Native American Racism in James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of The Mohicans

ABSTRACT

Among many social problems occur in this world, racism is the controversial problem in this world. Because racism is often used to justify one’s position in society. Racism is commonly discussed by many sociologists, anthropologists and even artists. James Fenimore Cooper is one of artists who choose this problem for his novel entitled The Last of The Mohicans.

This research is conducted to elaborate the way how the Whites treat the Native American, and also the way how the Native responds the Whites’ treatments in the Cooper’s The Last of The Mohicans. To get an appropriate answer, the researcher only focuses in the exploration of the racial relation especially the form and the causes of racism. Furthermore, this research is also focused on the Native’s attitudes toward the Whites. The data sources of this research are taken from James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of The Mohicans.

This research is categorized as a literary criticism. Since the researcher conducts the interpretation and the analysis on literary work. The researcher uses structuralism theory in doing the analysis, because in this analysis, the researcher sees the literary works as individual, which can stand by itself. Then the researcher learns or gives more attention to the theme and the relation of the characters.

After analyzing the data, the researcher found two kinds of racial treatment faced by the Native American, they are: prejudice and segregation. While the cause of racism in this novel is that the Native’s appearance, customs and manners are different from the Whites. The Natives’ manner is the manners that the Whites hate. Then this cause is called as Symbolic theory. In responding the White’s treatment, the Natives have two ways. First, the Natives respond the White’s treatment simply. They treat the Whites as their friend and help them. Besides they explain that they are not deserved to be treated unequally. And second, the Natives respond it by treating the Whites as their enemies.