Re: Uncas' Fate

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: : : : : : : : : Forgive me if this has been covered before but it's been awhile since I've been here...

: : : : : : : : : I've learned to accept Heyward's unlikely character reverse in sacrificing himself so Cora and Nathaniel could be together but I've never been able to figure why Uncas was allowed to chase after Alice himself. Chingachook should have been right on his heels - all they had to do was wait another 2 minutes for Nathaniel to catch up, put poor Duncan out of his misery and then all three of them could have taken out Magua's gang together. Uncas was too good to die! Okay, so then the title would be "The Last 2 of the Mohicans" but I would have liked the ending better!

: : : : : : : : Hi, Joy!

: : : : : : : : No matter if it's been discussed before or not; I'm surprised no one else has yet replied to this!

: : : : : : : : Heyward's actions were not so much a reversal, I think, as they were evidence of his long needed adaptation to a new, strange world and his final acceptance of the reality of that world. Probably for the first time since he'd come to America, he was reconciling the virtues of his British military training (self discipline, honor, sacrifice) with a pragmatic 'coming to terms.'
: : : : : : : : He had lost Cora, of THAT, he was certain. A maturing, perhaps?

: : : : : : : : Uncas; I don't think he was 'allowed' to take off alone but was determined to do so without waiting for Hawkeye to join them. He was young, poor of judgment, & rash. Chingachgook, being older & wiser stayed until Hawkeye was ready because it was the smart thing to do. No doubt, as Ching raced off in Uncas' footsteps he must've been in a bit of a panic, knowing Uncas would meet Magua.

: : : : : : : : 
: : : : : : : : Endings ... the 'what if's of tales we can imagine.

: : : : : : : : Elaine

: : : : : : : Elaine,

: : : : : : : Speaking of "what ifs"...so what do you think would have happened after the last scene?  It would appear that Cora would be the only heir to the Munro estate. I cant see Hawkeye moving to an urban area. I cant see him going to England with Cora by any means.  By the same token I dont see Cora wanting to roam the woodlands with Hawkeye the rest of her life either.  

: : : : : : : I had assummed that the two would live in some type of frontier settlement/farm type of homestead. This Im sure would be a happy medium.  Of course there would be Col. Munro's estate to see that this was done rather nicely. 

: : : : : : : A frontiersman and and an upper echelon lady...were there gigaloos in the 18th Century?  I guess I can think of worse fates than to be stuck with Cora in a log cabin on a cold winters night...especially when shes got a nice fat checkbook.

: : : : : : ~~~~~~~~~~

: : : : : : Hey P.B.!

: : : : : : LOL..that's certainly one way of looking at it!  Come to think of it, I can't remember anyone ever mentioning that Cora would have been the sole beneficiary to the Munro estate and what that would have meant to her and Hawkeye.  As you said, it certainly would have made things a little easier for them, but it's hard to imagine rugged outdoorsman Hawkey taking life easy.  (Or for that matter, Ching sitting on the front porch, smoking a pipe and letting life pass him by!)

: : : : : : As for why Uncas went after Alice alone, I agree with Elaine.  He was young and headstrong.  I also think his protective instincts kicked into overdrive, impelling him to take off after Alice.  Also, I assumed that Ching would have wanted to make sure that Hawkeye and Cora returned safely from the Huron village first.  Perhaps he felt he could catch up with his fleet-footed son before he got himself into trouble.  Like Elaine said, the 'what ifs' are endless!

: : : : : : ..Jeri

: : : : : Well, as far as what happened to Cora and Hawkeye, TGAT
: : : : : Lainey was there and saw what it was, but not too many
: : : : : others know the sad truth. The happy couple came to
: : : : : Mohicanland for their honeymoon -- exhausted thanks
: : : : : to dragging all those tin cans and old shoes attached
: : : : : to their butts through the trackless wilderness. 
: : : : : They stopped at Bumppo's for a quick snort and met
: : : : : up with the lovely and charming Doc M who bought
: : : : : them a round or six. Unfortunately, it was soon
: : : : : after that that Cora was stricken with mysterious
: : : : : and crippling intestinal problems. Thank the lord
: : : : : the infinitely wise and kindly Doc M was there
: : : : : and had her Huroned to the Mohicanland Emergency
: : : : : Clinic -- and along the way Doc M got to do her
: : : : : most favorite thing of all which is to yell "Stat!"
: : : : : and "Code Blue!" and "Crash Cart!" at appropriate
: : : : : intervals. Sad to say, it turned out that Cora
: : : : : confessed that she felt she was too frail for frontier
: : : : : life...especially after Doc M withheld her food and
: : : : : water for a week. Strictly for her own good, I assure
: : : : : you. Sometimes the poor souls in her care need that
: : : : : little push to put them on the right path. She is
: : : : : now recuperating in Huronland North, which is a charming
: : : : : resort with all sorts of fun things to do...wood and
: : : : : water hauling, basket weaving, corn parching, hide 
: : : : : tanning -- activities all designed to soothe the
: : : : : troubled spirit and build up the major muscle groups.
: : : : : In the meantime, Doctor Mary was able to give her
: : : : : broken-hearted companion solace...yes indeedy. Constant
: : : : : and unremitting solace, day and night. All part of
: : : : : the duties of the Great Healer of the Frontier. 

