WebQuest: James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans
Adapted from Linda Tate

Length of time to complete: one week

Overview: In this WebQuest, you will consider the ways in which Cooper’s novel presents special difficulties for the twenty-first century. Then you will explore ways in which Cooper established fundamental ideas about American history and culture. To accomplish this goal, you will choose to explore one of the following: Cooper’s relationship to the Hudson River School of painting OR Cooper’s depiction of Native Americans.
Step 1: Learn something about how people have responded to Cooper's work over the years.
You may skim most of these, but you should choose two to read carefully. Be sure to reference these two in your paper with attributive tags.

·        Mark Twain, "Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses"

·        "Reading Cooper Today"

·        The Cooperstown Daily Star, "Tips on Reading James Fenimore Cooper"

·        Christina Starobin, "Reading Cooper"

·        Theresa Strouth Gaul, "Teaching Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans in an American Literature Survey"

·        Katherine O’Keefe, "The Prairie" (a poem describing one student’s response to having to read Cooper)

 

After completing step1, choose either step 2 OR step 3.

 Step 2: Learn about the Hudson River School of painting and consider Cooper’s relationship to this artistic movement.

·        Explore PBS’s description of the Hudson River     School.

·        Explore the University of Virginia’s Hudson River School project (and all indicated links):

·        Introduction

·        The Hudson River School

·        Iconography of Hudson River School

·        Take a virtual trip on the Hudson River.

·        Explore the literature of the Hudson River Valley.

In your paper, describe your responses to the Hudson River School paintings and discuss the ways in which Cooper’s novel does or does not reflect similar concerns, philosophies, and techniques.

 

OR

Step 3: Learn about Cooper’s interest in Native Americans, the degree to which he was or was not successful in depicting Native Americans accurately in his fiction, and the degree to which he established American ideas about Native Americans.

Learn about the Mohican tribe here and here.
Read about the Huron Indians here and here.
Read about the Delaware Indians.

Learn about Cooper’s depiction of Native Americans in "Romancing the Indian: Sentimentalizing and Demonizing in Cooper and Twain."
Be sure to read the following pages:

·        Introduction

·        Cooper’s Indians

In your paper, take a stand on the following question: In what ways is Cooper’s depiction of Native Americans accurate or inaccurate—and why? Be sure to reference specific examples (both from Last of the Mohicans and the web resources) with attributive tags to support your view.