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{{trope}}
[[File:harvest-
A staple of fantasy adventures. Farmy
▲A staple of fantasy adventures. Farmy McFarmboy is just an [[The Everyman|ordinary]], humble [[Kid Hero|young]] farmboy/hunter/etc. living and working in a [[Arcadia|tranquil and pastoral land]] until destiny (and his [[Obi Wan]]) [[Call to Adventure|comes knocking]], normally [[Doomed Hometown|knocking down his house or town in the process]]. Farmy is typically very [[I Just Want to Be Normal|whiny]] and [[Refusal of the Call|resistant]] to the idea of being the [[Chosen One]] but [[Upbringing Makes the Hero|eventually accepts the idea.]] Generally, he's the son of somebody important -- either the [[Big Bad]] or [[The Dragon]] -- or else from an ancient line of wizards or [[Royal Blood|kings]] and [[Nephewism|raised by an aunt or uncle]].
To make things safer, any such heritage will be spoiler marked, [[It Was His Sled|no matter how obvious]].
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Does not ''have'' to be male, but [[Always Male|almost always is]].
One common beginning for [[
This is [[The Oldest Ones in
As [[David Eddings]] (a major user of this trope) explained in ''[[The Rivan Codex]]'', it is a good way to explain how your fantasy world works within the context of the story. The reader [[Audience Surrogate|learns the rules along with the main character]].
{{examples|Examples}}▼
== [[Anime]]
* Slightly off course is Sheeta from ''Laputa [[Laputa: Castle in
* Jack from ''[[MAR]]''. Really a sidekick, but still a farmboy.
* Arguably, Edward and Alphonse Elric from ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist (manga)|Fullmetal Alchemist]]''. Their home town of Resembool is always portrayed as a farming village, although they're never shown participating. Also, their alchemy teacher Izumi Curtis is the wife of a butcher, which also lends to the rustic charm.
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* Don't forget [[
▲* Don't forget [[Superman (Franchise)|Superman]], who was raised as naive farmboy Clark Kent. Last son of Krypton.
** Inverted with [[Superboy]], his younger clone, who went to go live with the Kents for a "proper upbringing". Superboy has quite a bit more hubris than his progenitor, though...
* Ironically, Superman's ''[[Kingdom Come]]'' rival Magog started out a farmboy too, albeit from Iowa rather than Kansas. He blew up Kansas.
== [[Fan Works]] ==
* Tobias Talltree of ''[[
==
* ''[[Star Wars]]'' (of course) has
▲* Tobias Talltree of ''[[Clouded Sky (Fanfic)|Clouded Sky]]'' is a farmboy before being chosen to become a Pokémon guide.
** Anakin Skywalker is also a farm boy, of sorts, though replace "farm" with "He's a slave" and "[[I Am Who?|Son of someone important]]" to [[What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic|"Virgin birth".]]▼
▲* ''[[Star Wars]]'' (of course) has Luke -- a "moisture farmer", raised by his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru. He got a reputation for being whiny, but if you look at him he longed to be someone but was very dutiful. Owen and Beru were killed when their home was blown up by Imperial Stormtroopers looking for a couple of droids. Son of [[The Dragon|Darth Vader]]. His wife sometimes teased him for his idealism by calling him "Farmboy".
▲** Anakin Skywalker is also a farm boy, of sorts, though replace "farm" with "He's a slave" and "[[I Am Who|Son of someone important]]" to [[What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic|"Virgin birth".]]
** The [http://asylums.insanejournal.com/scans_daily/367889.html second-best] Imperial pilot, [[X Wing Series|Soontir Fel]], was also a farmboy who loved to fly. He got pushed into service after stopping an [[Attempted Rape]] and offending the son of someone important, and quickly became an [[Ace Pilot]]. Unlike the other two from his 'verse, he grew up on a greener world and throughout his life he loved the soil and liked working with growing things. His [[Hand of Thrawn|clones]] were the same - part of an Imperial sleeper cell instead of immediately being part of the TIE fighter core, they became farmers and actually [[Becoming the Mask|abandoned the Empire]].
** This happens quite a bit in the [[Star Wars Expanded Universe]], since the setting is an entire galaxy and there are a lot of [[Single Biome World|agrarian worlds]] with hot-shot wannabe heroes.
