"JAMES FENIMORE COOPER" - разработка к серии уроков «Знакомство с английскими и американскими писателями» (с презентацией).
проект по теме

JAMES FENIMORE COOPER (1789-1851)

Fenimore Cooper was a XIX century American writer. His works belong to the trend of Romanticism in literature. He is the first well-known American novelist. Readers everywhere in the world connect his name with his books about the Indians, though he wrote other novels, some of them historical and some about travelling. He wrote very many books, over thirty.

        The son of rich landowner, Fenimore Cooper was brought up on the family estate, Cooperstown, in New Jersey. When he was only thirteen years old, he entered Yale University.  In his third year he failed his examinations and had leaved the university.

        At the age of seventeen he went to sea and spent six years as sailor and later on as officer. He loved the sea and was ready to spend all his life at sea. When he married, he left the ship.

For some years he lived on his estate and he started writing novels. His first novel was about an English family living in England. It was not a great novel, but it was good enough to be published.

Fenimore Cooper’s second novel “The Spy” was a historical novel about the days of the American War of Independence. Its hero is a common soldier who loved America. The book was successful.

In 1826 Fenimore Cooper went to Europe. He wanted to give his children a good European education and he placed them in foreign schools. Together with his wife he travelled much and visited many countries. He wrote many books about his travels.

When Fenimore Cooper returned to the United States, he began writing his famous Leather-Stocking novels: “The Pioneers” (1823); “The Last of Mohicans” (1826); “The Pathfinder” (1840) and some others. These are his best works; they are all about American Indians.

The main character in all these novels is Leather Stocking, as he was called by the Indians. He was a white man, a hunter, named Natty Bumppo. He was just and kind, and though he was an ordinary man with very little education, he knew much about forest life. He also said that all men, white, black, yellow or red, were brothers. He was against civilization because he thought it spoilt nature and people. But he brought the Indians knives of English make. He himself preferred to live in the woods far from cities. The Indians, with whom he was very friendly, were closer to him than the white civilized Americans. When he became old, he joined one of the Indian tribes and died there.

Words for learning:

Romanticism – романтизм

landowner – землевладелец

estate – поместье, имение

sailor – матрос

“The Spy” – «Шпион»

independence – независимость

common – простой

Leather-Stocking novels – романы о Кожаном Чулке

“The Last of Mohicans” – «Последний из Могикан» (могикане

 – название одного из индейских племен)

“The Pathfinder” – «Следопыт»

hunter – охотник

just – справедливый

spoil – портить

tribe – племя

Questions for discussion:

When was Fenimore Cooper born?

What education did he get?

Where did Cooper live after leaving his ship?

When did he travel in Europe?

What are his best novels?

Who is the main character in these novels?

What people did Fenimore Cooper describe in these novels?