: : : : : I do hope this clears up any ugly rumors or nasty
: : : : : questions. Now if you'll excuse me, my beloved
: : : : : Hawkie-poo is suffering from a glute cramp which
: : : : : Doc M must attend to IMMEDIATELY.

: : : : : Kiss! Kiss!

: : : : : Doc M

: : : : I saw what it was. I am of the same opinion. Mine & Doc M's word been good on the frontier long before any others got here. Taken together, that's gospel.

: : : : By the way, Doc ... I dropped in to see how them boys were doing over at Huronland North. Man, oh man! Cora does the dead pan look better than ever! And you thought little Alice knew how to stare blankly for hours on end without so much as a bye or blink. Remember the Sunken Chest Syndrome you wrote of? And the stubby chewed fingernail compulsion you cautioned about? Weeeell - she's worse, much worse. She just keeps chanting ... "What? When? There was no doctor. What? When? There was no doctor..."

: : : : Enough about the pathetic Miss Munro! How's your other patient? 
: : : : The one you thought a fine specimen for your latest experimental Hot Spring-intensive therapy? All better?

: : : : TGAT L

: : : Oh these big strapping manly men! *snort!* Had to
: : : slap this one upside the head to make him let go
: : : of his loincloth and get into the Hot Spring Therapy
: : : Unit. Then he sat there sniveling like a little girly
: : : man and telling me his brother always told him gnomes
: : : wee in all the hot springs. Thanks to some intensive
: : : one-on-one therapy, though, he's coming around nicely...
: : : yes, very nicely indeed. 

: : : I'm SEW happy to hear Cora is getting along nicely
: : : with all her new friends. It turns out her sister
: : : Alice of the Poached Egg Eyes did not fall to her
: : : death after all, but got caught on a tree limb a
: : : few feet off the ground. The Hurons assumed she
: : : had suffered a massive head injury, but soon found
: : : out that staring blankly at nothing in particular
: : : was her normal state. Anyway, she and her big sis
: : : are together again. They did have a slight mishap
: : : when the Hurons wanted them to brain tan a hide, and
: : : Alice just kept rubbing her head vigorously back and
: : : forth over it. *sigh!* 

: : : So, everything has worked out for the best. Right, Hawkie?
: : : Ooops! Let me take that bridle off you, sweetheart!
: : : Right? Yessss! No...no thanks necessary. Just another
: : : day in the life of...DOC M, FRONTIER HEALER!!!

: : : Doc M

: : ~~~~

: : ROTFL...Doc you're a pistal!  I have to remember not to eat my lunch while reading this board!!!  Laughing while attempting to eat a sandwich can be dangerous for one's health!

: : ..Jeri  (hic, darn! now I've got the hic, hic, hiccups! *burp*..Oooops..sorry about that!)

: 
: Well, hold the pickle [Jeri you know what I mean ;-> ]
: But Uncas, contrary to my nightly fantasies, had to die.  I see his impetuous choice to go off after Alice alone as inevitable for a character in a romantic novel (a theatricalization of life). If he did the rational thing all the time, there would be no tragic elements to the story or to his character.  Perhaps he thought that Magua would kill Alice at the first op, so he'd better get up there.  But more likely, he let emotion rule -- how did he expect to take on a score of enemies alone? -- and he paid with a loss, in this story, his life.  (Every time I run the film, I scream at him to make a different choice.)

: As for Duncan, I thought his choices made sense.  He was bred to be a gentleman, trained to be a disciplined soldier and to expect sacrifice from himself or others. Note how he stands firm in battle with bullets whizzing by.  (Doesn't the script say he gets winged and barely acknowledges it?)  "Coward" is the most vituperative word in his vocabulary.  His tragic flaw is the colonizer's arrogance, but also jealousy. He learns new respect for Hawkeye during the translation episode ("my compliments sir" is more than a courtesy expression). He sees in the end where his flaws have led him, he has a flash of true love (sacrifice), and he seizes a final opportunity for redemption.  

: Having said that, I've been wondering how he got to the canoes after the massacre scene. He's not even visible approaching the canoes, is he?  He's not shown noticing the departing Mohicans, or deciding that the battle was lost and it was time to save his own skin. Did he abandon his troops, or did he see his first duty as the chivalrous protection of the women?  This is a gap in the film, IMO.

: LSK


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