Folklore Review: John Henry

Gather round boys and girls as I tell you a story about the greatest railroad worker of them all, John Henry.

We all remember this American folklore of the strongest man alive. An African American by the name of John Henry who races against the very machine that would seek to put him and many other railroad workers out of a job. The race tragically ends with John Henry triumphing over the machine but ultimately dying.

I have been mulling this story around, in my head (dangerous place to be), for some years. Each time I can not help but draw significant parallels to the deep divisions between the southern states and the northern states.

First, the protagonist, John Henry, is a recently emancipated African American man carving out a living, in the south, by working for a newly expanded railroad company (historians would debate whether the tale actually took place in Alabama or West Virginia. Also, many historians claim John Henry was born a slave.).

This blurb alone illuminates who John Henry represented in this folklore: the southern states. His agrarian work style (blood, sweat, and tears) paralleled the equally agrarian economy of the south. Additionally, the fact that John Henry was a former slave directly correlates with the southern state's newly emancipated yet still primary work force.

Next, the railroad machine that will ultimately supplant John Henry and his fellow workers. The machine is touted as having the ability to perform the same job as a human worker but faster and cheaper.

Our second character is clearly an illustration of the northern states. The north's industrial nature was very intimidating to the southern state's way of life, and after the Civil War the south became more and more industrialized.

So, the clash of these two characters is not merely the struggle between John Henry and the railroad machine, but the struggle for the south to maintain its way of life in the shadow of the north, after the Civil War.

Unfortunately, John Henry dies at the end of the folk lore. This could be representative of the south losing the Civil War, a perceived end to the southern (agrarian) way of life, or just a declaration of the southern will and spirit. I do not pretend to have all of the answers. However, it is interesting to look back at stories we took for granted as children, and possibly discover something more as adults.

Next up: Why you can draw certain parallels between the Smurfs and communism.