Cooper (1789- 185 1), an early American romantic writer, described a series of novels with frontier themes, that is, five-part stories centered on Natty Bambo, nicknamed "Leather Socks". The work mainly describes the life of the forest hunter "leather socks". Deerslayer (184 1) described the hunting life of the young "Leather Socks" in the undeveloped forest of New York State and the friendship he established with the Indians. The Last mohicans (1826) and Pathfinder (1840) described the adventures of "leather socks" in the background of the chaotic struggle between British and French colonialists in the 1950s. Pioneers (1823) described that after the War of Independence, prosperous towns appeared in New York, but "Leather Socks" got used to hunting life and went west to undeveloped forests. Grassland (1827) wrote that after the War of Independence, landless peasants continued to advance to the west, and the old "leather socks" ended their lives in the grassland.
The work reflects the outstanding frontier problems at that time. From the War of Independence to the Civil War, the American border moved westward, and the former French territory and Indian settlements were incorporated into the American territory through redemption or plunder. This process is full of life-and-death struggle, and Cooper's works vividly show the thrilling struggle and historical changes in the western frontier for the first time. Behind the plot of the novel, we can see the cruelty and greed of the colonialists. They even offered a reward for buying Indian scalps and publicly encouraged whites to slaughter Indians. Hutt, an immigrant in Deerslayer, was killed by Indians just to hunt their scalps. The trilogy also reflects the brutal struggle between British and French colonialists, and the massacre of British troops and civilians by French colonialists described in The Last mohicans is an example. In addition, the hardships and cruelty of an early immigrant's struggle for survival are also reflected in these works. In order to get rich, the charity families in the prairie not only kidnap innocent girls, but also kill each other among relatives. Pioneers shows the production, life, customs, judicial system and other aspects of the early development areas in a relatively complete way.
The "leather socks" in the work is a person who loves forest life and has a very simple heart. He sacrificed his family life to live and work in peace and contentment, preferring to associate with Indians who lived by hunting, wear leather socks and adopt the Indian lifestyle completely. In the war between the British and French colonialists, "Leather Socks", as the guide and scout of the British side in the forest, showed superb shooting skills and forest combat skills. However, after the war, the hunting freedom that Leather Socks wholeheartedly maintained clashed with the formal "legal system" established on the land development, so he abandoned the developer's "civilization", continued to advance into the depths of the forest, lived a free life, and finally rested among the Indians he regarded as brothers. The image of "leather socks" has certain ideal components. The author compares his love for nature and yearning for free hunting life with the brutal colonialists at that time, and with the developers who destroyed nature. On the one hand, it shows that the author cherishes the past times, on the other hand, it also contains some criticisms of the capitalist development model. But "leather socks" not only have simple characteristics, but also have some characteristics of "Christian knights", such as trying to save noble ladies and being humble and tame in front of bourgeois owners, which has somewhat damaged the meaning of the image.
Cooper adopts fresh and vivid American themes, and his frontier novels fully embody the characteristics of his "pure American style" works, opening up a new field for American novels. This group of works is influenced by Scott in creative methods, and the mysterious dense forest and the lifestyle of Indian tribes render a strong romantic color. Cooper's novels are complex in structure, tortuous in plot and fascinating. The description of the frontier natural environment in the novel is also excellent, and it is intertwined with the changes of the plot and the mood of the characters. In the last Moxigan, the virgin forest was gloomy and terrible for the colonists, but in the eyes of "leather socks", Indian footprints can be seen everywhere, and it is very comfortable to listen and walk in it. These descriptions have received a strong artistic effect. Cooper's artistic achievements in frontier novels have established his position in the history of American literature and won him the title of "Scott of America".