John Henry: Then and Now

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The legend of John Henry has a rich and varied background. More than a century old, it has withstood the test of time as a popular American legend with near-universal appeal. For the last thirty years, however, the John Henry story has been dominated by one picture book retelling, Ezra Jack Keats's John Henry: An American Legend (1965). Although there have been various picture book retellings within the last three decades (Stein, 1969; Blassinggame, 1971; Nader, 1980; Sanfield, 1991; and Jensen, 1993), Keats's version still remains one of the most captivating, rendered with his signature collage style reflecting his love of marbled papers, bold patterns, and brilliant colors. Keats's retelling has outlasted its competitors, however, not because of the artist's captivating illustrative style, but because of Keats's message. For Keats, John Henry is the personification of the medieval Everyman who struggles against insurmountable odds and wins. With the release of Julius Lester's (1994) and Terry Small's (1994) retellings, however, we are forced to reevaluate the legacy of Keats's contribution, because Lester and Small accomplish what Keats is unable to - they position themselves firmly within the black community, dealing more honestly and squarely with John Henry's African American heritage. All three writers narrate a chronology of events in the life of John Henry, starting with his birth. For Keats and Lester, there is a miraculous quality to John Henry's birth, what Brett Williams calls a magico-spiritual Moses-like (86). John Henry is unnaturally strong, strong enough, in fact, at birth to wave a hammer (Keats) or hold his cradle high over his head (Lester). Lester further amplifies the magical quality of John Henry's birth by giving his origins a more mythic quality: Lester introduces a unicom at the special event. In Small's retelling, John Henry's birth is ordinary, but not uncomplicated: He is born a slave. Although he soon grows big and strong, his physical prowess is not that of Superman. He is large, yes; strong, of course; but he does not possess the superhuman qualities characteristic of Keats's and Lester's folk hero. Whereas Small deals quickly with John Henry's early life, Keats and Lester chronicle several episodes in his adolescent life before John Henry leaves his hometown to seek work on a road crew. In Keats's story, after helping around the house, and then working as a fieldhand on a nearby farm, John Henry finds work on a riverboat. In Lester's version, John Henry also works around the house, then has a brief episode with the town bully before setting off into the world. These early episodes reinforce both John Henry's physical prowess and his personal stature as a kind, good-natured person. Small on the other hand, omits these demonstrations of character, seeing them as overly sentimental and unnecessary to the political message to which he is committed. Small moves swiftly to John Henry's adult life and his encounter with Josiah Haley, owner of the newly developed steam drill. It is at this point in the narration that the sequence of events in all three stories is most similar. First, there is a preliminary event which involves an episode with John Henry and his crew; then John Henry's race against the steam drill is highlighted. As before, Keats and Lester are more similar in their narration than Small. In a further demonstration of character, Keats and Lester place John Henry in the hero's role: Keats's John Henry saves his crew's life by preventing an untimely explosion; Lester's John Henry saves his crew's dignity by single-handedly paving a new road. Small's preliminary event takes quite a different turn: When Josiah Haley appears in camp with his new-fangled invention, John Henry and his crew lose their jobs. This humiliation intensifies the animosity already felt between Josiah Haley and John Henry. Thus, whereas Keats's and Lester's preliminary event portends a greater physical challenge, Small's preliminary event signals a greater psychological battle, a battle of wills. …