John Henry is one of America's tall tale heroes. Some say John drove steel in West Virginia in the 1800s. Some say he worked in the Deep South. Most agree that he was a real man. John Henry's tale may have come from the lives of real-life workers . These African-American men were born as slaves before the Civil War. They grew up to be free men working for the railroad. Like John Henry, these men helped build America's railways. They succeeded through their own strength - not through the power of machines. Over time, their work was done, and over time, John Henry became a tall tale legend.
We call stories like John's tall tales because everything in them is extra big, extra fast, and extra wild. And, the truth in these stories might be just a bit stretched. The heroes and heroines in tall tales are as tall as buildings, as strong as oxen, or as fast as lightning. They meet with wild adventures at every turn. But that's okay because they can solve just about every problem that comes their way.
Tall tales may be funny and outsized, but they describe the life that many workers and pioneers shared. The people in these stories often have jobs that real people had. And the stories were always set in familiar places.
The Tall Tale of
John Henry: The Steel Driving Man
Now you are ready to complete the John Henry worksheet that was passed out today in class.
