Fen imore Cooper’s Environment Protection Consciousness inThe Pioneers

WANG Hua-rong

(College of Foreign Languages,Honghe University,Mengzi 661100,China)

Fen imore Cooper’s Environment Protection Consciousness inThe Pioneers

WANG Hua-rong

(College of Foreign Languages,Honghe University,Mengzi 661100,China)

The Pioneers by James Fenimore Cooper was the first of the most famous series of novel in American literature,the Leather-Stocking Tales.Judged from the perspectives of organization,plot and language,however,Cooper’s The Pioneers could not be classified as a good novel.What made the novel well-known and its author famous was the writer’s discussion of some very serious issues.In the novel,Cooper showed a strong consciousness of environment protection.He exposed the wastefulness of the pioneers and suggested two ways of protecting the environment through two characters:Natty Bumppo and Judge Temple,who held the views of a naturalist and a conservationist respectively.In an age when conquering and developing the wilderness were the leading theme and when the myth of superabundance was still prevalent,to discuss the serious issues like environmental protection surely did not fit the then social trend and it demanded big courage.

Fenimore Cooper;The Pioneers;consciousness of environmental protection;

The Pioneers,the first of the most famous series of novels in American literature,the Leather-Stocking Tales,was an autobiographical novel written by James Fenimore Cooper in 1842.The novel gave vivid descriptions of the American frontier and the life of the American pioneers.Cooper depicts the frontier as the place of wild adventure where Americans lived beyond the reach of corrupt and restrictive society and tested themselves against nature.He also began a tradition of depicting the country’s unsettled lands as places of purity,honor and integrity,and hence of identifying the frontier as a key component of American identity.No wonder Ralph Waldo Emerson called the Pioneers“our first national novel.”[1]It was not Emerson alone that sang high praise of the novel.Almost everyone loved itwhen it was published.In fact,the book was an immediate success and established the writer in a career as a professional novelist.Judged from the perspectives of organization,plot and language,however,Cooper’s The Pioneers did not possess the features of a good novel.Then why did it gain such wide popularity and make its writer a household name even today?The predominant reason is that James Fen imore Cooper addressed very serious issues in the novel.Besides romanticizing the frontier and dramatizing the life of the American pioneers,Cooper repeatedly dug into the big issues like liberty and environmental protection.Environment-protection was one of the issues that the novelist elaborated in the novel.Throughout the novel,James Fen imore Cooper showed a strong consciousness of environment-protection.He exposed the wastefulness of the pioneers and suggested two ways of protecting the environment through two characters:Natty Bumppo and Judge Temple,who held the views of a naturalist and a conservationist respectively.

I The Wastefulness of the Pioneers Revealed by Cooper

The Pioneers was set in Templeton,a village in New York State and a typical frontier region.Under Cooper’s pen,the pioneers were depicted as being brave and initiative,marching undauntedly toward wilderness and bringing civilization to the unsettled frontier areas.However,Cooper did not fail to notice the big cost that went along with the quick development of the frontier:the destruction of the natural environment.In the whole novel,to bring to public awareness of wastefulness of the pioneers in the frontier became a top concern of Cooper when he sang high praise for the pioneers who were exploring the wilderness.

Cooper’s revelation of the local residents’destruction of the forest was appalling.From a practical point of view,the residents in Templeton had substantial reasons to hate the forest.Like other frontiersmen,they needed clear heavily wooded land to grow crops that were to feed them.Besides,a forest might be the home of both possibly antagonistic Indians and of carnivorous animals that could endanger their lives and livestock.[2]162But what mostly drove the Templeton settlers to cut down so many trees was“the myth of superabundance”.The majority of the residents in Templeton held the view that the resources in the nature were superabundant and inexhaustible.

The attitude of the settlers toward forest is typified in the attitude of woodchopper Billy Kirby toward trees.Billy Kirby was nicknamed in the region as the“boisterous woodchopper”,which meant that he had cut down numerous trees.In Billy’s eyes,trees were“a sore sight at any time”,obstacles to be overcome.For him,cutting down trees was a task to which he applied himself with enthusiasm.However,Billy was not,as were other settlers,merely clearing a patch of ground on which to grow crops;he was clearing land for others,carrying on a commercial sugar-making operation,and beginning a commercial timber and firewood enterprise.His sugar-making operation was carried on by the careless gashing of the trees,described by Cooper as“an extremely wasteful,and in artificial arrangement.”[3]135Countless trees fell victims to the chopper’s ax and particularly his philosophy of“superabundance”.

