42 pages • 1 hour read
James Fenimore CooperThe Last of the Mohicans
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1826A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 23-33Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapters 23-24 Summary
Having traveled with Gamut to the Huron’s village, Heyward attempts to stay calm despite the danger surrounding him. He explains that he has arrived to find out if there are any sick people in the village. The residents ask about his painted skin and Heyward replies that his “brothers” gave it to him, and he is proud to wear it; this explanation satisfies the Hurons. Suddenly, there is a loud commotion as prisoners are brought in. One of them turns out to be Uncas, who has been captured by the Hurons. Despite the dire situation, Uncas remains defiant.
Heyward, still in his medicine-man disguise, is asked to heal an old woman in the Huron village. The warriors plan to torture and kill Uncas, who nevertheless openly criticizes Magua. However, Magua decides to wait until the morning to execute Magua. Heyward is taken to the sick woman, accompanied by Gamut and a tamed bear (Bumppo in disguise). Heyward immediately realizes that the woman is too sick to be helped. Gamut plays a song on his pipes and then exits. Before he goes, he secretly lets Heyward know the daughters know that he is there to rescue them.
Chapter 25 Summary
Left alone with the bear, Heyward is astonished when Bumppo emerges from inside it. He had stolen the bear costume from a Huron he’d ambushed. Dressed again as the bear, Bumppo goes to find the hut where Alice is held. He returns and cleans the paint off of Heyward so that Alice will recognize him. In her hut, Heyward confesses his feelings for Alice. She insists on being reunited with her father before giving a response to Heyward.
Magua enters the hut, trapping them. Bumppo, still dressed as the bear, enters. Magua is annoyed, thinking the bear is only one of his warriors in costume. Bumppo then gives Magua a bear hug, while Heyward binds him. Alice is stunned, so Heyward carries her out. They plan to tell the Hurons that they cast the evil spirit that had sickened the woman out and into the rocks, and that they are taking the woman (who is really Alice) into the woods for more protective healing. Heyward and Alice manage to escape under this ruse, headed for the village of the hopefully friendlier Delaware tribe. Bumppo returns to the Huron village to save Uncas.
Chapters 26-28 Summary
Bumppo finds Gamut’s cabin and still dressed as the bear, surprises him. Gamut finds the hut where Uncas is held captive, with the help of a Huron he had befriended, and they fool the Hurons into letting them into the hut. They set Uncas free, putting him in the bear costume and putting Bumppo into Gamut’s clothes. Gamut will remain in the hut, pretending to be the captive Uncas. Bumppo and Uncas escape and hide in the woods to wait.
The Hurons become restless and discover that Uncas has escaped and that Gamut is a fraud. Gamut, ready to lay down his life, sings what he believes will be his own funeral hymn. Word spreads about the escape, that the sick old woman has died, and that Magua was bound. Magua is enraged and plots revenge while also working to make his followers believe that he is still powerful.
Magua goes to the same Delaware tribe that Heyward and Alice were headed toward. He presents the visit as a gesture of peace and tries to forge an alliance between the Hurons and the Delaware. He asks if Cora, who is staying with the Delaware, has caused any trouble, and they firmly respond that she has not. Magua presents trinkets and asks if there have been any spies. He then tells them that Hawkeye (Bumppo) is among them, which they are shocked to hear. In the midst of Magua’s presentation, a very old, very respected warrior/former chief named Tamenund appears for a meeting.
Chapters 29-33 Summary
With the various groups now brought together, Cora and Alice happily reunite. Tamenund asks who “Hawkeye” is, and Bumppo explains his background, saying that the name “Hawkeye” was given to him by the Delaware as a compliment for his shooting skills. The Iroquois have named him the “Long Rifle” for the same reason. A target practice shootout is suggested to prove who is superior. Arguing breaks out, and Cora interrupts, beseeching Tamenund, “[t]ell me, is Tamenund a father?” (373). She suggests he talk to Uncas.