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* ''[[The Matrix]]'' has Thomas A. Anderson starting off as a regular office worker - essentially the modern, urban version of the Farmboy - until fate said "Knock knock, Neo". The only things missing here are his hometown and parents getting destroyed - understandable as his "hometown" and "parents" are ''what he'll end up fighting against''.
== [[Literature]] ==▼
▲== Literature ==
* The ''[[Belgariad]]'' has (Bel)Garion the farmer's nephew. His home town was not blown up and his "aunt" Polgara turned out to be a powerful and ancient sorceress. {{spoiler|Son of the Rivan Kings.}}
** Durnik, the humble farm blacksmith of low birth, who insists that he's nobody important, {{spoiler|turns out to be a signifigant part of the Prophecy and comes [[Back From the Dead]] to fulfill it, becoming an immortal sorcerer in the process and marrying Polgara}}. Too old to be a farm ''boy'', but he otherwise seems to fit.
* [[Inheritance Cycle|Eragon]] was a hunter/farmer raised by his uncle, whose home was destroyed by forces looking for the dragon egg. {{spoiler|At one point was thought to be the Son of Morzan, a Dragon Rider who was the pupil of the [[Old Master]] Oromis before he joined Galbatorix It turns out that he was actually the son of [[The Obi
* Subverted thoroughly by [[Elizabeth Moon]] in ''[[The Deed of Paksenarrion]]:'' Paks is A) a girl, and B) a sheepfarmer's daughter who is... actually the daughter of the sheepfarmer and the sheepfarmer's wife too. She gets all her power through hard slogging, not having been born to it. (The first book in the trilogy is actually called ''Sheepfarmer's Daughter.'')
* Rand in ''[[The Wheel of Time]]'' is a "farmer's son" who was ''also'' {{spoiler|the reincarnation of the Dragon (not the trope, but an ancient warrior known as the Dragon), known as the Dragon Reborn. To the Aiel, Rand is He Who Comes with the Dawn and the Car'a'carn (Chief of Chiefs). To the Atha'an Miere, the Sea Folk, he is the Coramoor. His main titles are Shadowkiller (by wolves), Lord of the Morning, Prince of the Dawn, and True Defender of the Light. His birth was heralded by Gitara Moroso, Aes Sedai and Keeper of the Chronicles, who died from the sheer force of Foretelling his birth. Just in case anyone were ever to doubt how special he really is}}, his {{spoiler|dead birth mother was a [[Rebellious Princess]], whose disappearance started a war, and who may have been [[Not Brainwashed]]}}, and his dead birth father was a [[Proud Warrior Race Guy|Aiel]] [[Badass General|clan chieftain]].
** Rand is also an important subversion of this trope, because unlike most
*** Rand is actually quite cunning and intelligent, and he plays the Game of Houses pretty darn well. Not to mention that he has {{spoiler|all of Lews Therin's memories}} for reference. He gets advice in political matters from [[Love Interest|Elayne]] [[
**** The point is that at the ''beginning'' he was a terrible leader, due to obvious things like his utter inexperience as well as things like letting emotions sway him, etc. However, a big part of the novels is how ''over time'' he learns how to be an effective ruler and general. A combination of factors makes this [[Fridge Brilliance|plausible]], for example: Lews Therin's counsel (ignoring his madness, the Lews was ''the'' greatest leader of his day), observing and receiving outright advice from Aes Sedai, gradual experience in the Game of Thrones and on the battlefield, various persons from the Age of Legends teaching him, etc. While he did make some awful decisions, by the later books he is an undeniable [[Magnificent Bastard]]; he ''regularly'' [[The Chessmaster|outwits]] the most "cunning" and feared individuals in the world with ease (often several [[Gambit Pileup|at the same time]]) and is close to [[The Emperor|uniting most of the world's nations]] under his banner, annihilating ''[[Four
* In ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', Frodo is the equivalent of a [[Blue Blood|nobleman]] (i.e. rich enough to live a comfortable life of leisure) but Samwise Gamgee is a gardener. Unlike most Farm Boys, though, Sam does not [[Refusal of the Call|resist being chosen]], but rather forces himself into the quest when others are chosen. {{spoiler|Son of his Gaffer.}}
* Richard from Terry Goodkind's ''[[Sword of Truth]]'' novels started off as a humble woodsman, before saving the Mother Confessor. {{spoiler|He is the son of [[The Obi
* Ged from ''[[Earthsea Trilogy|A Wizard of Earthsea]]'' is a goatherd, son of a blacksmith, on a very rural island out on the edge of
* Westley in ''[[The Princess Bride (
* Subverted in the [[Dragaera|Vlad Taltos]] novel ''Athyra'', which is told from the perspective of a smarter-than-average Teckla [serf] named Savn, who also has some skill with magic. From Savn's perspective, Vlad comes across as the Obi Wan figure, but the reader realizes this isn't the case, and indeed Savn does not have the happy destiny of the other characters on this page.
