Farm Boy: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

 

To make things safer, any such heritage will be spoiler marked, [[It Was His Sled|no matter how obvious]].

One common beginning for [[Hero's Journey]]. Rural counterpart of the urban [[Ordinary High School Student]]. Very common in stories set in the past, because pre-industrialization, and for most of the history of human civilization, most people were farmers.

 

 

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]].

 

== Film ==

** 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]].

* 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 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]] [[Everything's Better with Princesses|Trakand]], and tends to leave military exploits to General [[Born Lucky|Matrim]] [[Instant Expert|Cauthon]], as it isn't that he is necessarily bad at these, just that others are better. What he is terrible at is keeping his cool (and is hamstrung by some stupid weaknesses), and he is growing increasingly insane, which is a major reason he foists off ruling to stewards and mainly restricts himself to using his power and dangerous nature to keep everyone together as best he can (not terribly well, but the task is impossible), as none will work together without him, even in the face of the last battle being nigh.

**** 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-Star Badass|armies]]'' in the process. Not to mention ''cleansing saidin''. You know, the sole reason that all male wielders go insane.

* 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-Wan]]'s daughter and the [[Big Bad]], which also makes him the first War Wizard in a thousand years. He is also the first one to turn the Sword of Truth White, the Seeker of the Truth, and so on.}} Again, just in case you didn't know he was special. Despite all this, he insists he's a "simple woodsman."

* Westley in ''[[The Princess Bride (novel)|The Princess Bride]]'' begins as a farmboy, but eventually becomes the Dread Pirate Roberts. He's not related to anyone important, though.

* 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.

** 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|Carrot Ironfoundersson of the City Watch]] fits this trope in every way, save that he's a miner's son rather than a farmer's son (and a dwarf, albeit two meters tall).

** 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.

* [[The Bible|Jesus]], a carpenter who goes on to be a famous rabbi, messiah, and martyr. {{spoiler|Son of [[God]]/[[Islam|a very major prophet]]/[[Jesus Was Way Cool|a nice dude]].}}

** 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.