Uncas is brought out and speaks to the Delaware in their language. He explains that he is the son of Chingachgook, who is respected. Uncas reiterates that Bumppo is a friend of the Delaware. Tamenund, on his authority as the respected elder, declares that Uncas and the others should be left alone. However, he concedes that Cora should go with Magua as a concession. Bumppo offers to retreat, to give up his gun, and to give up himself if Cora is allowed to go free, but his plea is refused.
With battle inevitable in order to recover Cora, Bumppo and his group prepare for a fight. Chingachgook rejoins the group. They pursue the Hurons, and skirmishes begin. They see Cora, as well as Magua, who is on a rampage. The group chases Magua up a mountain. A dramatic fight at the edge of a cliff ensues. One of the Huron warriors kills Cora, which sets off a chain of other killings. Gamut slaughters one of the Hurons, and then Magua kills Uncas. Finally, Bumppo shoots Magua dead.
The next day, there is widespread mourning as the group prepares for Cora’s funeral. Munro mourns the loss of Cora, and Bumppo expresses his profound appreciation for the friendship and care Chingachgook and Uncas have provided. Tamenund also speaks, sharing his perspectives and conceding that the white men have become the master of their Hudson territory.
Chapters 23-33 Analysis
The final chapters of The Last of the Mohicans continue the thread of drama and suspense that winds throughout the novel. The deception that was utilized in the plan for Heyward to pose as a French medicine man among the Hurons is multiplied. Heyward holds onto his disguise, as readers also see Bumppo disguised as a tame bear in the Huron camp, and Gamut pretend to be the captive Uncas. These multiple deceptions create moments of dramatic irony. For instance, at the moment in which Bumppo and Heyward bind Magua, Magua knows that the bear is only a costume and not a real animal, but he is unaware that the costume is worn by Bumppo, and not one of the Huron warriors.
Beyond the dramatic tension created by the deceptions, the technique is related to the novel’s exploration of superstition among the Native American characters. Earlier, Bumppo’s group had observed a group of warriors avoid the abandoned blockhouse because of the presence of Mohawk graves. In these later chapters of the novel, Heyward’s medicine man ruse plays on the superstitions his group believes the Hurons to have, such as the ability to cast evil spirits to the rocks. In one instance, Heyward leverages these superstitions to carry Alice away to safety, with the Hurons believing it is a sick old woman the medicine man is taking to the woods for cures.
On one hand, the presentation of these superstitions depicts the Native American characters as having primitive, less-sophisticated beliefs that can be taken advantage of to their detriment. On the other hand, when compared to the presentation of other Native American characters, such as Chingachgook and Uncas or, in these last chapters, Tamenund, then the taking advantage of superstitions is more related to identifying those who are enemies of the protagonists. In other words, Chingachgook, Uncas, Tamenund, and others are respected for their wisdom and skill, while antagonists like Magua and the other Hurons are depicted at times as falling prey to superstitions.
Moreover, even Magua and the other Hurons are portrayed in a less-stereotypical way during the climactic scene of the negotiations between Bumppo’s group and Magua’s, overseen by Tamenund. In those proceedings, Magua is showed to be a skilled orator, familiar with and fluent in the ways of diplomacy and negotiation, even if he is an antagonist. This is clear insofar as he convinces Tamenund to declare Cora his, even as Tamenund orders a truce between the conflicting groups.
This moment of order and negotiation does not last, however, as the skirmishes continue, ultimately resulting in the deaths of Cora, Uncas, and Magua, among others. The descent into death and disorder that occurs at the end of the novel is symbolically telling. It suggests the passing of an order or an era, a sentiment that is echoed by Tamenund’s closing words noting that “[t]he pale faces are masters of the earth, and the time of the red men has not yet come again” (429–430). These words, already resonant from the vantage point of Cooper’s writing years after the action of the novel takes place, have only spoken more over time to the injustices and mistreatment Native Americans have faced in America. At the same time, The Last of the Mohicans concludes by emphasizing the respect for Native Americans that it explores throughout its pages, with Bumppo pledging his family-like-admiration for Uncas, and telling Chingachgook, “[t]he boy has left us for a time; but, Sagamore, you are not alone” (429).
Related Titles
By James Fenimore Cooper
