The Last of

The Mohicans:
Characters
Plot Summary

Nawroz University
Dept. of English Language / College of Languages
Assist. Lect. Aveen Sarkawt A. Sami
Content

•Characters
• Major Characters
• Minor Characters
• Plot Summary
Major Characters
• Hawkeye’s given name is Natty Bumppo, but he is also known as the Long Rifle. Hawkeye's Mohican comrades call
him Hawkeye because of his keen marksmanship. A resourceful scout and legendary hunter, he is white but was
raised by Delaware Indians. This "man without a cross" symbolizes the meeting of European and Native American
cultures. Rugged, independent, and loyal, he is the model for modern Western heroes.
• Uncas is the title character, the "last" of the Mohicans. A member of the sacred Turtle clan, he is strong, fearless, and
athletic. His nickname is The Bounding Elk. During the French and Indian War, he fights on the side of the English
against the French and their Iroquois allies. Uncas helps guide Cora and Alice Munro to Fort William Henry and
eventually falls in love with Cora. He is killed trying to save Cora from Magua.
Major Characters
• Chingachgook is a fierce, skilled fighter known as Le Gros Serpent (The Great Snake) because he "understands the
windings and turnings" of human nature, is quiet, and strikes his enemies when they are not expecting it. His use of
war paint intimidates his enemies. Patient and stoic, he is also loving and loyal. Although he does not often show his
emotions, Chingachgook is obviously grief-stricken when his only son, Uncas, dies.
• Magua is driven by a desire for revenge after Colonel Munro orders him to be whipped for drinking alcohol and
entering his cabin. To punish Munro, Magua kidnaps his daughters and tries to force Cora to marry him. After a series
of relentless pursuits, Magua finally kills Uncas and then is killed by Hawkeye. Magua's nickname, The Sly Fox (Le
Renard Subtil), refers to his cleverness and manipulativeness. He pretends to be an ally to both the English and
French; in reality, he is loyal to neither side.
Major Characters
• Cora Munro falls in love with Uncas. Unlike her half sister Alice, Cora is strong, brave, and independent. Her mother,
Colonel Munro's first wife, was a West Indian woman of mixed white and Caribbean ancestry who descended from
slaves. Cora is captured twice by Magua and eventually killed by another Huron.
• Alice Munro falls in love with Major Heyward and they become engaged. Alice's mother, Colonel Munro's second wife,
was an English noblewoman. Alice often acts helpless and frightened, but she is able to find inner strength when
tested.
Major Characters
• Duncan Heyward is a Major in the “Royal American” (English) army, Duncan fights against the French and their Mingo
allies. At the beginning of the novel, he is tasked with escorting Cora and Alice Munro from Fort William Henry to Fort
Edward, and the adventures that occur along the way, including numerous run-ins with Magua, set the stage for the
later drama of the novel.
• David Gamut is a psalmodist, or singer and teacher of hymns, David Gamut meets with Heyward, Alice, and Cora on
the initial trip from Fort Edward to Fort William Henry. Although Gamut has never fired a weapon and considers
himself a pacifist, he manages to survive as a Huron captive for much of the novel, and is unhurt in the major
skirmish that ends the book.
Minor Characters
• Colonel Munro is the commander of Fort William Henry, near Lake George, the English Colonel Munro is the father
of Alice and Cora, and the head of a doomed attempt to resist the siege led by Montcalm, commander of the French
forces in the French and Indian War. Munro is later reunited with his daughter Alice, and gives Heyward his blessing
for their impending marriage. But Munro also mourns his daughter Cora, of whom he was particularly fond.
• Marquis de Montcalm is head of the French forces in the siege of Fort William Henry, Montcalm is considered, by
English and French alike, a just and noble soldier. However, this assessment comes into doubt after Munro, and other
English soldiers, believe Montcalm does not do enough to prevent the Mingo slaughter of innocents during the
Massacre at Fort William Henry, after a supposed truce is signed between the English and French.
Minor Characters
• Tamenund is a patriarch of the Native American Delaware village neighboring the Huron village, in the second half of
the novel, Tamenund orders that Cora be taken off by Magua, since she is “rightly” Magua’s prisoner. Tamenund also
