Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses

Description

Mark Twain wrote his essay entitled Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses in 1895 to criticize Cooper for everything in his writing. For Twain, there is nothing even remotely acceptable as a literary creation in Cooper’s work – he directs his criticism against Cooper’s style, just as much as against the way he structures his plots and builds his characters.

The essay starts with quotes from critics who appreciated Cooper’s works, then it continues with the claim that the critics in question had never read any of Cooper’s writings. Then Twain moves on to outline the literary rules, that in his view, must be observed in any decent piece of writing. He lists 18 such rules and dismantles Cooper’s works by saying and trying to prove that they do not respect any of these rules.

Twain goes as far as to call Cooper’s style “a crime against English language”, condemning his contemporary for using a uselessly inflated language and long, almost infinite sentences. He criticizes Cooper’s plots as well, saying that his stories don’t seem to be going anywhere, they fail to reach a proper conclusion and he considers the characters in Cooper’s books clumsily constructed, uninteresting and driven by implausible motivations.

Deciding whether Twain is right or wrong in his fiercely critical attitude towards Cooper’s prose is a matter of taste, but one thing is sure: this essay is certainly one of Twain’s wittiest, most brilliant and funniest pieces of writing. Twain is at his best when he can criticize someone and, in Cooper’s work, he finds plenty of flaws that he points out mercilessly, using laser-sharp criticism. However, satire and criticism come with effects unexpected when one starts reading this essay: you will want to read more of Twain and if you are not familiar with Cooper’s works, you will want to read those allegedly flawed stories as well.
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