Drums Along The Mohawl

Walter D. Edmonds' Drums Along The Mohawk is a tale of Colonists who survive Indian attacks in upstate New York during the Revolutionary War. Along the way we are treated to domestic and farming interludes with our main focus on the two central characters, a young newlywed couple, Gil and Magdalana (Lana) Martin. The young married couple come to the Mohawk River valley in New York to settle on the frontier. They arrive in the Mohawk River valley in New York state on the eve of the Revolutionary War. Lana and Gil come from different backgrounds. Lana comes from a wealthy family and Gil does not. This creates a source of conflict as Lana finds life on the frontier primitive and difficult, especially compared to what she is used to. Gil, on the other hand, joins the local militia in order to help defend the settlement from Indians allied to the British. Nonetheless, Lana tries to accommodate Gil, like when he is daydreaming about their settlement five years hence:

Gil: I thought you'd probably be hankering for a house.

Lana: Well, I probably will be. But that doesn't mean you've got to moon about it so. When I get discontented I'll let you know it fast enough.

The novel demonstrates how two people in love can overcome all manner of obstacles to live a decent and peaceful life. As the war rages through the Mohawk Valley, the newlyweds arm themselves with knife and musket to war

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sons. But if you couldn't cheat an Indian, who in the name of God could you cheat in this Godforsaken country? (Edmonds 144) This lack of community sentiment is as far from the truth about Indian tribes as it could be, but this is a book that is meant to glorify the American colonists and not the American Indian. Thus, they are portrayed as savages lacking the humanity evident in the strong bonds and community ties of the settlers. In order to show the strength of this community, the novel also mythologizes the army and the church as the two pillars of community. Yet, the overall point seems to be that extremely common men and women will rise to the occasion demanded of them when their community, freedom, and lives are in peril. They are bound together by the simplest things in an environment that is torn by weather, destruction, and the threat of death "Gradually the people stirred. Their movements were halting, their voices fumbled at words and gave over an attempt to speak. They looked into each other's blank faces and looked away. Someone had started a fire in the yard and women gathered round to cook. They did it mechanically, apathetically, silently, as if they sought comfort in the routine of regular existence

Category: Literature - D