works of The Leatherstocking Tales and their literary position and significance in American literature.Chapter one focuses on the social background of The Leatherstocking Tales,the summary of the stories of "Leatherstocking", American westward movement and Turner's "frontier thesis".Chapter two analyzes the history of American westward expansion reflected through the conflicts between wilderness and civilization, natural law and social law,whites and Native Americans and the good and the evil in The Leatherstocking Tales.Chapter three makes a probe into American pioneering spirit reflected on the heroic image of The Leatherstocking Tales,and the realistic significance of seeking for this spirit is also studied.Conclusion is made that The Leatherstocking Tales is not only a kind of the historic generalization but also a kind of social requirement both at present and in the future.The Leatherstocking Tales analyzes American Pioneering history and the effects that the character of "Leatherstocking" shapes the American native character.In some sense, The Leatherstocking Tales is the presentation of the pioneering history that American pioneers fear no hardship to push the American frontier westward;it is the literary presentation of the birth and growth of American native,and furthermore,the representation of American history in literature.