The Prairie: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Prairie: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the intricate relationships and dynamics among a diverse cast of characters navigating life on the American frontier. Central to the narrative is Natty Bumppo, an elderly woodsman known for his resourcefulness and independence, who becomes embroiled in conflicts with both settlers and Native Americans. His interactions with the Bush family, particularly Ishmael Bush, the fierce and unpredictable patriarch, reveal themes of justice, honor, and the complexities of frontier life. The story also features Esther Bush, Ishmael's formidable wife, and Ellen Wade, a young woman caught between familial loyalty and her desire for adventure with Paul Hover, her spirited sweetheart.
Other notable characters include Abiram White, whose treachery leads to dire consequences, and Captain Middleton, a soldier seeking to rescue his wife, Inez, from captivity. The narrative introduces various Indigenous characters like Hard-Heart, a Pawnee chief who plays a crucial role in the story's conflicts, and Mahtoree, a cunning Sioux chieftain. Through their experiences, the text highlights resilience, moral dilemmas, and the harsh realities of life in the expanding American West, offering readers a multifaceted view of this tumultuous period.
The Prairie: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: James Fenimore Cooper
First published: 1827
Genre: Novel
Locale: The western plains of the United States
Plot: Adventure
Time: 1804
Natty Bumppo, the resourceful, independent old woods-man, now eighty-two years old. While trapping on the plains soon after the Louisiana Purchase, he camps one evening with a clan of tough, suspicious squatters, the Bush family. Later, accused of killing Asa Bush and having helped two young men to rescue their sweethearts from the Bushes, he is forced to avoid the squatters. Meanwhile, he and his companions are captured three times by hostile Sioux Indians. Natty serves as an interpreter, pacifies their captors, and helps the captives to escape. Finally, when the Sioux have been defeated and he has acquitted himself before the Bush clan, he decides to live with a tribe of friendly Pawnees until his death. Old and weak, he dies at sundown after rising to his feet and uttering a single word, “Here.”
Ishmael Bush, the huge, ferocious head of the squatters. Though he has no respect for the law, he has a rude sense of justice and honor. Enraged by Indian attacks, the murder of his son Asa, and the abduction of his niece and a female hostage, he makes a temporary alliance with the Sioux in order to capture the fugitives. When his allies betray him, he calmly helps destroy them. In a rude court of justice, he sets the two pairs of lovers free, along with an itinerant naturalist. He also frees Natty Bumppo after the old hunter reveals Abiram White, Bush's brother-in-law, as the murderer. In the end, Bush and his family move on into the unknown West.
Esther Bush, Ishmael's aging, ill-tempered, almost mannish wife. The only literate member of the family, she reads the Bible but has the instincts of a wolf. Protective toward her young and savage toward trespassers, she is a formidable Indian fighter.
Ellen Wade, called Nelly, Esther Bush's pretty, vivacious niece. A homeless girl of eighteen, she feels gratitude toward the Bushes for their care, even if she feels little affection for them. More genteel than others of the Bush clan, she attracts Paul Hover, a young bee hunter from Kentucky, meets him secretly, and deserts the Bushes to share his adventures. Three times captured by Indians, and retaken by Ishmael, she finally receives Ishmael Bush's permission to marry Paul.
Abiram White, Esther's cowardly, treacherous brother. He kidnaps Inez Middleton, the wife of a young soldier, shoots Asa Bush in the back after a quarrel, and blames the killing on Natty Bumppo. When his guilt is disclosed, Ishmael Bush exacts a terrible vengeance. White is placed, bound, on a rock ledge where he must either hang himself or starve. His body is found dangling from a rope tied to the limb of a tree.
Dr. Obed Battius, also called Obed Bat, a pompous naturalist who prefers to travel in Natty's company rather than with the rude squatters. He exemplifies a foolish, academic approach to nature that contrasts strongly with Natty's natural, pious attitudes. A rather useless person, he owns a donkey that saves the party from a buffalo stampede by braying.
Paul Hover, Ellen Wade's reckless, spirited sweetheart and a roaming bee hunter. Captured three times by Sioux Indians, along with Natty and Ellen, he is always ready to fight, but Natty's diplomatic efforts succeed in saving his neck until he is finally safe and free to marry Ellen.
Captain Middleton, a handsome young soldier, the bridegroom of Inez Middleton, the hostage kidnapped by Abiram White. Searching for the Bushes, he comes across Natty Bumppo, Paul Hover, and Dr. Battius, who help him rescue his wife. After being captured by Indians, he is set free by Ishmael Bush and happily reunited with his wife. He is the grandson of a British officer whom Natty Bumppo had known in the days of the French and Indian Wars.
Inez Middleton, his wife, a wealthy young woman held prisoner by the squatters. Having been rescued by her husband and captured by Sioux, she is in danger of becoming the wife of Mahtoree, the Sioux chief. When he is killed in single-handed combat with a Pawnee warrior, she is restored to her husband by Ishmael Bush.
Hard-Heart, the noble young chief who befriends Natty Bumppo and his comrades and is finally captured with them by a band of fierce Sioux. About to be tortured, he escapes to his tribe, challenges the Sioux chief to battle, kills him, and defeats the hostile tribe. Natty chooses to make his home in Hard-Heart's Pawnee village, where he lives until his death.
Mahtoree, the bold, fierce, cunning Sioux chieftain. A dangerous foe, he captures Natty Bumppo and the old hunter's friends three times. He is about to take Inez Middleton for his wife when Hard-Heart, the Pawnee brave, challenges him to combat and kills him.
Swooping Eagle, called Le Balafré, an aged Sioux chieftain who wishes to adopt Hard-Heart as his son to save the young warrior from being killed. Hard-Heart expresses respect for the old man but rejects his offer.
Weucha, a boastful, greedy Sioux brave killed by Hard-Heart.
Tachechana, Mahtoree's Indian wife, shamed when she is forced to strip herself of her finery after the chief decides to discard her and wed Inez Middleton.
Asa Bush, Ishmael's eldest son, killed by his uncle, Abiram White.
Abner Bush, Enoch Bush, and Jesse Bush, Ishmael's other strapping sons.
Hetty Bush and Phoebe Bush, his strong, vigorous young daughters.