Farm Boy: Difference between revisions

Does not ''have'' to be male, but [[Always Male|almost always is]].

 

 

This is [[The Oldest Ones in The Book|such an old trope]] it's [[Dead Horse Trope|died]] and [[Undead Horse Trope|been reborn]] several times already<ref>(well, who better to keep a horse in good condition than a farmer?)</ref>, and there are a few traditional ways for the story to pan out. Generally, the kid will either go from [[Rags to Riches]] (or even all the way [[Rags to Royalty|to Royalty]]), or he'll reject the strange new world he's saved and [[But Now I Must Go|return home]] to accept the [[Call to Agriculture]].

 

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]].

 

== Anime & Manga ==

== Film ==

* ''[[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".

** 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.

* 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.

* 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 [[Farm Boy|FarmBoys]] who settle into heroism and leadership quite easily, Rand, with his utter lack of political and military training, is a terrible leader. Just like you'd expect a real-life farm boy to be.

**** 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.}}

* 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 civilization -- but the island is known for occasionally producing very powerful wizards.

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

* The main character of ''[[Baldurs Gate]]'' is an ordinary person living in a library fortress with their adoptive father. {{spoiler|However, being the Child of Bhaal, the late god of murder,}} doesn't really allow a person to refuse [[The Call]].

* The Hero of ''[[Fable (Video Game)|Fable]]'' starts out as a farmboy, and then the whole village gets torched. {{spoiler|The son of one of the most famous heroines around.}} Is also called Farmboy by the Rival and her brother.

** The other protagonists too.

* The hero of the ''[[Summoner]]'' game.

* Lucas in ''[[Mother 3 (Video Game)|Mother 3]]''.

== 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.