John Henry. A legend that everyone has heard of in their youth along with countless other heros from this time period. But is it just legend? I do not believe so and neither do countless others. Henry, whether this is his actual name or not, brought hope to those that were the underdogs in the working class. By racing a steam engine and beating it he showed that although technology was growing manual labor was still just as good.
As I read these songs and poems about the super human strength showed by Henry all I could think of was, "Wow his adrenaline was running really high," and what would happen if a person was put up against a machiene today. We keep seeing that more and more people are losing their jobs to machiene's everyday. Many people are let go because they don't understand the technology and others are being forced into retirement because they are simply too old to complete the tasks any more. I wish I could make people read about John Henry and what he went through to get people to realize that people are needed and machienes can't do everything.
With technology advancing so rapidly in today's world I have a feeling that we are going to go through another time period where John Henry's story will be replaced by someone else. Instead of a steam engine it would be a computer, and instead of a hammer to railroad it would be a person trying to do the job a computer can do in less time. Henry inspired people in his time to work hard and keep ahead of the things trying to replace them. He inspried people to believe that one person can make a difference. It is my hope that in the future people will look back on this story and see it more as a folk tale, but as a lesson that can be learned.
Posted by Tiffany Brattina at November 29, 2004 2:11 PMTiffany,
I don't think it matters whether or not John Henry is real. It's the way the story is told and if it gets to be pasted down to generations, like "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". Do you agree?
Nabila
Posted by: NabilaUddin at November 30, 2004 9:26 PMHey Tiff,
I also discussed this topic on my blog... I think that it is more important that the story is told than if it is true or not. I personally think that John Henry was not a real person, he just embodies too many outstanding traits, too many great causes, to possibly be real. Or maybe he was real but the story was so elaborated over time that now when it is told it seems fictional. I just think that people should not take the facts, but the message from the story. Stand up for what you beleive in, don't give up without a fight, and that you will be remembered for your good deeds. I think that this is more important than rather John Henry is real or not.
It is important that the story is told. Without the story being told, who would know what happened whether it was real or not. I think that it is the fictious nature of the story that helps the story survive throughout history. If the person was real then even in the time that the person was alive the story would have become more of a legend than a reality. Look at Billy the Kid and other people from that time period. Their stories were told so many times that people began to believe that they were these masters of the mysterious when really they were just using their heads.
Tiffany
Posted by: Tiffany at December 1, 2004 10:13 AM