Cooper Deerslayer paints the picture of a rocky relationship between the white colonists and the American Indians. The story begins with an ambush of the colonist, Deerslayer, paddling a canoe by an Indian hiding in the brush adjacent to the river being paddled through. A shot from the Indian startled the colonist who went ashore to face his enemy in a fair fight. Upon realizing that his foe was unarmed Deerslayer decided to disarm himself and try and communicate peace with the Indian who seemingly agreed. As the two began to trust one another the Indian attempted to kill Deerslayer who shot back hitting the Indian directly in the chest. Upon approaching his limp and unresponsive body he informed him that he was no longer a threat to him and that his morals protected him from finishing him off. The story encapsulates the frenemy relationship the two groups had with one another early on.
Jeffrey Harris
The assigned chapter of The Deerslayer offers a very specific - though fictionalized - slice of frontier life during the Early American Republic, with a focus on the relationship between white settlers and the American Indians whose lands they were settling on. Something of particular note is the manner in which the Deerslayer views Indigenous peoples and their practices, such as when he describes charging the enemy as “r– s— warfare”, clearly a derogatory view. -John M.
When Deerslayer would take the Indian with him to the lake, both get to see the true sides of each other, rather than the savages or monsters that they believed the others were. The native even gave Deerslayer a new name after getting to know him better, which became “Hawkeye”. There is even a part that explains that for an Indian, one of the best gratifications is to see his opponent betray his weakness. - David Y.
Deerslayer exemplifies storytelling from a European perspective and reveals a great deal about the Anglo-Americans from the Early Republic. The language the author uses includes terms like “savage” and even has the Native American character describe himself as “red-man.” Deerslayer speaks in full, complete sentences, while the Native American uses broken and partial sentences in their conversations. Overall, the story illustrates how these new Americans perceived their neighbors and the language they used to describe them - Garrett Welch
The protagonist is ambushed by American Indians and they try to take his canoe and when he doesn't let him take it they get into a fight and he shoots the American Indian and immediately after their group follows him and attacks him. - Annie
Cooper's, The Deerslayer, created an image of what an American looks like. His writing helped form a sense of national identity for America. He uses the protagonist, the Deerslayer, to show that an American is a strong and powerful white man, who also draws on things from other cultures to create this “superman”. - Hank L