* In [[Lloyd Alexander]]'s ''[[Prydain Chronicles]]'' (and Disney's [[The Film of the Book|film adaptation of the second book]], ''[[The Black Cauldron]]''), a young boy, profession '''assistant''' pig-keeper, [[Jumped At the Call|ran headlong into adventures]] (and a thornbush) when Hen Wen, his oracular charge, ran away from [[Big Bad|Arawn's]] new lieutenant [[The Dragon|the Horned King]]. Special bonus points must be awarded as he is often called
** Son of {{spoiler|nobody. He was found as a baby nearby a violent battle where nobody survived, so he was without rank or heritage, something which his foster-father took as a sign that he was the chosen child.}}
* ''[[Discworld]]'':
**
** Subverted with Tomjon, {{spoiler|apparent}} heir to Lancre and {{spoiler|supposed}} son of King Verence I. Given to a troupe of actors to raise (mostly because that's how these stories are supposed to go, but also so that, if this whole king thing doesn't work out, he'll at least learn a useful trade) he was raised to be his father's son. Turns out that if you raise a king as an actor, he'll mostly turn out to be an actor.
** Mort wasn't even much good at being a
* [[The Bible
** His ancestor David is possibly the [[Ur Example]], making this trope at least [[Older Than Feudalism]]. Played with in that instead being the last scion from a lost royal line, he is the founder of the lost royal line.
* [[Codex Alera|Tavi of Calderon]], an orphan raised by his aunt and uncle, [[The Call Put Me
* Gilbert Markham, the hero of ''[[The Tenant of Wildfell Hall]]'':
{{quote|
* Flinx from the [[Humanx Commonwealth]] novels was an urban variant, bought at a slave auction and grudgingly raised by the irascible Mother Mastiff in Drallar, the [[Wretched Hive]] capital of a rustic colony-world called Moth. {{spoiler|He's the product of an illegal eugenics experiment that left him [[Cursed
* Bria in ''[[
== [[Live-Action TV]] ==▼
* [[Star Trek:
▲== Live-Action TV ==
▲* [[Star Trek the Original Series (TV)|Captain Kirk]] was born and raised on a farm in Iowa. Even though he becomes a [[Memetic Badass]] starship captain, he still identifies with Iowa as his home.
▲{{quote| '''Gillian:''' Don't tell me; you're from outer space<br />
'''Kirk:''' No, I'm from Iowa. I only work in outer space. }}
* ''[[Mad Men]]'': Not a hero, nor a boy, but the idea of the trope is invoked by
{{quote|
* Malcolm Reynolds of ''[[Firefly (TV series)|Firefly]]'' was a rancher on the rural planet Shadow before he [[Jumped At the Call|joined up with the Independents]] against the encroaching [[The Empire|Alliance]]. He then proceeded to lose everything he cared about except his second in command, his coat, his gun, and [[Knight in Sour Armor|almost broken idealism.]]
* Played with in ''[[Skins]]''. Alo lives on a farm, and Mini's "pet name" for him is "Farm Boy."
== [[Video Games]] ==
* In ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
▲* In ''[[The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess (Video Game)|The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess]]'', Link was a goatherd before he was pulled into a world of Triforces, shadow demons, and the neverending battle of good vs. evil. {{spoiler|Link is possibly descended (or at least reincarnated) from the previous Links.}}
** Other game's Links come close. Though not farmers, they often live a fairly simple life before something draws them into the adventure. Only the cartoon and direct sequels start out with a seasoned adventurer.
* The main character of ''[[
* The Hero of ''[[Fable (
* Turned on its end by ''[[
** The other protagonists too.
** Played straight with [[Rune Factory]]'s [[Easy Amnesia|amnesiac hero]] Raguna. {{spoiler|Implied prince of [[The Kingdom|Kardia]] and [[Long
* The hero of the ''[[Summoner]]'' game.
