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November 10, 2005
John Henry
This was an interesting read for me in that I had no idea that John Henry was black. In all the stories that I have heard nobody seemed to mention that he was black. So I never thought of race while reading these songs. After being asked to inquire about race I can see how John Henry would have been a great hero in that he was black. This story might have been more about race back when it was first invented and told, but now I think that it has more to do with technology. John Henry to me represents the hard workin' blue collar citizen. As "Office Space" has been mentioned before in this class I think that movie represents a lot of the blue collar vs white collar world that we live in. It is still very much alive today as it was 200 years ago. The main character is almost the exact opposite of John Henry in that he wanted to do no work at all. John Henry on the other hand wanted to be the best that he could be. Funny how they are both heros, but have very different characteristics.
Posted by MichelleKoss at November 10, 2005 11:30 PM
Comments
I have to agree I dont know why but i dont remember him being black either. I just remembered him as a great hero who had to deal with a bad beat. I think some of the people who are conserned with race issues would be glad to hear that in this day and age most educated people have changed and the racial gap has been bridged. That is not to say it is no longer an issue but it is to say great improvements hve been made.
Posted by: Ian Sayre at November 12, 2005 11:28 PM
yes i think that it is more about race now, but in class on Wednesday Dr. Jerz and Lou seemed to think that it is more about racenow than it was back then. I would be interested to know exactly what people thought back then. That will require some research.
Posted by: michelle koss at November 14, 2005 02:33 PM