Billy Kirby was not unique in practicing the philosophy of“superabundance”,Judge Temple’s cousin and the sheriff of Templeton,Richard Jones,used sugar maple wood for fireplace fuel.To satisfy his need,he must cut down maples repeatedly.In the minds of Billy Kirby,Richard Jones and other settlers,the forest resource was so abundant that there was no cause for alarm about the future in the probably fatal wounding of the maples and the cutting down of the other trees like oaks,elms,and beeches.They were certain that“If there’s plenty of anything in this mountainous country,as clearly there is,it’s trees.”[3]84Richard Jones repeatedly echoed this view that“there are trees enough here for all of us,and some to spare.”[3]83The pioneers’belief that natural resource was superabundant and inexhaustible was also reflected in their attitudes toward wildlife.The pigeon shooting in the novel was a resourceful wastefulness as well as a bloody slaughter.In every spring,the local people would shoot the pigeons approaching on its annual northward migration.They were afraid that these birds would overrun their wheat fields.But what drove them crazy about the birds was the myth of superabundance.In their eyes,the pigeons were always numerous and countless and they could provide the people with food and feather.As Richard Jones said,“The divilswill also provide food enough to keep the army of Xerxes for a month,and feathers enough to make beds for the whole country.”[3]176To make the killing more effective and exciting,the Templeton settlers would even organize a pigeon-shooting competition each year.Effective powerful weapons like a six-foot ducking-gun and a miniature swivel cannon were used to kill as many pigeons as possible.Whenthe guns and cannons were fired,hundreds of pigeons fell to the ground.Not surprisingly,however,many birds are left to rot on the scene.

The settlers held the same attitude toward fish that they did toward pigeons.Just as they used cannon against pigeons,so against fish,disdaining hook and line,the settlers employed much more destructive means,a seine fifty to sixty fathoms long that enabled them to haul the fish by the thousands.This is what they called the“real fishing”.The boastful Billy Kirby even claimed,“The Lord condemn me for a liar if there ain’t a thousand bass.”[3]200In actuality,the settlers took on-ly a very few of the choicest bass,leaving the others to rot.Richard Jones even scornfully rejected the suggestion that the bass were beginning to disappear.

Cooper worried about the wastefulness of the settlers in Templeton and his exposure of this wastefulness only partly reflected his concern over the dwindling natural resources.Whatmade his environment-protection consciousnessmore obvious were the suggestions that he put for ward in the novel:preservation of nature for its own sake and conservation of natural resources for practical use,which were preached in the novel by Natty Bumppo and Judge Temple respectively.

II A Naturalist’s Way of Environment Protection

The old hunter Natty Bumppo was the first character that the novelist used to preach his environment-protecting gospel.Natty Bumppo was a naturalist and his attitude toward nature was aesthetic.His fundamental concern and commitments to nature were aesthetic and spiritual.He loved the original beauty of the nature,believing that humans should not spoil the wilderness.To him,the woods were his art gallery and his church.[4]289-306Natty described the Lake Otsego wilderness,when he first came upon it,as“a cheerful place”and“a comfortable hunting ground.”In fact,he thought of it as“a second paradise.”

Holding such an aesthetic attitude,Natty lived a simple life,trying to claim natural resources as little as possible.He lived in a log cabin instead of the luxurious mansions,which need a lot of trees to build.As a hunter,he killed animals when he had to for his food,never killing more than he needed.As a matter of fact,he regarded it as a sin to waste natural resources.He refused to participate in the pigeon-shooting competition because he believed it awful to kill more pigeon than needed.The local residents’killing of hundreds of pigeons with powerful weapons like a cannon angered the aesthetic hunter.He protested against the wasteful ways of the local residents:It’s wicked to be shooting into flocks in this wasty manner;and none do it,who know how to knock over a single bird.If a body has a craving for pigeon’s flesh,why,it’smade the same as allother creatures for man’s eating;but not to kill twenty and eat one.When Iwant such a thing I go into the woods till I find one to my liking,and then I shoot him off the branches,without touching the feather of another,though there might be a hundred on the same tree.[3]191He shot only one pigeon with his gun to keep his aesthetic doctrine.Natty’s protest against massive killing of the pigeons reflected his aesthetic views on the environment.He cherished the original beauty of nature,opposing to humans interference with the nature.To do this,the hunter believed,humans should live a simple life,trying to gain from the nature as little as possible.

