Re: The Deerslayer - A World Without Clocks

Name    : 
E-Mail  : 
Subject : 

Comments:
: 
: : : For those who are continuing to read through The Deerslayer in anticipation of our next scintillating melee of ideas, I started thinking about how we all enjoy transporting ourselves into the unspoiled scenery of the frontier, and it occurred to me that there is another enjoyable facet to this fantasy - this is a world entirely without clocks.  There are times when the action, or inaction as the case may be, seems to drift through time and space, and I lose all sense of how much time actually elapses. Sometimes it is hard to relate to the characters, because they have so little time structure to their lives.  Is this one of the things that makes it so difficult for modern readers to connect with these books - the sense of impatience with how things move along?

: : : Gayle

: : 
: : ~~~~~~~~~~~~

: : Hi,Gayle!

: : I am already feeling a little nostalgic about "Deerslayer."  I miss Glimmerglass.  You know that feeling you get about a week after you get home from a great vacation?  A vacation with no clocks?  Now that I think about it, except for the "attempted strangling" of Natty, that first three chapters was rather calming.

: : I think Deerslayer moves along nicely, but maybe that's because I enjoy all of it.  There didn't seem to be any slow spots in the first three chapters.  Now, with LOTM I kept getting bogged down with "directions."  Your suggestion of having a topography map while reading LOTM is an excellent idea.

: : Keep on writing, Gayle!  I could read your Cooper posts all night.  I always learn scads!

: : Dana S.

: Dana,

: WADDAYA MEAN - NOW WITH LOTM?  You've finished the whole Deerslayer?  The WHOLE THING?  Here I was gnashing my teeth, trying to be patient for everybody to wade through chapters 3-7, and you're 15 years ahead of us at Fort William Henry!!!!

: Well, okay, since you are already slogging your way round about Saratoga Springs and the Schroons, how are you doing at keeping track of the trail?  Have you located the spring where Natty stopped to drink and the mountain from which he viewed the the troops of Montcalm arrayed around the fort?  And where is the Delaware camp in which Cora was held prisonner?  Wait a minute, that's giving away the next book discussion.  I have to stop that!  Forget I asked those questions. ;o)

: Back to the time thing - what was the symbolism of the Hutters' clock - the only actual timepiece described in the book?  How did it relate to the mirror images of Hetty Hutter and Deerslayer? (Clue: remember the constant reference to the use of the telescope.)

: Gayle



Optional Link URL:  
Link Title:         
Optional Image URL: