Detachment In American Literature
     In American literature a sense of physical wandering is used as a
metaphor for the central detachment of the hero. This sense of physical
wandering is used in many works of American literature including: The
Autobiography Of Benjamin Franklin, The Travels of William Bartram,
Huckleberry Finn, and The Deerslayer. In The Deerslayer, by James Fenimore
Cooper, this detachment theme reaches a zenith in its expression with the
character of Natty Bumppo, the Deerslayer.
     In The Deerslayer by James Fenimore Cooper, there is a definate sense of
physical wandering. As far as the actual reality of physical wandering goes
though there is little. The story takes place on and around the Lake
Glimmerglass in Upper New York State. And any actual physical wandering is
done within these limited confines. The sense of wandering that is given is
instead presented through the many actions that the hero Natty undergoes.
Through these actions he is witnessed as advancing from encounter to
encounter very quickly, thus giving a sense of varied wandering.
     The detachment of the American hero can be seen in a multitude of
totally different works ranging from autobiographies to fictional works. This
detachment is most easily observed by the hero's "outsideness" from society.
Typically the hero will lack close friends or associates who would pierce
their detachment. The primary reason that they are detached is generally tied
to their own value system or moral code. The hero's own values will diverge
from the societies as a whole, and this dichotomy does not let the hero merge
with society as a whole. The reason for the divergence of the hero's value
system can be traced to a disatisfaction with the morality that typically
prevailed in their time. The hero would then rectify this by creating a moral
code of his own. As a result of these individualistic value systems, the hero
is detached from society, and can be thought of as being in essence a hero
looking in at a society he will not let himself join.
     An additional way to define the detachment of the American hero, would
be to say that he is "one who is posessed of a questing spirit." This spirit
is what drives the hero through his various wanderings. This correlates with
what is discussed above in that it does not require the hero to actually
wander physically. Instead it again follows the notion that wandering for
these heroes is essentially confined to their own activities, physical
activity is not needed for the sense of wandering to be generated.
     As a example of a detachment that resulted from a hero's particular
moral code, consider The Autobiography Of Benjamin Franklin. In this work,
Franklin is isolated from society due to a rigid moral code of his own
devising. This code was consciously constructed due to his own dissatisfaction
with the religious morality that abounded in his day. Franklin's code was
what he termed "rational morality." Simply put this was just that, a rational
approach to the ever-present problem of morality. By rational morality
Franklin meant a continually thinking ongoing process of constantly
evaluating your morality so that it is appropriate for the situation at the
present. This code however curtailed his actions, particularly where it led
to conforming with typical recreational activities. An extreme phase that
Franklin went through at one point, even included a "moral checklist" that he
would fill out on a daily basis noting both his good works and his bad. While
this was a extreme case, that only persisted for a limited time, it shows how
these codes can detach one from society. With this code he also eliminated
such activities as drinking, and fraternizing on a unintellectual level with
comrades, thus accentuating his detachment.
     Deerslayer has a unique heritage that for the most part causes the
formation of such a moral code. He was raised by two different races: white
man, and red man. His original upbringing was among Moravian Christian
missionaries. This gave him a basis in Christianity and all its flaws. His
second upbringing was among the Delaware Indians. This gave him a second
basis for his beliefs. Through this unique dual upbringing, Deerslayer's
moral code was formed.
     Due to the dual nature of his upbringing, this code and hence Deerslayer
himself, will always be, to coin a phrase, "neither fish nor fowl, forever
betwixt and between." Or more simply, Deerslayer is trapped between two
cultures, never truly belonging to any one. This is a primary result of his
code, and what caused his detachment. This unification of two typically
incompatible codes only serves to further detach Deerslayer from society.