In the whole novel,the hunter steadfastly stuck to his aesthetic views on the environment and practiced environmental protection in his unique way.He resisted continuously being tempted to waste natural resources and refused to cooperate with other pioneers in the exploitation of natural resources.As more people poured into and settled in the region,the old hunter became worried and agitated.To him,the more settled and developed the region,the more the environment would be spoiled and destroyed.He denounced his fellows who did great har m to the environment when the latter pushed settlement for ward.“You have driven God’s creatures from his own pleasure;and you’ve brought in the troubles and deviltries…”[3]274In an age when settlement and development of the wild west became an over whe lming theme in American history,Natty’s resistance to the advancement of settlement was surely too weak to win the victory.The disappointed hunter decided to go further to the wilderness to search for peace and natural beauty and to escape the sound of the axes and the crash of falling trees.In the end of the story,we saw the hunter bid farewell to his friends and went towards the setting sun.Natty’s departure from the Templeton settlement demonstrated his liking of nature as well as his distaste to the advancing settlement that was being pushed forward day by day.

III A Conservationist’s Way of Environment Protection

Judge Temple was another character in the novel that Cooper used to reveal his environmental protecting consciousness.The Judge was a typical utilitarian and conservationist.Unlike Natty Bumppo,who opposed to human interference in the beautiful nature,Judge Temple preached the conquering of the nature by human beings.His goal as a pioneer was to change wildness into settlement.He was the one who organized the settlement of Templeton and helped bring civilization to the wilderness.Therefore,he would not deplore the changed natural landscape and the reshaped natural environment.In his views,natural resources should serve people well,providing them with material comfort and satisfaction.His interest in the nature was economic and utilitarian.Although he insisted on the human exploitation of the natural resources for material comforts and promoting civilization,he also opposed to the waste of natural resources.He embraced the philosophy of continuous development,worried about the dwindling natural resources and tried to curb the wastefulness of the settlers in Templeton.He is a typical conservationist.His purpose of protecting the environment was to ensure that the natural resources would serve people better.

Throughout the novel,Judge Temple as a conservationist expressed his worry that the thoughtless settlers of Templeton would destroy the very resources on which their life depended:the trees,and especially the sugar maples,that fill the woods,the schools of fish that teem in Lake Otsego,and migrating passenger pigeons that fly past the village every spring.

Early in the novel,Judge Temple found his servants burning maple wood in the fireplace,and exclaimed:

How often have I forbidden the use of the sugarmaple,in my dwelling.The sight of that sap,as it exudes with the heat,is painful to me…Really,it behooves the owner of woods so extensive as mine,to be cautious what example he sets his people,who are already felling the forests,as if no end could be found to their treasures,nor any limits to their extent.If we go on in this way,twenty years hence,we shall want fuel.[3]82

Judge Temple protested against Billy Kirby when the latter fatally injured the maple trees as he tapped them for their sap:

It grieves me to witness the extravagance that pervades this country,where the settlers trifle with the blessings they might enjoy,with the prodigality of successful adventures.You are not exempt from the censure yourself,Kirby,for you make dreadful wounds in there trees,where a s mall incision would effect the same object.I earnestly beg you will remember,that they are the growth of centuries and when once gone,none living will see their loss remedied.”[3]228

When the villagers net thousands of fish from Lake Otsego,only to let them die and rot on the lake-shore,Judge Temple was appalled:

This is fearful expenditure of the choicest gifts of Providence.These fish,which by tomorrow evening,will be rejected food on the meanest table in Templeton,are of a quality and flavor that,in other countries,would make them esteemed a luxury on the tables of princes or epicures.The world has no better fish than the bas of Otsego:it unites the richness of the shad to the firmness of salmon….But,like all the other treasures of the wilderness,they already begin to disappear,before the wasteful extravagance of man.”[3]259-260

The settlers’savage ways of shooting pigeons with cannon also astonished and angered Judge Temple.He could not bear to see so many dead pigeons lay on the ground.He proposed to put an end to this kind of slaughter.

