# XXXIII explained — The Last of the Mohicans

> Chapter companion for The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper.

## What happens

The Lenape mourn their victory over the Hurons, holding funerals for Cora and Uncas. Chingachgook grieves his son, and Hawkeye comforts him, affirming their bond beyond racial divides. Tamenund laments the passing of the Mohicans and the rise of the pale faces.

## Themes in this chapter

### Death and Mourning

The chapter is dominated by the funerals of Cora and Uncas, with elaborate mourning rituals and expressions of grief from all characters.

### Wilderness vs. Civilization

Hawkeye and Chingachgook's bond transcends racial and cultural divides, symbolizing a bridge between the wilderness and the encroaching civilization of the pale faces.

### Clash of Civilizations

Tamenund's speech highlights the conflict between Native Americans and European colonizers, with the Mohicans' decline representing the broader clash.

## Character check-ins

### Chingachgook

Mourns his son Uncas, speaks of his solitude, and accepts Hawkeye's comfort.

### Hawkeye

Comforts Chingachgook, affirming their friendship and shared path despite different gifts.

### Uncas

Lies in state, adorned in tribal ornaments, mourned by the Lenape.

### Cora Munro

Her body is laid on a litter of plants, covered with robes, mourned by her father and others.

### Colonel Munro

Sits bowed in grief at Cora's feet, later gathered to his fathers.

### Tamenund

Dismisses the Lenape, declaring the time of the red men has not yet come again.

## Key lines

> The pale faces are masters of the earth, and the time of the red men has not yet come again.

The white people now rule the land, and the era of the Native Americans has not yet returned.

_Tamenund acknowledges the dominance of European colonizers and the decline of his people._

> I am a blazed pine, in a clearing of the pale faces. My race has gone from the shores of the salt lake and the hills of the Delawares.

I stand alone like a marked tree in a white man's clearing; my people have vanished from the lakes and hills.

_Chingachgook expresses his solitude and the extinction of his tribe._

> No, Sagamore, not alone. The gifts of our colors may be different, but God has so placed us as to journey in the same path.

You are not alone, Sagamore. Though our races have different qualities, God has made us travel the same road.

_Hawkeye reassures Chingachgook of their enduring friendship beyond racial differences._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_last_of_the_mohicans_se/chapters/xxxiii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_last_of_the_mohicans_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_last_of_the_mohicans_se/chapters