Why does John Henry die after the contest with the steam engine? A. He thinks he has lost and dies of a broken heart. B. He was
never in good physical shape. C. He badly injured himself with his own hammer during the contest. D. He has given his entire heart to the task of beating the engine.
I agree. The answer is most likely D because it looked like he suffered from some type of heart attack. Definitely not B or A because John knew he won and he was in better shape than anyone else there. But it also might be C because the fight through the mountain was very intense and I would imagine that he hit himself with his hammer a couple of times
To identify the theme, be sure that you've first identified the story's plot, the way the story uses characterization, and the primary conflict in the story.
