Compare and Contrast Essay “Cultural identity is a dynamic and a complex feeling and sense of belonging to one or more ethnic groups. It defines the way an individual identifies or positions himself in different cultural context” (Unknown). In James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans and Conrad Richter’s The Light in the Forest; both stories convey many similarities and differences to compare and contrast between the Native American and White cultures. Culture is usually determined as one's traditions, ideas, beliefs, languages, and celebrations that are passed down from generations. Each culture in itself is unique and very different than the others. These two stories were both taken place during the 1700’s, which was a era of conflict
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First, thing to compare is their way of life and attitudes towards the land. The Native Americans are considered to be the founders of America, the people who originated there, which caused a lot of conflict during the European colonization of the US. In these stories, the Native Americans did not appreciate the British coming in and taking their land. The Protagonists of the stories, Hawkeye and True Son, were both born white but were raised by Native Americans. Since they were raised this way, they got to see how truly cruel and selfish the white population was during this time. They thought that since whites were “new” people, it explains why they act so childlike, worry too much about money, and that they don’t share with each other. True Son says that he believes the whites are especially ignorant when it comes to their lack of appreciation for nature. The main reason why the Natives lived a more wild lifestyle was because …show more content…
The Europeans accepted in adapting to the ways of the Native war styles. In the time of war, both sides displayed savage like characteristics. Winning was the sole motivation for both sides. They each saw the other as the enemy and believed that everything they did was right. Although in reality there really was no right or wrong side. They both committed many wrongs as well as rights. A big thing that was a problem between the two cultures was apperance in general. As seen throughout both stories, the color of one's skin is a big judgement factor. Cora says, "Should we distrust the man because his manners are not our manners, and that his skin is dark?"(Cooper). This shows how the Europeans were quick to judge the man's’ intentions to be harmful, just because the color of his skin. True Son and Hawkeye were both guilty of this kind of behavior, especially True Son. He was raised to hate the white men for all they had done to his people. In both stories The Natives and Whites do not get along very well. They have trust issues with each other. An example of trust being betrayed is when Magua is leading the British soldiers through the forest and he turns around and walks past a bunch of men and then starts attacking them. The Europeans ended up transmitting many diseases to the Natives that they had not even
First, thing to compare is their way of life and attitudes towards the land. The Native Americans are considered to be the founders of America, the people who originated there, which caused a lot of conflict during the European colonization of the US. In these stories, the Native Americans did not appreciate the British coming in and taking their land. The Protagonists of the stories, Hawkeye and True Son, were both born white but were raised by Native Americans. Since they were raised this way, they got to see how truly cruel and selfish the white population was during this time. They thought that since whites were “new” people, it explains why they act so childlike, worry too much about money, and that they don’t share with each other. True Son says that he believes the whites are especially ignorant when it comes to their lack of appreciation for nature. The main reason why the Natives lived a more wild lifestyle was because …show more content…
The Europeans accepted in adapting to the ways of the Native war styles. In the time of war, both sides displayed savage like characteristics. Winning was the sole motivation for both sides. They each saw the other as the enemy and believed that everything they did was right. Although in reality there really was no right or wrong side. They both committed many wrongs as well as rights. A big thing that was a problem between the two cultures was apperance in general. As seen throughout both stories, the color of one's skin is a big judgement factor. Cora says, "Should we distrust the man because his manners are not our manners, and that his skin is dark?"(Cooper). This shows how the Europeans were quick to judge the man's’ intentions to be harmful, just because the color of his skin. True Son and Hawkeye were both guilty of this kind of behavior, especially True Son. He was raised to hate the white men for all they had done to his people. In both stories The Natives and Whites do not get along very well. They have trust issues with each other. An example of trust being betrayed is when Magua is leading the British soldiers through the forest and he turns around and walks past a bunch of men and then starts attacking them. The Europeans ended up transmitting many diseases to the Natives that they had not even