(1) Precaution (1820, his first novel, imitating Austen xs Pride and Prejudice) (2) The Spy (his second novel and great success (3)Leatherstocking Tales (his masterpiece, a series of five novels) The deerslayer, The Last of the Mohicans, The Pathfinder, The Pioneer, The Prairie 3. point of view he theme of wilderness vs. civilization, freedom vs law, order vs change, aristocrat vs democrat, natural rights vs. legal rights 4.style (1)highly imaginative 2) good at inventing tales (3) good at landscape description (4) conservative (5) characterization wooden and lacking in probability (6) language and use of dialect not authentic 5. literary achievements He created a myth about the formative period of the American nation. If the history of the United States is, in a sense, the process of the American settlers exploring and pushing the American frontier forever westward, then Cooper *s Leatherstocking Tales effectively approximates the American national experience of adventure into the west. He turned the west and frontier as a useable past and he helped to introduce western tradition to American literature Section 2 Summit of Romanticism American Transcendentalism I Background: four sources7 （1）Precaution （1820, his first novel, imitating Austen＊s Pride and Prejudice） （2）The Spy （his second novel and great success） （3）Leatherstocking Tales （his masterpiece, a series of five novels） The Deerslayer, The Last of the Mohicans, The Pathfinder, The Pioneer, The Prairie 3.point of view he theme of wilderness vs. civilization, freedom vs. law, order vs. change, aristocrat vs. democrat, natural rights vs. legal rights 4.style （1）highly imaginative （2）good at inventing tales （3）good at landscape description （4）conservative （5）characterization wooden and lacking in probability （6）language and use of dialect not authentic 5.literary achievements He created a myth about the formative period of the American nation. If the history of the United States is, in a sense, the process of the American settlers exploring and pushing the American frontier forever westward, then Cooper＊s Leatherstocking Tales effectively approximates the American national experience of adventure into the West. He turned the west and frontier as a useable past and he helped to introduce western tradition to American literature. Section 2 Summit of Romanticism American Transcendentalism I. Background: four sources