Finished: The Deerslayer

I discovered this book in on my husband's bookshelves - where normally nary a fiction work is to be found. I had evidently begun to read it at one point...one of my bookmarks was in it. In retrospect, after having finished reading it a week ago, I have no idea why I didn't complete it the first time. It was marvelous.

There is something for me in literature that makes honor so, well, honorable. If I had to make an argument about honor, I would say that it is best displayed when up against the grotesquely dishonorable. But The Deerslayer refutes that idea. I would say that there are no grotesquely dishonorable "creeturs" in this book. Sinners, yes. Men with messed up ideas about how to live, yes. But Cooper has managed to paint a redeeming value into each character.

The fascinating part about this approach, to me, is that I didn't walk away from the book with a feeling that the author thought everyone is right, and that each person has a right to his own worldview and there is no truth. The question for me is, what was the author's intent? Did he want me to walk away knowing that the Deerslayer has the most honor, and the other characters pale in comparison? Or did he want me to think, as the Deerslayer does that each man has his own gifts according to his nature, and honor must be viewed in light of that nature?

I guess this wouldn't pass for an essay test. I didn't answer any questions, I just came up with my own.

James Fenimore Cooper, The Deerslayer