Response to Question 3 - "Mountains Beyond Mountains"

Many aspects of Paul Farmer’s childhood shaped him into the compassionate, hard-working person that he is today.  Above all things, the fact that he was raised in poverty helped Farmer appreciate the value of hard work and moral integrity over physical possessions and excessive wealth.  His family encouraged him to do well, and expected him to accomplish only the best.  They provided him with a sense of community that he otherwise lacked in his life, as his family was not stationary in one location for much time, and Farmer was often too precocious to relate to his contemporaries.  “Farmer’s childhood was good preparation for a traveling life,” as he was able to find comfort in virtually any living situation as a result of his ever-changing surroundings (“he could sleep in a dentist’s chair, as he did at night for most of one summer in a clinic in Haiti, and consider it an improvement over other places he had slept”) (P.54).  “He allowed that growing up as he did … probably relieved him of a homing instinct” (P. 54).  In its stead, Farmer was able to establish connections with the places where he did the most work.  When he came upon Cange, Haiti, Farmer concluded that he had found his hometown.

             Farmer’s impoverished childhood led him to be able to focus in hectic environments.  As a result of being raised in cramped quarters, Farmer formed the ability to work in the midst of havoc early on.  This, in turn, is most likely provided him with the ability to perform well in the ER, and the ability to treat patients in Haiti under noisy and crowded circumstances.  

            Growing up, Farmer was always assigned many chores.  This instilled in him the need to constantly be accomplishing something. Even when he went through a temporary, transitional character phase in college (his attitude changed when he was surrounded by such immense wealth at Duke), he returned home on school vacations to chores and responsibilities.  When he referred to himself as someone who could not wear clothes other than “preppy clothes,” his father’s response to his son’s behavior was that “[Paul] the preppy [could] still clean the bilge” (55).  His family kept him grounded.

            As a result of his humble upbringings, Farmer possessed more moral integrity and appreciation for the value of hard work than he would have had if he had been raised in a wealthier environment.  He was not coddled or spoiled with possessions as a child.  Instead, he was constantly encouraged to pursue his academic interests, to work hard, and to appreciate the good things in his life.  He was only able to adapt to the demanding lifestyle that accompanied his position as a doctor for the masses of an impoverished Haiti because of the circumstances in which he was raised.