A. Plot
Whilst making their way to a British Fort, Major Heywood and his party are attacked by Indians. Three men come to their rescue, two of them Indians, and another is a white man whom was raised by the eldest Indian. This man, Hawkeye, his brother and father rescue the Major and the two women that are in his party.
Then the three men stay with the party and aide them in their journey to the British Fort. Once there, the two women’s father whom is the man in charge of the huge battle going on at that time. The French and English are at war. Colonists are urged to fight for Britain, and once they become part of the battle, they were not allowed to leave to defend their own homes.
Hawkeye works out a secret plan in order to help some men escape the battle zone and return to their homes and families. He gets caught, and is sentenced for treachery, and held as a prisoner. From the first night that he was with the Major and his party, Hawkeye had a romance starting with Cora Munro, the main general’s eldest daughter. When Hawkeye is captured and put in the fort’s prison, she swears not to leave his side, and although they have only known each other for a few days, she’s really devoted to him.
The two sides come to an agreement, Britain surrenders to France, and they are lead towards the Atlantic Ocean so that the British can be returned to England, “with pride”. On the route there they are ambushed by a very large band of Indians. The British forces are nearly wiped out, Cora’s father is killed, and the leader of the Indian tribe captures her and her sister not long after this attack. Hawkeye swears he will rescue her.
When the Indian leader, Magua, brings the two girls and Major Heywood to the tribe’s chief, Cora is sentenced to die, but her life gets traded for Major Heywoods after Hawkeye argues with the Chief. Once she is free, Hawkeye, his brother and father, and Cora flee. They have to ambush Magua, because he still has Cora’s sister in his possession. In attempt to rescue her Hawkeye’s brother gets killed. After seeing this Cora’s sister plunges to her death.
Since his true son has died, Hawkeye’s father becomes the last of his people, the last Mohican. He kills Magua, and the story ends with Hawkeye, Cora, and Chingachgook (Hawkeye’s father) saying goodbye to their brother’s soul by the sunset.
B. Setting
The movie takes place deep within the forests of colonial New York in the 18th century. The setting is important because it helps the movie set the mood of the 18th century frontier , and the war going on at that time.
Hawkeye- A strong man in his early 30s perhaps, raised by an Indian father since he was about 4 years old. He is very skilled in the arts of fighting, tracking, and hunting. Hawkeye falls in love with Cora very fast, and becomes extremely devoted to her. He also believes in a man’s right to freedom, which is why he helps the men escape from the battle field. When Major Heywood asks him which militia he is with, he states that he works for no man and serves no one in the battle.
Cora Munro- Cora is the oldest daughter of a British general. She is a Christian, and has strong beliefs about war and freedom. She stands up to her father when Hawkeye is captured, although he doesn’t seem to care much at all about a word she says. Cora is surprisingly strongwitted, she picked up a gun and carried it with her, and even used it, where her sister just panicked. Cora falls in love with Hawkeye remarkably fast, and in the end of the movie she is by his side.
D. Character Changes / Growth
Hawkeye changed from the beginning to the ending of the movie, not very much, but his character had the most change over the others. In the beginning he wanted nothing to do with the war, wasn’t settled down with a woman, always on the move, he had nothing to fight for except himself and his family. In the end however, and thought the movie, he shows true devotion for Cora, he even offered to give up his own life for her.