122 lines
8.0 KiB
Plaintext
122 lines
8.0 KiB
Plaintext
ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜ
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ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛßÛßßßßßÛÛÜ ÜÜßßßßÜÜÜÜ ÜÛÜ ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜÜÜÜÜÛßß ßÛÛ
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ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ßÛÛ ÜÛÛÛÜÛÛÜÜÜ ßÛÛÛÛÜ ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜÛÛÜÜÜÛÛÝ Ûß
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ßßßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ÞÝ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛßßÛÜÞÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÜ ßßÛÛÛÞß
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Mo.iMP ÜÛÛÜ ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝÛ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÞÛÛÛÛ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÝ ßÛß
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ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛ
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ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ß ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ÜÛ
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ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÞÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛß
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ÜÛßÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÜÜ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÛÛÞÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛßß
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ÜÛßÛÛÛÛÛÛÜÛÛÛÛÜÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÞÛ ßÛÛÛÛÛ Ü ÛÝÛÛÛÛÛ Ü
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ÜÛ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛß ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ßÛÜ ßÛÛÛÜÜ ÜÜÛÛÛß ÞÛ ÞÛÛÛÝ ÜÜÛÛ
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ÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛß ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ßÛÜ ßßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛß ÜÜÜß ÛÛÛÛÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÛÛÛÛÛß
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ßÛÜ ÜÛÛÛß ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ßßÜÜ ßßÜÛÛßß ßÛÛÜ ßßßÛßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛßß
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ßßßßß ßßÛÛß ßßßßß ßßßßßßßßßßßßß
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ARRoGANT CoURiERS WiTH ESSaYS
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Grade Level: Type of Work Subject/Topic is on:
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[ ]6-8 [ ]Class Notes [Report on Last of the ]
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[x]9-10 [ ]Cliff Notes [Mohicans and it's ]
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[ ]11-12 [x]Essay/Report [variants versus the ]
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[ ]College [ ]Misc [movie version. ]
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Dizzed: 06/94 # of Words:1165 School: ? State: ?
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ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>Chop Here>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
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The book Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper was very
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different from the movie Last of the Mohicans in terms of the storyline.
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However, I feel that the producer and director of this movie did a good job
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of preserving Cooper's original vision of the classic American man
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surviving in the wilderness, while possibly presenting it better than the
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book originally did and in a more believable fashion to a late twentieth
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century reader.
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The makers of the movie Last of the Mohicans preserved Cooper's central
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ideas and themes very well, the most important of which is the question,
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what makes a man? Very few books that I have read contain such a clear
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sense of what a man should be as Last of the Mohicans. Cooper portrays the
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hero, Hawkeye, as brave, independent, and skillful in the ways of the
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woods. He is a tracker, he can hit a target with a bullet from any
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distance, he can fight the evil Iroquois Indians without batting so much as
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an eyelash. The makers of the movie take great pains to preserve these
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facets of Hawkeye, but then go beyond what Cooper originally laid down as
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the basis for his hero's character. In the book, Hawkeye displays very
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little feeling and the reader has very little empathy with him, even though
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he is the hero. In the movie, however, there is a great romance between
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Hawkeye and Cora that does not exist in the book. This romance adds a more
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human side to Hawkeye's character; it show s his caring side beyond all
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the hero-woodsman qualities--in other words, the non-Rambo, late twentieth
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century version of a hero. Every hero should have a woman at his side, and
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the makers of the movie, realizing this, transfer Cora from Uncas' side to
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Hawkeye's. This I think was a wise choice because it gave the viewer more
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things in common with the hero and thus made Hawkeye a more human hero and
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therefore more comprehensible to the late twentieth century viewer.
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One thing the makers of the movie attempted to keep was the vision
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portrayed in the book of sweeping landscapes, gigantic trees, dark forests,
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crashing waterfalls, and other impressive features of nature. This again
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was a wise choice, seeing as how part of Cooper's vision was the goodness
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and power of nature. However, once again I think the film presented this
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facet better than the book did, although this time it was not due to a
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feature Cooper left out but instead was simply due to the fact that film
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presents such features in a more vivid, more appealing way than pages of
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descriptive passage. (This again may be the bias of a late twentieth
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century viewer/reader, as we are used to having our images presented in a
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graphic, immediate way, rather than allowing our imaginations to conjure up
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pictures from the written word.)
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One thing the makers of the movie left out that was originally in the
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book was the character of David Gamut, the psalmist. Of all the characters
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in the book I felt his was best developed by Cooper; almost all of the
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others were cardboard characters with no depth. Gamut, however, is at the
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beginning portrayed as anything but a hero He is gawky, doesn't believe in
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killing other men (even Indians), and is something of what we would today
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call a nerd. However, he goes through many "trials by fire" and in the end
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is shaped into Cooper's version of the American man. David Gamut amused me
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as the story went along and his presence certainly lightened things up
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compared to the constant sense of foreboding that pervades the book.
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However, the movie makers sadly left out his character altogether. Though
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David Gamut was not an important part of Cooper's vision, he still played a
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part in it. He developed throughout the book from a wimpy coward to one
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who took up arms in the final battle, placing his life in God's hands and
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throwing caution to the wind. I cannot see a reason for removing his
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character other than the producers possibly wishing to remove all semblance
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of comedy from the movie and thus make it a very serious film. I think
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this is a stupid reason, because his character added much more to the story
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than a few jokes, and had I been the director I would have included his
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character, perhaps even embellished it in the same manner as Hawkeye.
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Another alteration the movie made from the book was in the character of
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Cora. In the book, Cora is much braver and less delicate than her sister,
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Alice. For this she is "punished" in that she dies in the end. While this
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is not a central theme of Cooper in the book, he makes it clear that women,
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or "females" as he insists on calling them, should remain docile and
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conform to the standards men set for them. In the movie, the makers
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reverse this idea. Cora is again portrayed as stepping beyond the
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boundaries of acceptable female behavior at that point in history. In
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fact, the moviemakers take Cora farther "out of bounds" than Cooper did.
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She carries a pistol, and even shoots an Indian to keep herself and her
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sister safe. However, in behaving this way, she is transformed into a
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character that more closely resembles a late twentieth century ideal of the
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independent, self-sufficient woman, probably to make her more sympathetic
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to today's movie audience. Instead of being "punishe " she ends up with
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Daniel Day-Lewis!
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Cora's sister Alice goes around with eyes blank, mouth agape, looking
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like some delicate piece of china that someone is throwing rocks at. She
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cannot believe her eyes, and so simply detaches herself from the world
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around her. This happens in both the movie and the book, although in the
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movie, instead of falling in love with Duncan Heyward, the gentleman in the
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story, she shows some interest in Uncas, though this is not made clear. In
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the end, when Magua, the evil antagonist, kills Uncas and Alice is
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presented with the choice of being Magua's wife or killing herself, she
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chooses death. Cooper's original intent was to have Cora killed for being
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"impudent," while Alice remained docile and alive. Instead the makers of
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the movie transform even the wimpy Alice into a character of strength and
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independence (the late twentieth century ideal), as shown in her final act
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of suicide. Cora, also strong and blessed with the ability to think for
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herself throughout the film, survives. I f these changes added a lot to
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the characters of both Cora and Alice, who in the book were stick figures,
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"females" who did virtually nothing but be saved. and because of this again
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reinforces my opinion that the movie retains Cooper's vision and presents
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it better than Cooper did himself.
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