Also,through Judge Temple,Cooper incorporated his message of environmental protection by law enforcement.Itwas his utilitarian views on the natural resources that drove Judge Temple to curb the wastefulness of the settlers by introducing and implementing the laws.According to the conservationist,if the pioneers’wastefulness of the natural resources was not checked and restrained,the forest would vanish and fish and pigeons would disappear sooner or later from Templeton.Then further development of the area was absolutely impossible.Therefore,the conservation of the natural resources was what he called“the first object of my solicitude.”Judge Temple decided to implement the game laws to curb the wastefulness of the pioneers.In order to protect the trees,he even planned to induce the state legislature to pass timber laws.

What is worth noting is that Judge Temple was strong-deter mined and steadfast in implementing the laws in order to protect the natural resources.This can be seen from his attitude toward Natty Bumppo,who shared a different view on the ways of environment pro-tection with him and who challenged the game laws.When Natty Bumppo killed a deer out of season,the Judge sent Hiram Doolittle,the local justice of peace to search the hut of Natty Bumppo for the remains of the deer.Later when he learned of Natty’s forcible resistance to the law and his menacing of its agents,he decided to bring the hunter to trial.Natty Bumppo was sentenced one hour in public stocks,one month in jail,and one hundred dollars fine.That was really a severe punishment to the Hunter.From the bottom of his heart,the Judge liked the hunter.He appreciated his bravery,proficiency and helpfulness.He was always thankful to the hunter because of his saving of his daughter.Most important,he was happy to know that the hunter had a strong distaste for the wastefulness of the local people just like him although their goals and ways of environment protection were different.In spite of this,the Judge implemented the laws impartially against the hunter.His strong deter mination and unshakeable decision to punish the hunter reflected his great concern with and strong consciousness of environment protection.

In summary,James Fenimore Cooper shows a strong consciousness of environment protection in his novel The Pioneers.The novel reflected the deep concern with and worries about the dwindling natural resources of an A-merican intellectual.Being different from many of his contemporaries,who eulogized the advancement of civilization along the frontier,Cooper revealed the dark side of the pioneers although he did not deny the big progress brought about by them.What made Cooper’s environment protection consciousness more noticeable was his proposed ways of environment protection.In an age when conquering and developing the wilderness were the leading theme and when the myth of superabundance was still prevalent,to discuss the serious issues like environmental protection surely did not fit the then social trend and it demanded a lot of courage.However,it is such a courage that made James Fen imore Cooper well known inside and outside of the United States.His ideas on environmental protection were still popular and useful today.

[1] “The Art of the Western”available on http://library.boisestate.edu/Special/bibliographies/artofthewestern.h tm.

[2] Nina Baym,The Norton Anthology of American Literature.New York:W.W.Norton and Co.,1999.

[3] James Fen imore Cooper,The Pioneers,New York:Air mont Publishing Company,Inc,1964.

[4] Nelson Van Valen,“James Fenimore Cooper and the Conservation Schism,”New York History,Vol.,1981.

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1008-9128(2010)01-0079-05

2009-10-16

王华荣(1971—),男,云南石屏人,副教授。研究方向:美国文化与文学。

论费尼莫尔·库柏在《拓荒者》中的环保意识

王华荣

(红河学院外国语学院,云南蒙自661100)

《拓荒者》是美国早期小说家詹姆斯.费尼莫尔.库柏的《皮裹腿故事集》中的第一部。从结构、情节和语言等诸多因素来看,它称不上是一部优秀小说。但小说却受到广大读者的喜爱,并使作者一举成名。究其原因,主要是库柏在小说中探讨了较为深刻的社会问题,环境保护就是其中之一。库柏在小说中表达了其强烈的环保意识。他不但深刻地揭露了美国拓荒者在开发边疆的过程中对自然资源的极大浪费和破坏,而且还通过自然主义者那提.班波和环境保护者腾普尔法官这两位人物,就如何保护自然资源提出了自己的看法。在“发展就是硬道理”的美国边疆开发时代,库柏的所为确实需要极大的勇气。

费尼莫尔·库柏;《拓荒者》;环保意识

[责任编辑 张灿邦]