The Deerslayer and Morality
             Thesis Statement: The morality of the main character is one that represents a spiritual communion with nature, a firm opposition to discrimination, and an exaggerated state of divine morality.
             I. Natty's morality is guided by nature.
             A. His morality is all-inclusive when it comes to
             B. Nature is religion because it represents the divine.
             II. Natty's morality derives from the pure morality of nature.
             A. His morality is free of discrimination.
             B. His pro-nature morality is accepting the good and
             III. Natty's morality is exaggerated.
             A. His divine morality conflicts with the events of the
             B. His morality is one that can resist temptation.
             As much as any American writer, James Fenimore Cooper's work, is representative of the American frontier and the struggles of Native Americans and pioneers who took the advice of Horace Greeley and "went West." While many criticize the writing style and syntax of Cooper, almost no one denied the value of his work as being representative of "the self-actualized individual. . . . This image, woven into the intricate form of his tales, provided a calling for many new Americans who chose the west [sic] as a new frontier, a place to prove their individuality and self-worth" (Eberle 2). The Deerslayer is the fifth and final novel in the Leatherstocking Tales, a series of works devoted to the story of Natty Bumppo, who, in this novel, is labeled the "Deerslayer" or "Hawkeye." "The Deerslayer deals with racism, hatred, Manifest Destiny, technology/progress, and was the first environmentalist"
             ("true" 4). Raised by the Delaware and knowledgeable in their ways and peace, the hero of the story is representative of American independence and self-reliance. "The Deerslayer . . . is the story of eight days in the life of Nathaniel Bumppo, a youth of twenty, in . . . 1740. The setting is Cooper's home lake, the ...