orders that Hawkeye, Alice, and Heyward be set free, as the Delaware have no quarrel with Uncas or his friends.
• General Webb is the British commander of Fort Edward whose actions allow the French to take Fort William Henry.
• Hard Heart is a Delaware chief with whom Magua converses to find out information about Cora.
• Reed-that-bends is a young Huron warrior who is tried and then put to death because he showed cowardice in
battle.
Plot Summary
• Chapters 1–3:
• Colonel Munro’s daughters, Cora and Alice, arrive in America from Scotland to see their father, Colonel Munro. Their
father is in Fort William Henry, surrounded by French soldiers. The two girls set off, in the company of a Huron Indian,
Magua, who will guide them through the woods, and Major Heyward, a British soldier. On their way they meet
Chinggachgook, a Mohican chief, and his friend Hawkeye, a white man who has lived with the Mohicans. Hawkeye
realizes that Magua has a plan to help the French and the Hurons find them and kill them. He chases Magua away.
Then, Hawkeye takes the girls up the river in a canoe to a meeting in a cave with Chingachgook and Chingachgook’s
son, Uncas. Uncas immediately likes the dark-haired Cora.
Plot Summary
• Chapters 4–6:
• A fight breaks out in the morning and several Hurons are killed. Cora tells the men that they have to go to her father
and ask him to send some men to help them. At first Hawkeye argues with her but then he, Chingachgook and Uncas
jump into the river and swim away. Major Heyward remains with the girls. In the morning the Hurons attack the cave
and capture the two girls and Heyward. Magua wants to know where Hawkeye is and is told that he and the
Mohicans had swum away.
Plot Summary
• Chapters 7–9:
• The Hurons take their captives down the river and make camp. Magua tells Cora about his life and how drinking the
white man’s firewater (alcohol) had made him stupid. It had first resulted in him being thrown out of his tribe, and
then in him being beaten by Cora’s father. Magua then says he wants Cora to be his wife and she rejects him. The
Indians decide to burn the captives alive, but before this, Magua makes an offer. Alice and Heyward would be spared if
Cora agrees to be his wife. Again she refuses and a fight starts. Chingachgook, Uncas and Hawkeye arrive just in time
to help and chase away the Hurons. They set off through the woods and arrive at Fort William Henry and are
welcomed by Colonel Munro.
Plot Summary
• Chapters 10–12:
• The French attack the fort and Hawkeye goes to ask General Webb for reinforcements. The French capture him on his
return, in possession of an important letter from the General. Munro sends Heyward to talk to the French commander,
Montcalm, and is offered a peace deal, which Munro rejects. Munro then tells Heyward of his daughters’ parentage.
Cora was the daughter of his West Indian wife and Alice from his Scottish wife. Heyward expresses an interest in
marrying Alice. At a meeting with Montcalm, Munro learns the content of the letter: General Webb cannot send more
men. A peace deal is signed. As the British are leaving the fort they are attacked by thousands of Indians and many
people die. Magua takes Alice into the woods and Cora and Gamut, a singer, follow them.
Plot Summary
• Chapters 13–15:
• Hawkeye, Munro, Uncas and Chingachgook follow Magua’s trail and come across Gamut. He tells them the girls are well.
Hawkeye has an idea to paint Heyward’s face red and blue as a disguise so he can go into the Indian camp and see the girls.
He finds the girls in a cave but suddenly Magua appears. Before he can do anything, Hawkeye, dressed in an animal’s skin, hits
him and he falls to the ground. They escape into the woods. Hawkeye goes to Uncas, who is being kept prisoner in a cave and
gives him a knife, enabling him to escape. Magua and the Hurons find the group and Magua demands to have Cora. Hawkeye
offers himself instead but Magua only wants Cora. Cora gives in and agrees to go with Magua. As they are leaving, Uncas
challenges Magua. In the following fight, a Huron kills Cora and Magua kills Uncas. While making his get away, Magua slips and
falls to his death from the cliff. The group reunite with Chingachgook and Munro. Hawkeye swears to Chingachgook that he will
never forget Uncas, who he regarded as his brother.
Further Resources
• https://www.coursehero.com/lit/The-Last-of-the-Mohicans/summaries/