John Henry And The Tall Tale Similarities

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Tall Tale Comparison John Henry is one of the oldest and most popular tall tales to exist. John Henry was known as the strongest, the fastest, and the most powerful man working on the railroad. He was also known as the “man against the machine”. He went up against the steam drill to prove that the black worker could drill a hole through the rock farther and faster than the drill could. No one thought he could beat the machine.

The regular tall tale goes like this: John Henry was hired as a steel driver for the railroad. Later, the railroad company brought in a steam drill to speed up work on the tunnel, it was said that the steam drill could drill faster than any man. He was challenged against the machine to see who could work faster. He used