* Lucas in ''[[
** Lucas' twin brother, Claus, counts too. [[Aloof Big Brother|In a different sort of way]].
* Played with in ''[[Valkyria Chronicles]]'' in that Welkin acts like a farmboy without actually being one. He also accepts the call without any serious objections. Of course his home-nation has a universal conscription law on its books so he's probably used to the idea of having to enlist if there's an invasion.
* [[Dink Smallwood]] is a pig farmer who dreams about becoming a knight. {{spoiler|His heritage is deliberately left wide open for the [[Fanon]] to explore.}}
* The hero/heroine of ''[[Dungeon Siege]]'' starts as you guessed it, a humble farmer.
** In the [[Uwe Boll]] [[Video Game Movies Suck|movie]], the character is even ''named'' "Farmer".
* ''[[
* Alex from Lunar: Silver Star for the Sega CD, and later other platforms, is a boy who lives in a small farm community. He gets to fulfill his dreams of going on adventures and becoming a Dragonmaster just like his hero, Dyne.
* Evan in [[Maple Story]]. Just a normal boy living in a pig farm until he had a dream meeting a dragon. Guess what happens to him when he woke up from his dream...
* Hilbert from ''[[
* In a slight subversion of this trope, in the Canon ending for Wing Commander 3, Blair goes off to be a farmboy. It doesn't take as he's recalled to active duty at the start of Wing Commander 4, now being a bitter, lonely man.
* Constantly reminded of, Stahn of [[
* The Colonist [[Multiple Choice Past|origin]] for Commander Shepard of [[Mass Effect]] is more or less this, in comparison to [[Military Brat|Spacer]] and [[Street Urchin|Earthborn]]. It implies that Shepard grew up in a backwater human colony which conveniently got the [[Doomed Hometown]] treatment.
* Juinn of ''[[Juathuur]]'' {{spoiler|(son of the Salamander King.)}}
* In ''[[Wapsi Square]]'' [http://wapsisquare.com/comic/not-going/ Bud disclaims responsibility for her culture on the ground she was the equivalent of a Mid-West farm girl with common sense.]
* Subverted with Lars from ''[[Girl Genius]]''. According to [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20050316 his backstory], he was a cheesemaker's apprentice until he ran away with a circus. Later, he fell in love with Agata, but ultimately {{spoiler|1=he died as an [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20061215 ordinary guy]}}.
== [[Web Originals]] ==
▲== Web Originals ==
* Hilde Becker from ''[[Lambda|Opening Move]]'' is a naive [[Meaningful Name|baker girl]] from a rural seaside town. She gets smooth-talked into joining the army by a [[Mentor Mascot|weird rabbit-thing with wings and five ears]]. Whether or not she's related to anyone important is still unknown.
* Arnie Harvey from Wisconsin, ordinary chubby kid whose family owns a dairy farm in Wisconsin. Until he gets superpowers in the [[Whateley Universe]]. He gets superstrength ''and'' superspeed. At the time of his story "Triple Threat" he is considered a campus ''supervillain''.
* Oscar Pine from ''[[RWBY]]'', at least until {{spoiler|the late Professor Ozpin reincarnates into him}}.
== [[Western Animation]] ==▼
▲== Western Animation ==
* Megan from the original ''[[My Little Pony]]'' cartoon. Not the daughter of anyone important (her parents don't ever come up, actually), but she ''definitely'' fits.
** Speaking of [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
== [[Real Life]] ==
* Zhu Yuanzhang: youngest son of a peasant, whose home town was [[Doomed Hometown|wiped out by a flood]] when he was [[Dangerous Sixteenth Birthday|sixteen]] and who went on to found the Ming dynasty by way of the [[Going Native|Red Turban]] secret society (and [[The Starscream|murdering their previous leader]]).
* Mao Zedong was born a peasant's son, rising to become dictator of [[Red China]] aged 56.
* Richard Bong, the top US [[Ace Pilot]] of all time (he got to 40 kills before being pulled from combat) was raised on a farm.
** He died while testing a P-80 Shooting Star on 6 August 1945. In some cases, his death shared the next day's front page with the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
* Alvin York, famous American soldier in World War I, was from a farming family and was born in a two-room log cabin near Pall Mall, Tennessee. In 1941, they made [[Sergeant York|a movie]] about him.
* [[Abraham Lincoln]] also grew up in the backwoods.
* Former [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]] and UFC Heavyweight Champion [[Brock Lesnar]] grew up in South Dakota.
* [
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