Perhaps the most appealing characteristics of literature, and most motivating elements of literature, are the thought-provoking themes. Universal themes such as revenge, love, hate, jealousy, and many other are included in this category. There are many forms of writing which express multiples of these themes, known as genre. An exceedingly good exemplar of one of these genres is romanticism. Romanticism is a form of writing which emphasizes stresses, idealizes, and values many themes and thought provoking feelings in life. Emotions, imagination, and individualism are just some of these which are emphasized through the romantic style of writing. Others such as subjectivity, love of nature, and solitary life are subjects which are stressed through the technique of writing. Some idealized topics through romanticism are freedom, spontaneity, and rural life. Valued in the type of writing are awe, mystery, and mysticism. In a novel written by James Fenimore Cooper, entitled The Last of the Mohicans, many of these themes are depicted through romanticism. .
In The Last of the Mohicans, Hawkeye, the dramatically valiant protagonist, and Uncas and Chingachook, two of the last of there Native American tribe, the Mohicans, are highly viewed through rose-tinted glasses throughout this novel. Each of these characters represents the concept of august action, and their acts exemplify pureness and altruism. This is apparent when they refuse to leave any prisoners behind and Chingachook sacrifices his life for his son, the last of the Mohicans. Innocence is yet another theme revealed in the author's vision of the land. He associates the Native Americans with the pure lands before the European civilization's influenced them. While these protagonists are being depicted and developed through good themes, Magua and his tribe of Hurons are shown as cold blooded and malicious by the author. They are cohesive with the murder of innocence and the other horrific violence throughout the story.