Mountains Beyond Mountains Question Response

I think Farmer’s childhood in poverty was instrumental in forming his future career path. In Mountains Beyond Mountains, Kidder referenced his childhood for almost the entire first half of the book, which I think shows how important his upbringing was in forming his decisions later in life. I believe that Farmer’s early contact with Haitians played a role in his choice to spend so much time in Haiti. On page 51, Kidder is describing Farmer working in the fields picking fruit with his father. When a young Farmer questioned, “But, dad, white people don’t pick citrus,” and received a snappy response from his father explaining, “they’re Haitians,” I think it stuck in Farmers mind. It didn’t matter that Farmer was White and the other workers were Black, they were all just people trying to earn a living. I think Farmer’s ambition is also seen as a result of his growing up in a poor community. “No couch potatoes in the [Farmer] family,” [Kidder] said once to Farmer’s mother. “No couch” she replied (55). While this line just seems humorous when it’s read the first time, reading between the lines shows that Farmer really had no other option but to work his hardest to get the education and make the connections that later made his work in Haiti and around the world so powerful.