Natty Bumppo: An Interpreter of the other’s Civilization in James Fenimore Cooper’s The Pioneers from the Perspective of Literary Anthropology

Abstract

In the novel The Pioneers, James Fenimore Cooper shows the overwhelming conflicts between the civilized society built by the white pioneers and the primitive and barbarous life style of the native Indians. Meanwhile, he successfully constructs the image of “Leather Stocking,” Natty Bumppo, the ideal white hero who is white in the skin but “red” in the mind. In doing so, Cooper fully expresses his disappointment with the white pioneers’ arrogance and brutality in their dealing with the Indians as well as his longing for the ideal of simple living in harmony with nature. This ideal is invested in the characterization of Natty Bumppo, who embraces the culture of the Indian by demonstrating the noble qualities of loving freedom, upholding justice, being industrious and brave, and immersion with nature. He is an example of the “noble savage” that answers to the need of the 19th century white America.