     This view is supported by Theodore L. Gross. He says "The hero of
American literature is the exceptional man who seeks to realize an ideal."1
From this quote the following conclusions can be reached. The hero must posess
some definate realized morals of his own, which is the ideal. These morals
will diverge from society as a whole, thus forming the basis for the hero's
seekings. For if they were compatible with society, no seeking would be
necessary, by merely existing he would be fulfilling his morals. While the
first two conclusions alone would be enough to detach one from society, the
matter of the hero being "the exceptional man" will also serve to detach him
from society.
     The moral code of the Deerslayer is a varied code that tended to focus
on two different though related concepts: the "nature" of a being, and his
"gifts". "Nature" in this context is used to describe the actual core of what
makes up a being. "Gifts" are used to define the skills and abilities that
result from one's nature. A crucial element in the nature of a being and his
gifts, is that the same thing can be both right and wrong at the same time for
two different people. The reason for this is due to the two people's different
origins, and hence their natures.
     The code of the Deerslayer although not clearly defined, was obviously
what set him apart from his fellow men. The elements of this code were diverse
and pertained to all parts of his existence. The must crucial element in it
though was to act according to his nature and his gifts. This included such
things as acting honorably, discretion from killing, and not yielding to
temptation where to do so would be to transgress against his gifts.
     The classic example of the conflict that existed between the gifts and
natures of two different beings is the scalping issue in The Deerslayer. In
this case the issue is not is it right or wrong to scalp, but is it right for
both Indians and White men to scalp? According to Deerslayer it is right for
the Indians to scalp, scalping being part of their cultural matrix. Despite
this it is wrong for white man to scalp, it not being a part of his cultural
matrix. Or as Deerslayer himself might have put it, "Tis wrong, wrong I say,
a white man must not scalp, for it goes against both his gifts and his
natur'." There were no exceptions made in Deerslayer's code, this being seen
in that even though Deerslayer himself was raised among the Indians, it is
still not right for him to scalp. Indeed "My gifts are not scalpers' gifts,
but such as belong to my religion and color,"2 is the Deerslayer's response
when invited to go on a scalping expedition.
     The code of the Deerslayer continually serves to detach the Deerslayer
from the mainstream of humanity. An excellent example of this is given by his
refusal to marry Judith Hutter. Judith is a beautiful young woman, who was
raised in the wilderness. Over the course of the narrative she falls
passionately in love with Deerslayer and eventually proposes to him. His
answer to her though is "No--no--Judith, 'twould be onginerous in me; what
you've offered can never come to pass!"3 This response is rooted in the
details of Judith's past. Judith had apparently morally "soiled" herself
somewhere in her past, and this makes her unsuitable for the Deerslayer.
Through this action of rejection, Deerslayer is denying the one thing that
could end his detachment, a companion.
     The reason that the detachment theme reaches a zenith in the character
of Deerslayer, is tied to Cooper's presentation of Deerslayer. Throughout the
work Deerslayer is portrayed as almost a elemental force posing as a
character. This is done by Deerslayer's powers of moral certainty. In short
Deerslayer is almost godlike in the correctness of actions. Even the one
mistake that he makes, which is predictably that of vanity, is mitigated by
his instant realization of it and subsequent deep sorrow. This particular
godlike nature of his accentuates his detachment, bringing it to an unheard
of zenith in its expression.
     The detachment of the hero is a constant all pervading theme in American
literature. This is observed in many diverse works ranging from Huckleberry
Finn to The Deerslayer. This central theme is observed in both fiction and
non-fiction works, with authors that vary widely in their geographical
location, level of education, and place in society, or in essence the various
factors that greatly influence what a writer writes about. Despite this
diversity, the detachment theme is still observed bringing to mind the
question of why? In short the reason can be found in the origins of America.
Due to its rebellious origin and long history of being a melting pot for
various peoples, ideas, and religions, America was founded by people who were
essentially outsiders or detached from their own culture. And despite coming
to a new land, much of America remained composed of outsiders who were
detached from the mainstream. Given this, is it any wonder that American
writers write about a detached hero, when they themselves were the product of
a detached people and culture.