James Fenimore Cooper (1789 - 1851)

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James Fenimore Cooper (1789 - 1851)

• Born in a wealth family
• best known for his stories of frontier life and
  pioneer adventure.
• lived abroad from 1826 - 1833, and during this
  time he defended American democracy in his
  writings

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The Pioneers-The Slaughter of the Pigeons

• Setting
• Time Close to April when the snow
  disappeared
• Place Otsego County, New York village of
  Templeton
• Major Character
• Natty Bumpoo in his early seventies, six feet
  tall gray eyed, sandy hair, robust, but thin to
  emaciation.

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The Slaughter of the pigeons

• Respect nature
• Cooper reveals the concept of respecting
  nature (pigeons) by the descriptions dialogues
  between Natty Bumpoo and other characters (Judge
  Temple, Edward, Billy Kirby, and other man among
  the sportsman group..etc. )

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People in town vs. Natty Bumpoo

• Men, women and children with fire-arms, the
  French ducking-gunetc.(444)
• Whats that, old Leather-stocking!.. Grumbling
  at the loss of a few pigeons. (446)

• Unsportsmanlike execution (444)
• This comes of setting a country,here have I
  known the pigeons fly for forty years...as
  harmless as a garter-snake. (446)

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People in town vs. Natty Bumpoo

• Youve grown mighty boasting, sin you killed the
  turkey(446)

• Its made the same as all other creators, for
  mans eating, but not to kill twenty and eat
  one.(446)
• Its much better to kill only such as you want,
  without wasting your powder and lead,I come out
  for(447)

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People in town vs. Natty Bumpoo

• Victory! Victory! We have driven the enemy from
  the field.(448)
• Sport!it is princely sportthousands of the
  blue-coated boys on the ground so every women may
  have a pot-pie..(448)

• Use, but dont waste. Wasnt the woods made for
  the beasts and birds to harbour in? (447)

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People in town

• After the first burst of sporting, the shooting
  of pigeons became a business, for the remainder
  of the season, more in proportion to the wants of
  the people.
• Richard, boasted for many a year, of his shot
  with the cricket.
• Benjamin gravely asserted, that he thought that
  they killed nearly as many pigeons on that day,
  as there were Frenchmen destroyed on the
  memorable occasions of Rodneys victory. (448)

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Analysis

• Natty Bumpoo
• Pigeons a creation of God
• Hunting Get only the numbers you need

• Sportsmen
• Pigeons enemy
• Hunting sport

?The different concept toward nature between
Indians and White.
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References

• James Fenimore Cooper
• www.xroads.virginia.edu/UG02/Cooper
• The Pioneers by James Fenimore Cooper
• www.allreaders.com